The end of Robert Louis Stevenson's story: a visitor at midnight, a strange drink, and the true story of Dr Jekyll.
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Ten words for the last episode. Think first — then check with Reveal.
Read the sentence. What does the word in bold mean? Say it, then reveal.
Choose from: a bench · a potion · pure. Say the word, then reveal.
Stevenson's story, told again in easier English. Mr Utterson is at home, reading the two letters. Read each part; after it, try the quick check from memory, then talk about the question.
Mr Utterson opened Dr Lanyon's envelope first. This is what Lanyon wrote.
On 9th January I got a letter from Henry Jekyll. It was very strange. “Lanyon, please help me,” he wrote. “My life is in your hands. Go to my house tonight. Poole will be there. Go into my room and take the fourth drawer from the top. There are some powders, a small bottle and a notebook in it. Take the drawer to your house. At midnight a man will come to you in my name. Give him the drawer. Please, Lanyon — do it for me.”
I thought: Jekyll is mad. But I did it. I went to his house and I took the drawer home. In the bottle there was a red liquid. In the powders there was a white salt. I did not understand. I was a little afraid, so I took my gun.
At midnight, somebody knocked very quietly on the door. There was a small man outside. “Have you come from Dr Jekyll?” I asked. He said yes.
In the light, I looked at him. His face was terrible. I felt cold when he was near me, and I did not know why. And his clothes were very strange — good, expensive clothes, but much too big for him.
“Have you got it?” he cried. “Have you got it?” I showed him the drawer. He took the red liquid and mixed it with a powder in a glass. The drink changed colour — red, then purple, then green.
Then he looked at me. “Now you must choose,” he said. “I can go now, and you will never know. Or you can watch, and you will see something that nobody has ever seen.”
“I want to see,” I said.
He drank the potion. He cried out. He held the table. His face went black, and it began to change — it grew, and moved, and became different. I jumped back against the wall. “Oh God!” I screamed, again and again. There in front of me, white and shaking, was Henry Jekyll!
What he told me in the next hour, I cannot write. I cannot sleep now. I know I will die soon. But I will tell you one thing, Utterson: that man was Hyde — the man who killed Sir Danvers Carew.
1. What did Jekyll ask Lanyon to do?
2. What happened when the small man drank the potion?
1. To take a drawer from Jekyll's room to his own house, and at midnight give it to a man who came in Jekyll's name.
2. His face changed, and he became Dr Jekyll. The small man was Mr Hyde.
Then Mr Utterson opened the last envelope. It was from Henry Jekyll.
I was born into a rich family. I was clever and I worked hard, and people respected me. But I had a secret. I liked some bad pleasures — not terrible things, but things a serious doctor should not do. So I hid them. I had two lives: a good one that everybody saw, and a bad one that nobody saw.
I started to think: every person is two people, a good one and a bad one. What if I could separate them? Then the good man could do good things, and the bad man could do bad things, and nobody would feel sorry or ashamed.
I was a scientist, so I began to experiment. After a long time, I made a potion. I knew it was dangerous — perhaps it could kill me. But one night, very late, I drank it.
First there was terrible pain. Then it stopped, and I felt something new — young, light and free. And I knew that I was bad, ten times more bad than before. And I liked it. I looked down: I was smaller.
I went to my bedroom, and for the first time I saw Edward Hyde in the mirror. He was small and young, because my bad side was small and young — I did not use it much. He was ugly. But I was not afraid of him. I thought: This is me too.
Then I drank the potion again, and I was Henry Jekyll again. It worked! Now I could be Hyde at night and Jekyll in the day. I bought the house in Soho for Hyde. I wrote the will for him. When Hyde did bad things, I thought: It's not me. It's Hyde.
1. Why did Jekyll make the potion?
2. Why was Hyde smaller and younger than Jekyll?
1. Because he wanted to separate the good man and the bad man in him, so each one could be free.
2. Because Jekyll's bad side was small and young — he did not use it much in his life.
Then one morning I woke up in my bed and looked at my hand. It was not my hand. It was small and hairy. It was Hyde's hand! I did not drink the potion — but I was Hyde. I was very frightened.
