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Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde Chapter 1 The story begins with a description of Mr.
Utterson, a lawyer in London. Mr. Utterson is a reserved, conservative man who
does not reveal his true, vibrant personality. He tolerates the strangeness and
faults of other. Early in his life, he watched as his brother fell to ruin, and
it is noted that he is often the last respectable person that men who are
turning to evil or ruin have to talk to. This foreshadows Utterson's involvement
with upcoming evil. Mr. Utterson is friends with Richard Enfield, although the
two are totally different from one another. They always took walks with each
other on Sundays no matter what else they might have to do. As they walk down a
lane on Sunday that would usually be crowded with merchants and children during
the week, Enfield points out an old building without many windows, and only a
basement door. Enfield tells a story of how, one night at about 3:00 am, he saw
a strange, deformed man round the corner and bump into a young girl. The strange
man did not stop but simply walked right over the young girl, who cried out in
terror. Enfield rushed over and attended the girl along with her family. Still,
the strange man carried on, so Enfield chased him down and urged him back. A
doctor was called and Enfield and the doctor felt an odd hatred of the man,
warning the man that they would discredit him in every way possible unless he
compensated the girl. The strange man agreed to offer 100 British pounds.
Enfield notes that the man is like Satan in the way he seems emotionally cold to
the situation. The strange man presented a cheque signed by an important person,
which they together cashed the next morning. Enfield states that he refers to
the building as Black Mail House. Utterson asks Enfield if he ever asked who
lived in the building, but Enfield explains that he doesn't ask questions about
strange things: the more it looks like Queer Street, the less I ask. The
building appears lived in, and the two men carry on their walk. Enfield
continues that the strange man he saw that night looked deformed, though he
could explain how. Utterson assures Enfield that his story has caught his
interest. The two agree never to talk about the story again. Chapter 2 The same
evening, Utterson came home. Instead of reading until sleep at midnight, he
poured over the will of his friend Henry Jekyll, a doctor and very educated man.
The will stated that Jekyll's possessions and position should be handed over to
Mr. Hyde, a friend that Utterson had never heard nor met.Utterson went to the
house of Dr. Lanyon, an old school and college friend of Utterson's and Jekyll's,
and asked him about Hyde, but Lanyon had never heard of him. Lanyon uses several
evil references when talking about Jekyll, such as devilish, and gone wrong,
foreboding evil relations between Jekyll and Hyde. Utterson knows something is
wrong between the two. Utterson can't sleep for the rest of the night. Utterson
considers how the strange man Enfield spoke of could trample a child and care
nothing for it. Utterson staked out the door of the strange building looking for
the strange man, whom he also believed was Mr. Hyde. One night, he found him. He
confronts him as he is about to go inside the strange door, and finds the
strange man is indeed Mr. Hyde.
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