Part 2 Of Graphic Novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

For me, the second half of the graphic novel took a turn and was slightly different from the first half. Although it was different from the first half, it still mirrored the novel by splitting it into the narrative of Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case. This part of the book lacks dialogue and is made up of naration just like the novel. Without dialogue and just the narrator’s thoughts, the suspense has disappeared from the plot. The images and narration present Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll’s point of view in an interesting way. In my opinion, the novel’s representation of Lanyon’s narrative and the full statement of the case were better. The reason why I think it was better was because this was the most significant part of the story when everything is revealed and the case is solved. I think words, details and description are essential to inform the reader on the situation and everything that happened. Everything seemed short or cut down in the graphic novel. I feel like without description and elaboration, the graphic novel misses emphasis on important details. Although suspense and description are missing, the graphic novel still manages to convey the basic message with the help of little words. Through reading this I have come to realize that images and words share the same amount of importance and work together to balance a piece of work.

An image that I found interesting was on pages 92 and 93. In these images Jekyll sees himself as Edward Hyde in the mirror for the first time. The words suggest that he is surprised with his new appearance but not shocked that he is evil. He felt good about the change. This thought delighted him and he smiles and shows that he is satisfied and liked Edward Hyde. Out of many images, I felt that this one was a fairly good one and was like sort of a turning point for Jekyll. The words and graphics worked well in this picture to create an idea and there was no struggle.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Graphic Novel

Robert Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was turned into a graphic novel with the help of Klimowski and Schejbal. In my opinion, the graphic novel presents many similarities and differences to the actual novel. I’ve never actually taken the time to read a comic book or graphic novel because I felt that it was only images with an incomprehensible plot. This graphic novel actually tells a story that is comprehensive. I’m sure that even if I did not read the novel first, I would still have a great understanding of the plot. I feel that the original novel and this novel did the same exact thing and equally told the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Even though they did the same exact thing, the graphic novel did present some differences. The first obvious difference was the presence of images. In the graphic, there are few words. The pictures and words that are present get straight to the point in the plot. This difference is both good and bad. It is good because there are no extra and unnecessary information to be read. It gets straight to the point and it is a fast read. The bad thing is that there is no suspense or anything to really guess about without the extra words and description. Besides the absence of suspense, the graphic novel enhances the novel’s message because it provides an image of things in the story and creates a better understanding. Pictures allow a reader to see what things really look like. Although a graphic novel allows a visual to a reader, the downfall is that the reader might not be able to pick up the theme as easily due to the lack of words, explanation and detail.

An image that caught my attention was an image on page thirty-nine. On this page, the clerk Mr. Guest and M. Utterson are sitting down examining and making out the writing of two letters. I think the drawing is interdependent. It can be viewed as interdependent because the pictures and words go hand in hand to convey a message that each could not do alone. They balance each other out. The images includes Mr. Guest and Mr. Utterson looking at the handwriting and is balanced with Guest’s dialogue, “You are right sir, a very odd hand.” In the second panel, representing a moment to moment time pass, they came to the conclusion that the two handwritings were similar in many ways. The message is very clear and could have been more enhanced if there were actual graphics of the two handwritings for the reader to see. There is no struggle to understand what is going on though. So far, I am enjoying the graphic novel.

Scholarly Article 2

There's Something about Hyde. By: Law, Jules, Novel: A Forum on Fiction, 00295132, Fall2009, Vol. 42, Issue 3

http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.csun.edu/ehost/detail?sid=894dac3b-64e7-467d-928e-b827b242b06a%40sessionmgr112&vid=2&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=47813591&anchor=AN0047813591-2

In this article Jules Law discusses Hyde and his inhumanity. She also talks about the rest of his characterisitcs and how they portray him as weird. She uses quotes and descriptions from Stevenson's novel to emphasize the type of character he is. THe article could be used for someone who is arguing the type of person Hyde is.

Scholary Article

Stiles, Anne. “Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde and the Double Brain”. Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 46.4. pp. 879-900. Autumn 2006. Print.

In this article Anne Stiles discusses the theory of the double brain. She shares the idea that the left and right hemispheres have totally different characteristics that can both function individually. She believes that each hemisphere might house a separate personality and possibly a separate soul. This article definitely relates to the characters Jekyll and Hyde. This article is objective and not biased because it gives multiple ideas about the double brain theory. Anne Stiles’ work would be useful for someone arguing about the brains structure and how it influences personality and human behavior.

The Strange Case od Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde chapters 8-10

These last three chapters bring the novel to a close in an interesting way. The way the novel is written takes a turn and changes perspectives. In chapter 8 the novel is told as Dr. Lanyon’s narrative. In his narrative Lanyon reads and describes a letter that he received from Jekyll. He also shares his experience of visiting him. In this letter, Jekyll designates Lanyon as one of his closest friends and he gives him multiple tasks and responsibilities to complete for him. What he tells Lanyon to do is very important and if it isn’t done Lanyon will be responsible for Jekyll’s life. In this letter Jekyll orders him to go to his house, meet Mr. Poole and a locksmith and remove all the contents from the drawers in his room. He was told to bring these things to Cavendish Square exactly the way he found them. All of this made Lanyon think Jekyll was insane. He does everything he is ordered to and meets up with a man at the Square. He watches this man mix powders and chemicals and drink it. He watches in terror because the man that once a stranger had now become Henry Jekyll. After all this happens, the novel changes to Jekyll’s full statement of the case. In this chapter he talks about his dual personality and how they began. He discussed the differences between Jekyll and Hyde. He was once able to control the changes between personalities but then Hyde became so powerful and chemicals were no longer needed for the change. It became voluntary and it was ultimately hurting Jekyll. At the end of the case, there is the death of Jekyll and Hyde prevails.

