Littérature en langue étrangère

          " The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde" is a short story written by Robert L. Stevenson in 1886. This is the story of Gabriel John Utterson, who investigates the bond between Edward Hyde and the docteur Henry Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll is a person obsessed with his double personality; he makes a potion to separate the good and the bad aspects in him. But night after night, Jekyll will turn into a monster : Mister Hyde.

     In the story there are so, two people ; Dr. Jekyll, a scientist. He decides one day to make a potion in order to separate his two personalities. And Mr. Hyde, the monster created by Dr. Jekyll ; he is a murderer.

     Several movies were created from this book. So I chose to speak about the evolution of those two person through time.

First I'm going to speak about Dr. Jekyll :

          In 1931, we can see in this picture the aspect of the cruetly in him : He has a very mean-looking stare and he seems terrifying with his syringe. In 2008, we can see that seems normal but he still has that same look. 

Next, I'm going to speak about Mr. Hyde (the monster) : 

In 1931, we can see a ridiculous monster, he is really hairy and he has a crooked teeth. His face is distorted. He isn't very terrifying but he's rather funny. In 2008, he isn't ridiculous, we can see that he's not exactly a monster, because he still human but he frightens. 

In conclusion the characters of the doctor hasn't change a lot but Mr. Hyde's character has. Indeed special effect had been developed through time as well as the developement of color. The physical aparence of the two personage is in agrrement with the book in the version of 1931.

dr_Jekyll_and_hyde

   Füssli - The Nightmare  (1781)

This picture was painted  by Johann Heinrich Füssli, a Swiss painter and writer, in 1781. This painting became famous since its exhibition at the Royal Academy of London in England in 1782.

First, we can see on this picture three characters : One woman, one mare, and one devil, more precisely an incubus ( creature which preys on the body of a sleeping woman to assault her sexually)

We are going to speak about the different characters and the interpretations of this picture.

At first, we can see young woman who attracts our attention because the light focuses on her, exactly on her neck (bare)  the symbol of feminity . She seems dead because she is laying still with head thrown back. We can also think so because on the small table, there is a vial, maybe filled with some poison that she took. She is dressed in white which states indirectly the innocence and the vulnerability of the woman.

Next,  we can see an incubus who is squatting on the young woman. He seems to be angry and he stares at the spectator.  We can see his shadow on the bottom of the picture which creates a form of symmetry. He looks unhappy because he was probably disturbed in his action.

Similarly, the mare who is most likely white, is also a witness of the scene like the spectator.  

I like this picture because I love the difference between the innocence of the woman and the diabolic aspect of the incubus. But  I don't like the devil's look. I found that terrifying ! 

Jacqueline Woodson " My crazy beautiful world " 

I read "My crazy beautiful world" the short story written by Jacqueline Woodson. I think that this story is very important for Jacqueline Woodson because she delivers own story. Indeed, she speaks about her family, mainly about her sister, Dana. We can see during the text a form of jealousy in regards to Dana. However she still loves her family and her sister.

In her text, she uses a descriptive style and many details. For example throughout the text, she describes her sister, as well as her friends and her family. We can put ourselves in the head of the character throught the descriptions. Jacqueline Woodson also uses several themes like freedom (when she's on the street in summer for example and when she's feet bare) or also the theme of family ( which is present all along the story of her life)

I really like when she's in the street, when the truck with black brushes taking the trash splashes her, because in this moment, we can really feel the happiness and the well-being of Angela. Effectively , she's simply free and she loves it ! 

I recommend this story for people who want to read a book with many descriptions. The story show us different feelings like self-assurance or insecurity. That's why this story is very interesting.

The short story is very good, i love it . Read it, really.