Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Plot and character analysis

[@tbone2885]

Despite Frankenstein or Dracula overshadowing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I've always enjoyed Stevenson's story more. Its pithy narrative takes just enough of Frankenstein's philosophical ponderings and Dracula's dread, while adding its own struggle of the noble soul makes it a must read. Thanks for the analysis Dr. Masson.

[@avcbsalvador6791]

Perfect class, teacher

[@nledaig]

Plot is not the same as storyline. Plot is the angle, order, means by which the story is presented. Plot is a technique. Plot uses minor techniques such as foreshadowing, flashback, point-of-view etc. By the way Utterson is mocking himself when he refers to Cain. It's not Stevenson mocking the character, it's the character mocking himself. Lawyers, especially criminal lawyers, are bound to be involved with criminals. I do not agree with anything you say about Utterson. There is no Dr Hyde in the novel. Hyde is given no professional title. Utterson's reaction to the cane is very normal - for most of us. It's a gift that has been used in a murder.. I'd feel "involved" if I was him.

[@LitProf]

You can come up with your own definitions if you want. Plot is not a technique by any traditional literary definition. Having said that I think that while your interpretation is plausible, there is Mr Hyde. And it is Dr Jekyll.

[@nledaig]

You said Dr Hyde. I'll put it down to a slip of the tongue. There would have been a social distinction quite clear to Stevenson between Dr and Mr. Anyway. Here is a brief storyline: A man who cannot fight in a civil war is nonetheless a zealous believer in the cause of his compatriots and tries to do his best for the cause short of joining the military. One day an agent provocateur inveigles him into committing himself into an act of sabotage but he is caught and strung up by the opposing military on the structure he attempted to destroy. As he falls through the air his senses become preternaturally sharpened and his desire for life is so great that he imagines himself escaping. Alas... I'm sure you recognise the storyline as it is famous. That's it before the technique of plot is applied to it. What a pity a prof cannot see that plot is a technique whereas storyline is just a set of bones.@@LitProf

[@LitProf]

@nledaig Just from the internet. A plot is not a technique. It is the way of telling a story. But maybe we mean the same thing…. “Plot is a literary device that writers use to structure what happens in a story. However, there is more to this device than combining a sequence of events. Plots must present an event, action, or turning point that creates conflict or raises a dramatic question, leading to subsequent events that are connected to each other as a means of “answering” the dramatic question and conflict. The arc of a story’s plot features a causal relationship between a beginning, middle, and end in which the conflict is built to a climax and resolved in conclusion.”