QURTABA UNIVERSITY

Submitted By :SHOAIB ULLAH

Submitted To : MAM YASEENA
Program : Bs English
SUBJECT :POPULAR FICTION
PAPER : POPULAR FICTION
ID : 13607
Semester :5 th
Question No # 1
How does Stevenson present Victorian London
in the novel Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and
Mr.Hyde?

ANS: Stevenson present Victorian London:

The setting for Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is
Victorian London, which was in many ways a very different place
from the city we know today. Many people believe that Stevenson
transposed his tale to London in order to gain wider appeal, but
that he had his native Edinburgh in his mind. Dickens had already
achieved great success by setting several of his novels in London,
and Conan Doyle would go one step further by incorporating
several real London venues into his Sherlock Holmes stories,
published a year after Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. London clearly seems
to have been a winning formula for literary success.
From the 1850s to the turn of the century, British
society outwardly displayed values of sexual restraint, low
tolerance of crime, religious morality and a strict social code of
conduct.
For the middle class in the 19th century, the family
unit and all it stood for was the most important institution in
England. Middle class morality and values were all important -
piano legs were called limbs ("legs" was considered an improper
word), gambling became a sin, and certain things were considered
"not proper". The home and family were sacred, hard work and
perseverance were encouraged, and a stiff authoritarianism
controlled those who might question "the system".
In many ways, the Victorians were hypocrites because
they claimed to be moral and pious in ways they were not. They
shut their eyes to whatever was ugly and unpleasant around them.
In some way, perhaps they hoped to draw attention away from
their own hypocrisies by pointing out the hypocrisies in others. The
pious nature of Victorian society meant that many people
suppressed their desires and feelings. This resulted in many people
questioning their 'goodness' as a human being due to the fact that
religion condemned these 'evil' thoughts.
The nineteenth century was a time of huge social,
scientific and technological change and with that change came an
increase in crime and many social problems. It was the beginning
of the Industrial Revolution, which transformed England from a
mainly rural economy to an industrial one, with thousands of poor
country-folk flocking to the cities in search of work. Foundries and
factories were emerging on an unprecedented scale, and effluent
and raw sewage were being pumped into the River Thames.
Without an infrastructure to support them, many people were
forced to live in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions.
The alleys and courts of the city were dark and dirty;
pollution gave rise to smoke and fog, often associated with crime
and degeneracy. Stevenson uses Chapter 4 ‘The Carew Murder
Case’ in particular to raise awareness of this, when Utterson takes
Inspector Newcomen to Hyde’s house at nine in the morning:
“the fog lifted a little and showed him a dingy street, a gin palace,
a low French eating-house … and the next moment the fog settled
down again on that part, as brown as umber and cut him off from
his blackguardly surroundings.
 Night was seen as a time of lawlessness, mystery and fear.
In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde light and dark are used very effectively to
create atmosphere and reveal character. The two violent episodes
– the trampling of the small girl and the murder of Danvers Carew
– both take place either late at night or in the early hours of the
morning, illuminated by either numerous street lamps (which
would be much less bright and more yellow than we are used to
today) or a full moon.
Q no 2(a): Critically evaluate the character of Judge Lawrence
Wargrave?
ANS: Justice Lawrence Wargrave: A recently retired judge,
Wargrave is intelligent, cold, and commanding. During his years on the
bench, he had a reputation as a “hanging judge” a judge who persuaded
juries to bring back guilty verdicts and sentenced many convicted
criminals to death. Christie describes Wargrave as wizened and ugly,
with a frog like face

CRITICAL ANALYSYS: A vigilante is a person who takes the law

into their own hands, often leading to an innocent person becoming
harmed or threatened. Vigilantes often act for the greater good, without
abiding by the law. In the novel, And Then There Were None, by Agatha
Christie, letters signed by an unknown U.N. Owen are received by nine
victims, each letter consisting of an invitation to visit his/ her so-called
“summer home” on August 8th. After all guests arrive at the home, a
series of phenomenal murders begin to occur, leaving all ten bodies
(including the murderer himself) dead within a few days of their arrival.
After Vera Claythorne, Owen’s “secretary” commits suicide by hanging
herself, the murderer, who was thought to be dead, comes out of hiding
to complete the unsolvable mystery. U.N. Owen’s invitation resulted in
ten dead corpses and an unsolvable murder scene.
One reason Wargrave is not justified is because he took the law into his
own hands, after a fair trial had found all of the characters innocent. All
citizens of the United States are to be equally treated by the law, and no
person can override that. Even the president of the country must abide
by the legal laws. All people who have committed a crime are to go
through a process to determine their guilt or innocence. It is also true
that all people are innocent until proven guilty, all with an equal right to
a court trial. Judge Wargrave was the one who sentenced Seton. Seton
was given a fair trial, even though evidence turned up later, the judge
had made the correct call on innocence. .

