Asher Kramerberry

Gothic Literature
5/12/22
4.05 Review Questions

1. One fiction title by Robert Louis Stevenson is Treasure Island (this was one of my favorite
movies as a child), one poetry title is My Shadow, and one other way he used his writing skills
was to write essays and letters to the press.
2. A famous example of a historical figure accused of being a heretic is Joan of Arc. Joan claimed
to see visions from the archangel, Michael, which instructed her to support Prince Charles and to
recover France from English domination. She participated in and led many battles against the
English before her capture and trail. Joan was convicted by the English as a heretic and was
ultimately burned at the stake over these claims.
3. Henry Jekyll at first acts like a father or familial figure in making arrangements for Hyde in that he
provides for him. Henry makes sure that there is space for him to live, that there are resources
available for him, and that he will have support in a housekeeper.
4. Jekyll’s laboratory is very much a safe haven for him because it’s a place where he can find
solitude and work in peace. In the story, Jekyll describes it as being comfortable and seemingly
wealthy, both of which are attributes which one seeks out in a home. However, his laboratory
could also serve as a “chamber of horrors” because it gives him the space from humanity he
needs in order to get fully immersed in his work, which, much like we saw with Victor in
‘Frankenstein’, ultimately leads to a dangerous place.
5. In the book, Jekyll exhibits the classic signs of addiction when he first begins his
experimentation. He describes himself as being quickly captivated by his project and how he
couldn’t stop himself from continuing to sample on himself. Jekyll even goes as far to call himself
a “slave” (“It was on this side that my new power tempted me until I fell in slavery. I had but to
drink the cup”) to it, implying he felt unable to stop listening to the call of his experimentation. I
think that drug addiction isn’t an uncommon problem in my town, but unfortunately is often met
with a lack of understanding and/or empathy. I think that if Jekyll lived in Eugene and struggled to
fight the impulse to continue his use of the potion, people wouldn’t really care until it became
clear that it was giving him violent impulses and making him dangerous, and then they’d just call
the police or Cahoots on him. In my experience, people don’t really care about someone else’s
battle with addiction until it actively affects them or their loved ones.