Simardeep Kaur

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson is a thriller of the Victorian era. The book is fascinating and gripping. A lawyer named John Gabriel Utterson investigates the strange occurrences between , his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde. The story presents the vices of Mr. Edward Hyde, and how people feel a sense of hatred and replusion towards him the moment they meet him. Mr. Hyde's evil nature rose up in many moments in the book and his strangeness increased as we read about him. The physical features of Mr. Hyde describe him as a human-form of a demon. Dr. Henry Jekyll, a virtuous well-known gentleman in London, named Mr. Edward Hyde in his will. This seemed odd to John Utterson, who was acdear friend of Dr. Jekyll. Utterson interest in Mr. Hyde keeps on growing for he knew his friend Dr. Jekyll and couldn't understand why he would name Mr. Hyde in the will. The story is an exploration about human nature. The existence of vices and virtues in a human and the consequences of giving in to the temptations of the darker side. Existence of virtues and vices in a human are parallel, but the dominant side decides the nature of the human. The story is well written and the mysterious nature of both the characters grips the readers. The suspense is revealed in the end and it's worth the wait.

"The Sign of the Four" by Arthur Conan Doyle is a detective novel. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson head out to unravel another mystery. Holmes and Dr. Watson solve of the mystery of the missing treasure and the murder of son of Major Sholto. The book was impressive because Holmes went through great lengths to solve the mystery. He put himself in the place of the criminal and moved forward with the case. Nothing used to excite Sherlock Holmes anymore, so he leaned on different measures to keep his mind away from boredom, which seemed unacceptable by Dr. Watson. The friendship of Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes grew throughout the book. Their affection for each other has grown since they have been living together. Dr. Watson's admiration has grown and now he understands Holmes better. Dr. Watson cares more about Sherlock depicted when he sees Sherlock abusing drugs but didn't say that out loud. The book highlights a different characteristics of Sherlock Holmes, while he solves every case and mystery with his ingenious mind, he is not above the vices of the human. When nothing excited him anymore, he started abusing drugs for satisfaction, which is a common human reaction when things don't go their way. The mystery of the treasure and the murder seem unsolvable but Sherlock Holmes started unraveling the it the moment he got to the scene of crime. The way Sherlock Holmes lead to conclusions still amazes the readers. Also Dr. Watson meets his beloved wife, Mary in this book and their love story touches the hearts of the readers. The accuracy of the facts detailed by Sherlock Holmes were almost similar to the story of the criminal. The ending brings rest to the lot of questions that rise throughout the story.

The book Animal Farm by George Orwell is a satire on the vices of the human beings. It seems to be a simple tale of animals living in a farm, but the depiction brings out the best in the book. The book presents itself as an allegory of animals, who have thrown out human control by a revolution and lead to a society that believed in equality and fairness among all the classes of animals. However, the equality among the animals started diminishing as years pass by and the idealogies that served as the basis of "Animalism" changed. The story is a close comparison between animals and humans, though humans are hated by the animals. But throughout the story, animals became as humans they could. They started of by believing in equality and ended up discrimating each other. They have been like humans at every take in the story. Animals had picked up the virtues of the humans when they moved towards equality and doing good. But when the virtues weren't left they moved towards the vices like envy, hatred, corruption, murder, and many more. The story stands for any human society, be it capitalist, socialist, fascist, or communist. The story is well written and it brings out both the best and the worst in humans. Mr. Jonas, the owner of the farm, the enemy in the story, was a drunk and tyrant. He cared less about animals and more about money. He was the human form of enemy and he was the one who had passed on his vices onto the animals. The different class of animals with different idealogies are like different kinds of human. There were animals who were half-witted but they would work harder than anyone else. And then there were animals who were intelligent and they ran away from work and betrayed their own for bribes. The story was ironic in a way that animals got manipulated by the one's in power and they were shut off by terrorising them, the same way humans have been treated by their own. The lust for power and money got the better of some of the animals which made them forget their own commandments. The story shows mirror about the depravity of human beings picked up by animals. The story is simple yet powerful and the details of different events is thorough bringing out the scenic beauty.

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a detective novel. It embarks the begin of the historical partnership between Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes is an eccentric consulting detective who wanted to share room with somebody at 221B Baker Street, when he met Dr. Watson, who had just returned to London after serving in Second Anglo-Afghan War. The two decided to share the room. At the very first meeting of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Holmes had impressed the latter by his conjecture that he had served in the war. Impressed by the first meet and greet, Dr. Watson couldn't resist and he decided to live with Holmes. The brilliancy of Holmes was discovered by Dr. Watson as they spent more time together. The amazement of Dr. Watson at Sherlock Holmes is relatable to the readers because similar reactions emerge as we read and the facts stated by the detective are proved to be accurate. The mysterious murder of Mr. Enoch Drebber and his secretary Mr. Joseph Stangerson, unsolved by the detectives at scene, was solved by Sherlock Holmes. His knowledge and observations about the scene astounded the men present in the room as well as the readers. The observations he made in the few minutes he enquired the room were way more accurate then the detectives who had been there since morning. The book is well written and the suspense grows as we move forward with the story. The book covered how Sherlock Holmes solved the troubling puzzles of the murder that no one else could solve.

Journey to the centre of the earth by Jules Verne is an adventure fiction set in 1870s, where a professor with his nephew decides to go on a unique journey. Professor Liedenbrock and Axel come across a coded note in an original runic manuscript of an Icelandic saga. As they decipher the note, they come to know that the voyage to the centre of the earth can be completed by going down a volcanic crater. The journey brings many new experiences for both Axel and Professor Liedenbrock. The professor, who is seen as an impatient person in the initial chapters of the book, doesn't loose his calm for the most part of the journey. Axel, who was scared to go down the volcanic crater, overcame hos fears during his journey. The bond of love is seen between Professor and his nephew moments where they have faced the fear of losing each other. And the image that the Professor only cares about his aim is burst at the moments when he realised he would loose his nephew. The moments of vulnerability of the Professor and Axel makes the readers relate more. The book heightened the interest as the Professor and Axel went down the volcano and they reached in a different world and met with dangers. But the motivation to complete their voyage helps them move forward and face the dangers. Axel's longing for his fiancée Grauben at moments where he had lost hope develops sympathy for him and his lover far from him. The uncertainty that they would ever meet again fills up the heart with sorrow, but that gives him hope to continue the journey. The voyage wasn't just a discovery of the centre of the earth, it also brought out the true characteristics of the characters of the book. The characters faced their fears and moved past them.