Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 494.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde takes place in London in the nineteenth century. Dr. Henry Jekyll, a respected scientist, is doing research into human nature. He believes that human beings have a good and evil side and that these sides are always in conflict. Dr. Jekyll's colleagues disagree with his ideas and disapprove of his research. So Dr. Jekyll starts doing secret experiments on himself to prove his ideas. He takes special medicine which changes not only his character, but also his appearance. For a short time after he takes the medicine, he becomes Mr. Hyde, an evil man who looks frightening, has a violent personality and commits terrible crimes.
Later, friends think something strange is happening when Dr. Jekyll rewrites his will, leaving everything to Mr. Hyde, a man they do not know. They worry more when the police start asking questions about Mr. Hyde. Who is this stranger who is never seen at the same time as Dr. Jekyll? They think that Dr. Jekyll may be protecting Hyde from the police, or that Hyde is blackmailing Dr. Jekyll.
Dr. Jekyll has now proved that human nature is both good and evil, but soon he starts to enjoy being Mr. Hyde. He changes into Mr. Hyde more often and finds it more difficult to change back into Mr. Jekyll.
Eventually Dr. Jekyll changes into Mr. Hyde without taking any medicine and finds he cannot change back again. This means that he cannot leave his house, because someone might see him and he might be arrested. The story ends badly for “both” characters.
Definitions:
| admit | agree or say that something is true, although you do not want to |
| biography | a book about a person's life |
| knock (v) | hit a door with your hand in order to attract someone's attention |
| permanently | for all future time, or for a very long time |
| profession | a job that needs special education and training |
| recuperate | to spend time getting better after an illness, injury, etc. |
| respectable | behaving in a way that people think is socially acceptable or morally right |
| appearance | the way that someone or something looks or seems to other people |
| blackmail | to make someone pay you money or do what you want by threatening to tell secrets about them |
| colleague | someone you work with . |
| commit a crime | do something illegal |
| human nature | behaviour, faults qualities. etc. that are typical of ordinary people |
| in conflict | a situation of disagreement or fighting between people or groups or ideas |
| personality | someone's character, especially the way they behave towards other people |
| will (n.) | a legal document in which you say who you want to give your money and property to after you die |
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