Jekyll and Hyde Response 4

Author’s Note:
After reading the final chapter of the book it seems like a main theme to the novel was temptation. The last chapter talks a lot about Jekyll giving into temptation to turn into Hyde. I decided to write a poem based off of temptation’s effect on Dr. Jekyll.


Pressuring from within,
Urging to do wrong.
Temptation is here,
Whispering in each ear.

Taking over the weak,
Hardly resisted by the strong,
Temptation has grown,
Joy has been overthrown.

Forcing pure evil,
Erasing all good,
Temptation is taking its toll,
Overtaking the soul.

Offering life to cruelty,
Killing hope of happiness,
Temptation has won the war,
Jekyll exists no more.

Jekyll and Hyde 3

Author’s Note:
After reading “Dr. Lanyons Narrative” I found that knowledge can be very harmful to life. Lanyon didn’t want to know what was going on with Jekyll, but once he found out, and gained knowledge of a horrifying thing occurring in his world. This motivated me to write about how harmful knowledge can be to us.

As children, we are unaware, oblivious, and innocent to all evil in the world. Suddenly, there is a point where we realize and recognize the corruptness of the world. What is it that kills our carefree, innocent childhood? Knowledge. Although it is arguably thought to be one of the greatest things in life, it is secretly knowledge that ruins life. Yes, knowledge is needed in the world, but without it the innocent childhood’s that we all miss would live on. It is knowledge that comes into our perfect little worlds and informs us of the evil that exists.

This whole concept may sound a bit childish, but it exists all throughout life, not just during our young years. When Lanyon has the opportunity to give Hyde the potion and walk away or watch him to see what he does with it, he is confronted with the importance of knowledge. Hyde tells him that if he chooses to gain the knowledge of the mysteries of Jekyll and Hyde he “shall so prefer to choose, a new province of knowledge and new avenues to fame and power shall be laid open, in this room, upon this instant; and sight shall be blasted by a prodigy to stagger the unbelief of Satan” (101). Lanyon is forced, if he chooses to gain the knowledge, to be exposed to evil things that he never could have imagined existed in the world. The same thing that happened with Lanyon is what happens all the time today; there is some sinful action that is unimaginable to a person, until the destructive knowledge notifies them of the real evil that occurs in our world.

Jekyll and Hyde 2

Making days turn dark and dreary,
Creating an atmosphere that’s mysterious and eerie.
Bringing a sense that evil is around,
In it comes settling low to the ground.

Vision is blurred,
Sounds can hardly be heard.
All happiness is gone,
But feelings of death live on.

Sucking all hope from earth,
Sinful acts are ready for birth.
Everything good seems to be hidden,
Yet shining brightly is everything forbidden.

Thoughts vanish, along with control,
Minds get lost, in this black hole.
Shadowing over love and joy,
Here lies the fog, ready to destroy.

Authors Note: While reading I noticed that many times fog was present during the times when bad things were happening or when somebody evil was around. It inspired me to write this poem about the impact of fog.

Jekyll and Hyde Response 1

Author’s Note:
After reading the first chapter of Jekyll and Hyde, I was inspired to write about how people are very much unknown, and there is a side to people that remains unseen. It raises the question about how much do we truly know about people and their personalities, and how much remains hidden under the surface.

How much do we truly know about the people that we see every day? Sure, we think we know everything about our friends, but how can we be sure? The first chapter of Jekyll and Hyde makes you realize that we can be very easily deceived, and we can easily misinterpret a person’s true personality. Utterson has convinced himself that he loves Jekyll, but he has also convinced himself that he hates Hyde. How can this be if they are really the same person? This is the question Stevenson wants us to ask. We may know and become friends with what we think to be a person, but in truth it is only one side of that person that we have come to like. They may be hiding a whole other side that shows a completely different person.

It’s amazing how easily people can hide their true personality. Jekyll’s friends, such as Utterson, only know one side of the man who they call their friend. Jekyll comes across as a very kind and smart gentlemen, yet he is the same man as the cold-hearted, horrifying Hyde. The scary thing is, is that he is able to hold this double identity without allowing anybody to know. This represents all of humanity. Obviously, at least I hope, nobody is actually two people, but what is being shown is that everybody has two sides to them, and many times one side goes unseen, even though it strongly exists within that person.