A quote that caught my attention was, “[…] that man is not truly one, but truly two” (48). I totally agree with this and not only do I agree with this because of Jekyll’s case. I believe everyone has different personalities because of the structure of the brain and also depending on the situation and environment they are in. Another quote that I found interesting was, “I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness even I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both […] elements” (49). I think it took a lot of courage and acceptance for him to admit that he is both of these people no matter what anyone or himself tells him. Many people would deny this. I think that him admitting this, brings a type of closure to the novel.

I would like to ask the author why did Jekyll ultimately choose to live as Hyde is he brought him so much pain?

What will happen to Hyde? Will he be discovered and killed?

Wallen, Jeffrey. "Falling Under an Evil Influence." Promoting and Producing Evil. Ed. Nancy Billias. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Rodopi, 2010. 67-93. At the Interface/Probing the Boundaries 63. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapters 5-8

 

These four chapters were very intersting. As I continue to read the story continues to grow more intriguing. I feel that these chapters are very significant to the story because this is where secrets start to unfold and the mysterybegins and builds up. After Mr. Hyde kills Carew he disappears. After this event of murder, Dr. Jekyll coincidentally begins to act strange and his behavior starts to change. Utterson and everyone else start to become suspicious and worried aout him. At one point Dr. Jekyll gives Utterson a letter to read, and he said it was delivered by someone anonymous. This letter is supposedly from the murderer. Utterson reads it and compares the handwriting to something Jekyll had written earlier and he realizes that it is the same handwriting, just with a different tilt. After this strange event a couple of other events occur. Mr. Poole and other people in Jekyll's house start to fret because he is acting very stange and is not himself. They witness that he wants to be isolated, he has a voice change and is asking for strong drugs. Mr. Poole also says that one day he seen Jekyll with a "mask on. He descibes the mask and body to Utterson and they discover that this is the identity of Mr. Hyde. This pushes them to take action and break into Jekyll's room to see what is going on. They hear yelling and weird noises but once they enter the room they find the twisted and twitching body or Hyde and Jekyll had dissappered. At this point in the story everyone is confused and left with questions to be answered.
A quote that drew my attention was, "there's a rather singular resemblance; the two hands in many points are identical:only differently sloped. [...] "Henry Jekyll forge for a murderer!"(28). This is significant because it is an event that leads Utterson to question Jekyll and the type of person he really is. I feel that the resemblance int he writing also represents the similarities in Hyde and Jekyll's characters. Another quote that caught my attention was, "Now that the evil influence had been withdrawn, a new life began for Dr. Jekyll. He came out of his seclusion, renewed relations with his friends, became once more their familiar guest and entertainer; and whilst he had always been known for charities, he was now no less distinguished for religion" (29). This was seen as important to me because it seems as if he is relieved because Hyde is "gone". It interests me that he feels like this so only to find out that he will become extremely ill with the situation.
Two questions that I would like to ask the author are:
1. How does Dr. Jekyll's alter ego Mr. Hyde come about? Does he appear with guilt, whenever he wants, or with the help of drugs?
2. If Mr. Hyde's unmoving body is left at the house, then where is Jekyll? How does this alter ego thing work?

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapters 1-4

This book, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is a book that is written in a peculiar way, but it is still an engaging mystery. Chapters 1-4 were very interesting and stopping at Chapter 4 was bittersweet. The actual mysterious plot starts to develop and pick up. In these chapters we are introduced to Mr. Utterson, Mr. Richard Enfield, Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson is a lawyer and a friend of Mr. Richard Enenfield and Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Hyde comes into the triangle when Mr. Enefield sees him at a suspicious and this special building belongs to Dr. Jekyll. He also finds out thar Mr.Hyde is in Dr. Jekyll's will. He is concerned about Dr. Jekyll's well being and confronts him about the situation and shares his thoughts and feelings about Hyde. Jekyll is a nice man that is concerned about Hyde's well being and tells Utterson he knows what he is doing and makes him promise to leave the situation alone. Time passes and then an incident occurs that adds to Utterson's suspicion of Hyde. A man amed Mr. Carew was delivering an envelope to Mr. Utterson but was delivering an envelope to Mr. Utterson but was murdered by Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde and an inspector go tohis house to find that he isn't there. They search the rooms of the house and find a piece  of the murder weapon which further adds to the suspicion. Now they have to figure out the whereabouts of Mr. Hyde, further investigate and solve the case.
These chapters were very intruiging and a quote that caught my attention was "If he be Mr. Hyde," he had thought,"I shall be Mr. Seek" (15). This quote showed that Mr. Utterson knows that something is up with Mr. Hyde and he is determined to find him. It sets up the plot and Utterson's purpose in it. Another quote that caught my attention was, "[...] Mr. Hyde broke out all bounds and clubbed him to the earth. And next mommwnt, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway"(22). This really stunned me and I think it is important because it satisfies Utterson's suspicions and thoughts about Hyde. He is now a suspect and creates the plot even more.
Two questions that I would ask are:
What is the history and background of Hyde and Jekyll, and Utterson and Hyde?
Why is Hyde in Jekyll's will?
Why does Utterson start to investigate Hyde in the first place, and why is he so concerned about Jekyll?