Wargrave turned murder into a big game. They were all

brought to Soldier Island. All of the murders corresponded with the
Soldier Island poem that was mounted in the rooms of the mansion.
Also, there were the little toy figures, and one by one they disappeared
along with the real humans themselves. Justice Wargrave only
disobeyed the law even more by trying to act for the greater good, and
do them justice. As God tells us, we are to love our enemies as
ourselves, rather than to condemn them. Justice Lawrence Wargrave is
not justified because he went against what God’s law states and
disobeyed more laws in the process.

No matter what is believed, if not proven guilty in trial, no person

is justified to kill others on their own reasoning and opinion after the
person has gone through a fair trial in court. Justice Wargrave wanted
justice to all who deserved it, but by killing nine others, along with
himself, what good came out of it? The characters were not given a
chance to repent; for everyone is a sinner and Wargrave only made it
worse for himself. No one is justified for murder because the law and
court allows every criminal a fair and equal trial. Wargrave chose the
path that only leads to more pain and suffering, though God rewards
those who love their enemies and don’t choose murder as their option.
Just like other vigilantes, who feel they have the authorities to override
the law, Wargrave went to the extent of killing many men and women
based on his own assumptions. A person cannot take the law into their
own hands and take on all personas of police, judge, and jury

Q no 2(b):Write a note on any of the character you

liked amongst all in that island?

ANS: I like the character of EMILY BRENT and VERA in the novel “And
Then There Were None”:
I usually like characters who are interesting, in this book- all
were interesting but Emily and Vera fascinated me the most. Emily's stiff
up a lip appearance, quiet and unemotional and then Vera's guilty
conscience that haunted her throughout the story. I wanted to hear
more about Emily, it would have been nice to see her play a bigger role
perhaps. Yet, on the other hand, I think she was one of those suspicious
characters sloted in the story to lead you off track, only mentioned
slightly at the appropriate moments throughout the book.
Since the beginning I wanted to see how an old polite lady
like Emily Brent would fit into this story, and she is one of the most
interesting for me. She doesn't regret what she did because she believes
that she is right. She has conviction, she acts according to her logic, to
what is right for her. She may be wrong sometimes, but everybody is
wrong about something in life.
I liked Vera because of her no nonsense appearance, but
then because of how she evolves into a nut. She freaked out and gets on
the defensive more so than the rest. And she discovers that the deaths
are like the poem lines. And finally because of her guilt about what she
did. I just really liked her, and never once did it cross my mind that she
did it. She was too genuine I didn't think she'd go so far, and it was clear
for me that she wasn't the murderer. And maybe because of this I
wasn't expecting her breakdown, not like what happened, at least. That
was a surprise!
Vera, by far. You see, she's a seemingly innocent governess at
the beginning but as we delve into her past, we do realize she's actually
a cold hearted villainess who would do ANYTHING for her lover. She sure
shows regret throughout the novel but I wonder how their lives would
be like if Hugo hadn't realized what she's done. She just seemed, if not
for the murder she let happen, innocent. To me she came off as the
person that was most vulnerable. I felt there were many chances to kill
her off, but Wargrave obviously depended on her guilt to do that for
him. She was the character I rooted for the entire time, knew wasn't the
murderer and so badly wanted to live.

Q no 4: Explain the characters in Strange Case Of Dr.Jekyll And

Mr. Hyde in the light of Sigmund Fried’s Psycho analytic theory?

ANS: Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory: According to Freud’s

psychoanalytic theory, personality develops through a series of stages,
each characterized by a certain internal psychological conflict.

Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that

human behaviour is the result of the interactions among three
component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and superego. This theory,
known as Freud’s structural theory of personality, places great emphasis
on the role of unconscious psychological conflicts in shaping behavior
and personality. Dynamic interactions among these fundamental parts
of the mind are thought to progress through five distinct psychosexual
stages of development. Over the last century, however, Freud’s ideas
have since been met with criticism, in part because of his singular focus
on sexuality as the main driver of human personality development.
And Then There Were None Characters Resemblance
With Freudian Psycho Analytic Theory
While R. L. Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was
published a few years prior to Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory, it
bears a strong resemblance to his explanation of the development of
behavior. At first glance, the novella may come off simply as an early
science fiction story of a scientist whose potion came with unforeseen
detrimental side effects. This may be one base-level way to understand
the plot, but the progression of psychological research opened new
avenues to thinking about the relationship between the infamous Jekyll
and Hyde. When considered in conjunction with Freud’s theory, the
story can be interpreted as the internal struggle of Dr. Jekyll’s
unconscious mind.
Freud’s theory of the unconscious mind includes three main
components: the id, the ego, and the superego. Together, these are
referred to as “the psychic apparatus” (McLeod). The id can be
associated with pleasure; it is the unconscious force that drives us
toward our intrinsic needs, importantly sexual and aggressive, but also
our wants and desires. It seeks instant gratification, and therefore needs
a moderator .In contrast to this, the superego is our mind’s sense of
morality, typically learned from our parents. It urges us to go about
satisfying our needs in a manner that is socially acceptable (Siegfried 2).
Finally, the ego becomes the balance between the instinct of the id and
the morality of the superego. While the id wants to fulfill its needs
immediately without hesitation, and the superego wants to uphold
social and cultural norms, the ego acts as the referee between the two
and helps us satisfy our needs while still acting socially and morally
appropriate .Of the three components, the ego is the one that enters
everyday reality; the behavior that we exhibit to the world is the result
of the ego’s moderation of the id and the superego.

Q no 3(a) How does Stevenson maintained reader’s interest in

his novel by using mystery, explain with details?
ANS: Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde is a novella that follows the basic outline established by Mary
Shelley in Frankenstein. However, Stevenson’s monster is not created
from body parts but comes from the dark side of the human
personality. In both novels, a man conducts a secret experiment that
gets out of control. The result of these experiments is the release of a
double, or doppelganger, which causes damage to their creator. While
most people think that The Strange
Stevenson keeps the readers interested by using the
supernatural and horror side of things to make it scary because when
the story first came out they weren’t used to scary stories. He also uses
mysteries to keep the readers wondering, guessing and wanting to
know more. He includes moral messages in the story to keep
people/the readers questioning themselves wondering if they are more
similar to Mr. Hyde than they think.

Stevenson sets all the action in the story during the night. He does
this because the night is dark and concealing which explains the reason
why Stevenson chose to place the action in his story during the night.
The night also makes the story seem more eerie because things can
hide in the dark. It also gives an impression that doors lock away the
secrets people try to hide. When the maid sees the murder at night it’s
as if the window is a shield and you can see them but they can’t see
you. It’s keeping you interested because of the horror aspect of the
windows and doors/doorways but it could also keep you interested
because every time a doorway or window was mentioned you’d know
that something eerie is going to soon happen.
For example the door that Dr. Jekyll uses (during the day) is very
pleasant and nice. “One house, however, second from the corner, was
still occupied entire; and at the door of this, which wore a great air of
wealth and comfort,” Dr. Jekyll enters his door during the day this
reflects upon his character; Jekyll’s character is very comforting, warm
and wealthy, which would explain the reason why his door is described
in this way. The door that Mr. Hyde uses is the opposite to Dr. Jekyll it’s
more dirty, dingy and not as pleasant

(b) What is the difference between Gothic novel and Detective

novel, elaborate with the key elements?
ANS: GOTHIC NOVEL:
GOTHIC NOVEL: Gothic novel, European Romantic pseudo medieval fiction
having a prevailing atmosphere of mystery and terror. Its heyday was the 1790s,
but it underwent frequent revivals in subsequent centuries.such novels commonly
used such settings as castles or monasteries equipped with subterranean
passages, dark battlements, hidden panels, and trapdoors. The vogue was
initiated in England by Horace Walpole’s immensely successful Castle of Otranto
(1765). His most respectable follower was Ann Radcliffe, whose Mysteries of
Udolpho (1794) and Italian (1797) are among the best examples of the genre. A
more sensational type of Gothic romance exploiting horror and violence
flourished in Germany and was introduced to England by Matthew Gregory Lewis
with The Monk (1796)

Elements and Conventions of Gothic Literature:

• Dark, Abandoned, Decaying Settings:
“Gothic” also alludes to a style of grand, ornate architecture in France in
the12th century. In Gothic lit, you see lots of haunted houses,
cobwebbed castles, derelict churches, and other once-glorious
 architecture that has fallen into disrepair. You also see dark, cramped,
and claustrophobic interiors with hidden doors and secret passageways,
settings with hidden skeletons. The outside world in Gothic literature is
usually portrayed as being a dark, wild, and treacherous place full of
wrathful weather, malevolent forests, and ghostly graveyards.
• Romanticized Past:
In line with its settings, Gothic lit often romanticizes and revisits the past.
• Plot conventions:
Common Gothic plots include revenge, familial secrets, prophecies, and
curses. The past is somehow still living, breathing, and controlling the drama.
• Horror:
Gothic lit often elicits intense, suspenseful feelings of fear, shock, dread,
or disgust in the reader.

• Supernatural Beings:
Monsters, demons, witches, ghosts, banshees, vampires, and other
supernatural creatures often play parts in Gothic fiction.

• Explorations of Romance and Sexuality:

During uptight Victorian times, Gothic lit gave authors and readers an
opportunity to explore romance and sexuality, and transgressive thoughts, desires,
and impulses, although usually in fairly heteronormative ways. Gothic sexuality is
usually somewhat repressed—women are expected to be pure and somewhat
helpless while men are expected to be quietly predatory. It's also patriarchal, with
men making moves and women reacting to them.

DETECTIVE NOVEL:
Detective story, type of popular literature in which a crime is introduced and
investigated and the culprit is revealed.
The first detective story was “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe,
published in April 1841. The profession of detective had come into being only a few
decades earlier, and Poe is generally thought to have been influenced by the
Mémoires (1828–29) of François-Eugène Vidocq, who in 1817 founded the world’s
first detective bureau, in Paris. Poe’s fictional French detective, C. Auguste Dupin,
appeared in two other stories, “The Mystery of Marie Roget” (1845) and “The
Purloined Letter” (1845). The detective story soon expanded to novel length
Elements of a Detective Story:

• A detective. Every good detective storyline will have a detective, usually

featured as the protagonist. But putting a private investigator in your story
isn’t as easy as it sounds—you’ll need to develop a character that readers
will enjoy following during an entire novel (or even a series). You should
spend time thinking about your detective’s personality, their motivations,
their background, their strengths, and their weaknesses. You’ll want your
detective to be unique among the other detectives out there.

• A crime. Most detective stories revolve around a central crime or

string of related crimes. Since the crime will be the catalyst of your short
story or novel, it should be interesting, memorable, and seemingly
unsolvable—that way, readers will be so tantalized by the mystery of it
that they’ll need to keep reading. A dead body i s a very common crime
in detective fiction, but there are plenty of other options—from
robberies to disappearances.

• Suspects. Many detective stories include an array of suspects that could

have committed the crime (either they have weak alibis or have a history of
lying). Your suspects are a vital part of your detective story because they
serve as red herrings (or distractions) that will direct readers’ attention
away from the true culprit. Some mystery novels, however, don’t have any
suspects—this is a deliberate choice by crime writers that serves to
heighten the tension in the story, but if your story doesn’t have any
suspects, you’ll have to find creative ways to keep the case from going
cold.
• An antagonist. Every good detective story—and every good story in
general—has an antagonist or the person whose goals are in direct
conflict with the antagonist’s. Traditionally, the antagonist is the true
culprit for the story’s crime (or crimes), but that’s not who your
antagonist has to be; the antagonist of your story could be a police
officer who wants to solve the crime first or someone who knows the
identity of the culprit and is trying to cover it up.

• A setting. The setting is a very important part of any detective story

because the action in most detective stories takes place on the streets of
its location, and therefore the stories are inextricably linked to the time
and place they are set in and are memorable because of those details.

THE END