The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

When I was in the 6th or 7th grade, I’d always reprimand myself for not reading great classics like Anna Karenina, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Now that I've grown older, I now see that reading these types of classics was probably not a good idea. Thankfully I didn't  especially now learning the plot themes to Anna Karenina revolve around adultery, and death.

Now moving from Karenina to Jekyll. I had always been fascinated with Jekyll and Hyde ever since seeing them as animated characters on Arthur. Actually, watching Arthur as a child was how I learned of most historical people or things like  Edgar Allen Poe, the opera Carmen, Yo Yo Ma, Joshua Redman etc. When I saw Jekyll and Hyde, I was fascinated how they were actually the same person, one was normal, and the other was evil.

Finally, I took it upon myself to start reading the book, and I was nervous. I was afraid that the book wouldn't hold the same appeal as it did for me when I was a child. I was hoping that the language and the unfamiliar vocabulary wouldn't prevent me from truly enjoying the book the way it was meant to be. Often times I wish I could be transported to the era when a classic book was written and published by the author. If I was born into Shakespearean times, I wouldn't have to struggle to read Romeo and Juliet,  A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, or Macbeth! Anyway, after reading Jekyll and Hyde, I was pleasantly surprised, the vocab and the language was naturally unfamiliar, but the plot caught my attention more than the language did. I read The Strange Case with the same enthusiasm of reading a current, newly released book. When mom had to interrupt me, I had the same sentiments of being stopped at a really good part (No offense mom :D ). I really enjoyed it, even though I already knew what happened in the end.

I don’t judge a book by its advanced themes and motifs intricately threaded throughout the delicate web of the story, or base my opinions by psychoanalyzing the character’s interactions and cross-referencing said interactions to the conclusion of the book! If a novel has captured your attention, and kept it to the end (without too many distractions ), then it’s done its job. If a story has pulled you into the world within its pages, and makes you fall for the characters, then it’s a success. Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has undeniably proved his book as a classic for past and present readers!

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