Short Story

Author's Note: I really enjoyed writing this short story. My goal was to take a very happy moment, and turn it very tragic. Also, I wanted to demonstrate that no matter what, we are never safe, and our life can be taken from us at any time.

It’s been years since setting foot on American soil. Finally, he’s home, home in this country of freedom, this country of peace, this country of love. He thought of the faces, the faces of his family, his family that he hasn’t talked to since his departure to fight for the freedom of his country. Thinking about reuniting with the ones he loves, his emotions poured out of his body. Tears of pure joy dripped down his face, rolled down his cheek, and fell gently to the soft, warm ground.

After a few minutes of switching thoughts back and forth between the horrors of the past two years and the joys to come in the near future, he got in his car and headed for home. The memories of war once again come into mind. Thinking back he remembers it all: the gunfire, the explosions, the blood, and worst of all the presence of death. “No, it didn’t happen. None of it. I didn’t kill anybody, I didn’t watch my friends die, and I didn’t see blood pour out of the bodies of innocent people.” He spoke to himself, whispering, whispering it to himself; but in his mind was a strange sense of uncertainty that frightened him. The truth he knew, but he acted as if he didn’t. He ensured himself that he just went over seas for a vacation. By keeping these memories out of his head he was not only able to survive life, but he was able to actually enjoy it.

Highly anticipating the surprise that he would deliver as he walked in the front door, he continued to get more and more excited as he got closer and closer. In his mind he began to imagine the reactions. How happy mom would be, to know that her boy was safe and free from danger, and how proud dad would be, to know that his son successfully served for their country with bravery and courage. Lastly, he thought of little sis’. He thought back to how much she looked up on him, and how much she appreciated the precious, loving care that he used to give her every day. Every single day, from start to finish. Oh, how he would love to feel her soft cheeks again, or just hear her little giggle. The warming sensation of going home continued to grow, and this time he didn’t allow it to get interrupted by awful memories of war, this time the memories of war seemed as if they had escaped his mind.

Night had set eerie and dark, exceedingly eerie and dark, when he turned off from the main State Highway and drove up the familiar country road, where the dim and lightly-lit house appeared slightly through the murky night sky. His house became more visible from the headlights of an oncoming truck. Suddenly, the house was hidden in the darkness of the night once again as the truck’s headlights sped onto the same section of pavement as the headlights of his little car.

Looking up he sees the front of a truck heading right in his direction. As the truck comes at him, he looks around. One last time he looks for any sight of his house that he wants so badly to see one last time, but his eyes get lost in the pitch black of the night, and then his vision gets blocked by the grill of the truck that is now crushing through the hood of his car. Slowly, as he flies and twists through the air he begins to remember things again,-- the faces of his family, their great memories, the countless laughs, and his house. However, he soon loses these memories. He suddenly can’t remember the faces that he hasn’t seen in so long, and he can’t remember the fun things they used to do. It seems as if he can faintly hear the laugh of little sis’ when he used to tickle her tummy, except it seems to be more of an evil chuckle. Everything seems to be almost taunting him. Everything he knows, everything he loves, is so close, but just out of grasp. After what felt like an eternity, the car smashes back to the ground.

Right there, just feet away from his house he lays on the road. As the blood pours out of his body, so does one last tear. The tear rushes down the dirty, bloody side of his face, and splashes onto the cold, hard road. Death overtakes him, and simultaneously blood from the drunk truck driver in denial surrounds the body of the young hero, who survived the danger of war, but died in the safety of home.

Mimic Lines from “To Build a Fire” by Jack London

1.) “He spoke to the dog, calling, calling it to him; but in his voice was a strange note of fear that frightened the animal.”

2.) “Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold an gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland.”

3.) “Slowly, as he ploughed and floundered through the snow, he began to see things again—the banks of the creek, the old timber-jams, the leafless aspens, and the sky.”