Dr. Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case

Dr. Henry Jekyll was born into a rich family. He was smart and he worked hard. He wanted people to respect him. But Dr. Henry Jekyll had a secret. He liked to have fun in ways that were not serious. He hid this side of himself. He felt like he was two different people. In the day, he was a serious doctor. At night, he was a different man. He began to study science to understand this. He learned a great truth. He believed that every man has two natures. One nature is good. The other nature is evil. These two natures are always fighting inside one person. Dr. Henry Jekyll wanted to separate them. He thought life would be easier if the good side and the evil side lived in different bodies. The good man could do good things. The evil man could do bad things without feeling sad. Dr. Henry Jekyll worked in his laboratory. He found a way to change the body. He made a potion (a liquid with special powers). He knew the potion was very dangerous. He knew he could die. One night, he mixed the powders and the liquid. The potion began to smoke and change color. He had a lot of courage. He drank the potion quickly. Suddenly, Dr. Henry Jekyll felt terrible pain. He felt like his bones were breaking. He felt very sick. Then, the pain stopped. He felt young and light and happy. He felt very wicked, but he liked the feeling. He felt free. He looked at his hands. They were smaller and darker. He was now Mr. Edward Hyde. He went to his room and looked in the cheval-glass (a very large mirror). He saw Mr. Edward Hyde for the first time. Mr. Edward Hyde was smaller and younger than Dr. Henry Jekyll. Mr. Edward Hyde looked evil. Most people were afraid of him. But Dr. Henry Jekyll liked his new face. It was a part of him. Mr. Edward Hyde was pure evil. He drank the potion again. He became Dr. Henry Jekyll once more. He lived two lives now. He bought a small house for Mr. Edward Hyde in Soho. He told his servants that Mr. Edward Hyde was his friend. He felt safe. If he did something bad as Mr. Edward Hyde, he could run to the laboratory. He could drink the potion and disappear. Then, he was just Dr. Henry Jekyll again. But Mr. Edward Hyde was a cruel man. He liked to hurt people. Dr. Henry Jekyll was shocked by the things Mr. Edward Hyde did. But Dr. Henry Jekyll did not stop him. He thought only Mr. Edward Hyde was guilty. One morning, something strange happened. Dr. Henry Jekyll woke up in his bed. He looked at his hand. It was the hairy, dark hand of Mr. Edward Hyde! He did not take the potion that night. He was very afraid. He ran to his laboratory and took the medicine. He became Dr. Henry Jekyll again. But he knew that Mr. Edward Hyde was becoming stronger. Dr. Henry Jekyll decided to choose his good side. For two months, he was a good man. He helped the poor and he was a good friend. He did not take the potion. But he became bored. He wanted to be wicked again. He took the potion one night. Mr. Edward Hyde came out angry and wild. That night, Mr. Edward Hyde killed an old man named Sir Danvers Carew. After the murder, Dr. Henry Jekyll was terrified. He was afraid of the police. He promised never to become Mr. Edward Hyde again. He worked hard to be a good person. One day, he sat on a bench in a park. He was thinking about how good he was. Suddenly, he felt a terrible nausea. He looked down at his hands. He changed into Mr. Edward Hyde in the middle of the day! He could not go to his house because the police were waiting for him. He was a murderer. He needed his drugs from the laboratory. He went to a hotel and wrote a letter to Dr. Lanyon. He asked his friend to go to the laboratory and get the drawer. That night, at Dr. Lanyon’s house, he became Dr. Henry Jekyll again. But the change was happening more often. Soon, he had to take the potion every six hours. If he fell asleep, he woke up as Mr. Edward Hyde. He was tired and very sick. Mr. Edward Hyde hated Dr. Henry Jekyll. He wrote bad words in the doctor’s books. Dr. Henry Jekyll hated Mr. Edward Hyde too. He was a prisoner in his own house. Then, a final problem happened. The medicine began to run out. Dr. Henry Jekyll sent Poole to every chemist in London. He wanted to buy more salt for the potion. But the new salt did not work. Dr. Henry Jekyll realized something. The first salt he used was not pure. The impurity (a small part of something that is not clean or right) made the medicine work. Now, he is writing this story. He is using the last of the old powder. When he finishes this letter, he will become Mr. Edward Hyde forever. He does not know what Mr. Edward Hyde will do. Perhaps he will die on the gallows. Perhaps he will kill himself. But Dr. Henry Jekyll’s life is over. He says goodbye.

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The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

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