The Character of Hastie Lanyon

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  • Hastie Lanyon
    • Logical
      • "Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me" suggests that Lanyon is exaggerating Jekyll's radical ways and clearly disagrees with these ideas
      • Lanyon describes Jekyll's work as "unscientific balderdash" which shows that he strongly disagrees with Jekyll's ideas and is much more traditional and logical in his thinking
      • Utterson says "If anyone knows, it will be Lanyon", which suggests that Lanyon is omniscient and therefore God-like, which contrasts to the view that Jekyll is evil like the devil
      • Lanyon uses an analogy when he says that Jekyll's ideas would have "estranged Damon and Pythias" which emphasises that Jekyll's "scientific heresies" led to the end of a very strong friendship
      • Jekyll describes Lanyon as "a hide-bound pedant" which emphasises the differences in their ways of thinking as Lanyon thinks very rationally
    • Shocked
      • Lanyon is described as "the rosy man" who "had gone pale" which contrasts and shows that witnessing Hyde turn into Jekyll has deeply startled him
      • The metaphor "he had his death-warrant written legibly upon his face" foreshadows his death and implies that the effect of the shock on him is clear from his appearance
      • The certainty of the modal verbs in "I must die: and yet I shall die incredulous" suggests that Lanyon knows his fate but also shows the damaging effect of Jekyll's truth, which reflects the reactions of typical Victorian people, who did not accept many new scientific theories (e.g. Darwin's theory of evolution)
      • Lanyon says "'O God!' I screamed, and 'O God!' again and again; for there before my eyes... like a man restored from death-there stood Henry Jekyll!" which emphasis his shock but also shows how religious he is, which could be why he disagrees with Jekyll
    • Loyal
      • Despite the fact that Lanyon and Jekyll have different views on science, Lanyon says he "felt bound to do as he (Jekyll) requested" which shows that he is a faithful friend
      • Lanyon's friendliness seems to be "theatrical" which might suggest that he is feigning it but it has a "genuine feeling" behind it
      • When Utterson visits  Lanyon, he is said to have "welcomed him with both hands" which shows the strong friendship between them and reflects the previous relationship between Lanyon and Jekyll also

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