Essay Assignment - Due October 11

Overall

In the 121 years since Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the English language has gone through many changes. Some of the words and phrases used in this book have different meanings now than when this book was written, and some seem to have dropped out of usage altogether.

For each word or phrase, the reason for the change may be slightly different, but can you spot any trends?

• Is it that advances in technology have created so many new words and ideas, causing parts of Stevenson’s vocabulary to become obsolete?
• Or maybe the values of the society we live in are so different from the world of 1886 that we need different words to express ourselves.
• On the other hand, you may find that the way we view science – its potential to help and to harm us – has developed in a way that new words have replace old words, or the old words have changed meaning.

The Prompt

Write a mulit-paragraph essay describing the reason for certain changes to our language, using at least four examples. For these examples, use specific words or phrases in the novel that you believe have changed meaning or dropped out of usage.

Requirements

Length

Your essay must be a minimum of four paragraphs.

• Paragraph One: Introduction
• Paragraph Two: Body Paragraph with at least two examples (words or phrases from the book)
• Paragraph Three: Body Paragraph with at least two more examples
• Paragraph Four: Conclusion

You may write more paragraphs if you wish, but if each of the main four are thorough, you won’t need to.

Formatting

Double line spacing

Use Times font, in the 12 point size

Your name, the name of the assignment and date in the upper right corner

Saving and sending the file

Your first name must be part of the file name, for example, “BobJekyllVocabEssay.doc”

You must save in a format compatible with Microsoft Word, any version from 1993 to present.

When you email the file, your Subject Line must include the words “Jekyll Essay”

Due date: Thursday, October 11

Use your previous work

Because you have already completing a worksheet about the vocabulary from this book and how it has changed over time, a lot of your work is already done.

Look at your ten words and see how many of them appear to have changed for similar reasons.

Do any pairs or words go together particularly well? If so, they should be in the same body paragraph, and your topic for that paragraph will be supported by these two examples. Do the same thing for one more paragraph and you’re set; you’ll have all four examples in place!

Once you have isolated the four vocabulary words (or phrases) you will use and you know what made you group them together, you are ready to write your thesis and introduction.