Robert Louis Stevenson - 5417 Words

When one reads the nonfiction work of Robert Louis Stevenson along with the novels and short stories, a more complete portrait emerges of the author than that of the romantic vagabond one usually associates with his best-known fiction. The Stevenson of the nonfiction prose is a writer involved in the issues of his craft, his milieu, and his soul. Moreover, one can see the record of his maturation in critical essays, political tracts, biographies, and letters to family and friends. What Stevenson lacks, especially for the tastes of this age, is specificity and expertise: he has not the depth of such writers as John Ruskin, Walter Pater, or William Morris. But he was a shrewd observer of humankind, and his essays reveal his lively and†¦show more content†¦He pretends to analyze marriage in Virginibus Puerisque and the relationship between old and young in Crabbed Age and Youth; he mounts a pseudophilosophical defense of sloth in An Apology for Idlers and humorously advocates t he old method of illuminating cities in A Plea for Gas Lamps. In Childs Play, El Dorado, and Pans Pipes, the author seems more entranced with the flight of his own rhetoric than he does with the topic at hand. There is a more serious side to the collection as well: in Aes Triplex and Ordered South Stevenson deals with his physical frailty and the trips away from Scotlands rugged winters he had taken for his health. As a boy, Stevenson had been to the Continent several times, and he grew up to love purposeless, rambling tours across Europe. In An Inland Voyage (1878), written from a journal he had kept of a trip down the French river Oisà © with his friend Walter Simpson, Stevenson glories in the slow pace of his vagabond life traveling through France. The young author expresses pleasure at having been suspected of being a Prussian spy by the French gendarmes and pride at having endured hunger, cold, and misery on a journey that, from Stevensons account, sounds like one of the oddest and most aimless ever undertaken. The publication of An Inland Voyage was significant: it was his first full-length book and was reviewed kindly by theShow MoreRelated`` Requiem `` By Robert Louis Stevenson Essay1534 Words   |  7 Pagesthink of when one brings up Robert Louis Stevenson? Perhaps his great works, Treasure Island or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Maybe his successful and adventurous life, full of travel and fame (Editors). What one may not think of is the areas of his life that were wrought with disease, struggle and homesicknes s. Stevenson’s life was full of adventure, but much of it was as a result of him attempting to escape his tubercular existence (Bosch). The themes presented in Robert Louis Stevenson’s lesser knownRead MoreRobert Louis Stevenson Influences1344 Words   |  6 PagesExternal Influences on Stevenson’s Writings â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde† by Robert Louis Stevenson was a familiar title to me and prior to reading it I believed I was well versed about the story. I knew that Dr. Jekyll was an intelligent man who experimented with the idea of creating a more powerful version of him that would release his deepest inhibitions. In addition, I believed that the people of the town were not fully aware of Mr. Hyde, only that there was a monsterRead MoreThe Life and Writings of Robert Louis Stevenson2668 Words   |  11 PagesRobert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson is one of the greatest authors to hail from Britain. His writings have been enjoyed by countless since he masterfully wrote them down. Stevenson uses characterization, imagery, and conflict to keep his readers captivated by his works in Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Kidnapped. Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850 in Scotland. Being the only son of a famous civil engineer, Stevenson was expected to continueRead MoreSummary Of Kidnapped By Robert Louis Stevenson1125 Words   |  5 PagesRachel Alarcio Title: Kidnapped Setting: (Where) The novel primarily takes place in the Highlands and off the northern coast of Scotland, with the minority taking place in the Scottish Lowlands. Protagonist(s): David Balfour Period: Two Author: Robert Louis Stevenson (When) The story takes place from June 1751 through the end of August 1751. Antagonist(s): Ebenezer Balfour Describe the relationship between the protagonist and antagonist. The relationship between David Balfour and his uncle Ebenezer BalfourRead MoreAnalysis Of Mr. Hyde By Robert Louis Stevenson1291 Words   |  6 Pageslessons. From astronomic leviathans, such as IshirÃ…  Honda s Godzilla who educate about great responsibility, or the plesiosaurus of Ray Bradbury, who give windows into the minds of the lonely, to the horrors of the subconscious, exemplified by Robert Louis Stevenson’s Mr. Hyde, horrors have deeper concepts to them that educate in an allegoric fashion. Human nature has always presented a natural love for fantastic stories, and many elders use these parables to disarm listeners and scare the messageRead MoreRobert Louis Stevenson s Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1305 Words   |  6 Pagestransform out of all recognition. In 1886, a popular novelist, Robert Louis Stevenson, wrote his book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The novel was a smash hit because it appealed to the feelings society was already experiencing; the fear and anxiety of th e evolving modern city. During this time, a higher percentage of people were literate and excited to read, which is another reason why the novel was so popular. It is evident to readers that Stevenson was skeptical of progress during his time period. In hisRead MoreThe Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson2251 Words   |  10 PagesThe Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson When asked this question, the immediate answer is, yes. Robert Louis Stevenson uses the features of a conventional horror story, which were very popular at the time, but also uses the story to raise social issues and make criticisms about the hypocrisy and double standards of Victorian society, in general, and Victorian London in particular. The first aspect of horror to be noticed is that the mainRead More Evil Personas in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson1503 Words   |  7 PagesEvil Personas in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Some believe that every individual has an evil persona trapped inside that is just waiting to get out! This may be true for some but it may also just be another excuse for one to commit evil deeds. In the novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a prominent doctor (Dr. Jekyll) conducts a scientific experiment in which he compounds a certain mixture he consumes and transforms into an ugly, repulsiveRead More How Does Robert Louis Stevenson use literary techniques to illustrate2496 Words   |  10 PagesHow Does Robert Louis Stevenson use literary techniques to illustrate the social, historical and moral points he is trying to make in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? Throughout the Novella, ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, the author Robert Louis Stevenson uses a wide range of literary techniques in a skilful and sophisticated way to help achieve his effects and put his points across. Stevenson’s unique use of language is vital to the success of the Novella, with the structural and linguistic devices playingRead More The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson2416 Words   |  10 PagesThe Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Good and bad. Pure and evil. Right and wrong. Joy and despair. These are all themes Robert Louis Stevenson addresses in his novel, â€Å"The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde† Robert Louis Stevenson presents the view that no human has the capacity to be completely good or completely bad. Instead human nature is shown to exhibit both good and bad with dynamic results. Human nature encourages us to feel and experience