I understood: Hyde was getting stronger. I had to choose — Jekyll or Hyde. I chose Jekyll. For two months I was good. But I did not sell the house in Soho, and I did not throw away Hyde's clothes. And one night, I drank the potion again.
Hyde came out wild and angry. That night he killed Sir Danvers Carew. Afterwards I cried and prayed. I locked the laboratory door and I broke the key. Never again, I thought.
For some weeks I was good. Then one sunny January day, I was sitting on a bench in the park. And suddenly — without the potion — I changed. My clothes were too big. My hands were hairy. I was Hyde, in the middle of London, and everybody was looking for Hyde.
I could not go home, because my servants knew Hyde was a murderer. So I wrote to Lanyon. You know what happened next.
After that, I changed all the time — in the day, in the night, every time I slept. I needed more and more potion. Then the old salt was finished. Poole bought new salt from every chemist in London, but it did not work. Now I know: the first salt was not pure. That is why it worked. And I cannot find it again.
This is my last powder. In half an hour I will be Hyde for ever. Will Hyde die for his crime? Will he kill himself? I don't know. It is not my story now. So here, as I put down my pen, the life of Henry Jekyll ends.
1. What happened in the park?
2. Why did the new salt not work?
1. Jekyll was sitting on a bench, and he changed into Hyde without the potion.
2. Because the first salt was not pure. Something else in it made the potion work, and Jekyll cannot find it again.
At the end of the story, everything is explained. To explain, we need two small words: because gives the reason (why?) and so gives the result (what happened next?).
Write because or so.
1. Dr Lanyon was afraid of the visitor, he took his gun.
2. Lanyon went to Jekyll's house the letter asked him to.
3. The clothes were too big for Hyde they were Dr Jekyll's clothes.
4. Jekyll wanted to be free, he made a potion.
5. Hyde could not go to Jekyll's house everybody knew he was a murderer.
6. The new salt did not work, Jekyll could not change back.
1. so
2. because
3. because
4. so
5. because
6. so
Write the letter.
(a) because he saw Hyde become Jekyll. (b) so he wrote a letter to Lanyon. (c) because his hand was small and hairy. (d) so he locked the door and broke the key. (e) because he wanted to be free.
1. Jekyll made the potion
2. One morning Jekyll knew he was Hyde
3. Dr Lanyon became very ill
4. In the park Jekyll changed into Hyde and could not go home,
5. After the murder Jekyll never wanted to be Hyde again,
1. (e)
2. (c)
3. (a)
4. (b)
5. (d)
Write one word: because, so or but.
1. Jekyll was a famous doctor, he had a secret life.
2. He did not want people to know, he hid his bad pleasures.
3. Hyde was small Jekyll's bad side was small and young.
4. Jekyll tried to stop being Hyde, he could not.
5. One day there was no more old salt, he could never be Jekyll again.
6. Jekyll wrote everything down he wanted Utterson to know the truth.
1. but
2. so
3. because
4. but
5. so
6. because
Now explain one thing in your own life with because, and one with so. Why are you learning English? What happened because of that?
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the first version of this story in about three days, in 1885, after a bad dream. It was a big success. Today, people say “he's a real Jekyll and Hyde” about a person who is nice one minute and horrible the next.
Think about how the story is told. For most of the book, we follow Mr Utterson, and we only see Hyde from outside. The answer comes at the very end, in two letters from two men who are now dead.
And the answer is not “a monster came into Dr Jekyll”. Hyde was already inside him. The potion only let him out.
Now it's your turn to speak. Use the timer — try to keep talking until the time is up.
You are Mr Utterson. Tell the police the true story of Dr Jekyll, from the beginning: a secret life → the potion → Hyde in the mirror → the house in Soho → Hyde's hand in the morning → the choice → the murder → the park bench → Lanyon → no more salt → the end.
Use because and so at least three times each, and use at least five words from today (midnight, scientist, guilty, dangerous, potion, bench, pure, choose, change, sorry).
Imagine Dr Jekyll is alive and in court. Is he guilty of the murder, or is only Hyde guilty? Choose your answer and give three reasons. Use because and so.
You have read all four episodes. Did you like the ending? Were you surprised? Who is most to blame for what happened? Say what you think and why.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: