Question

the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde by robert louis stevenson chapter 3: dr. jekyll was quite at ease a fortnight later, by excellent good fortune, the doctor gave one of his pleasant dinners to some five or six old cronies, all intelligent, reputable men and all judges of good wine, and mr. utterson so contrived that he remained behind after the others had departed. this was no new arrangement, but a thing that had befallen many scores of times. where utterson was liked, he was liked well. hosts loved to detain the dry lawyer, when the light - hearted and loose - tongued had already their foot on the threshold, they liked to sit a while in his unobtrusive company, practising for solitude, sobering their minds in the man’s rich silence after the expense and strain of gaiety. to this rule, dr. jekyll was no exception, and as he now sat which excerpt from chapter 3 of the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde illustrates a character vs. character conflict? but i do sincerely take a great, a very great interest in that young man; and if i am taken away, utterson, i wish you to promise me that you will bear with him and get his rights for him. “my good utterson,” said the doctor, “this is very good of you, this is downright good of you, and i cannot find words to thank you in. i believe you fully, i would trust you before any man alive, ay, before myself.”

Explanation:

To solve this, we first recall that a character - vs - character conflict involves a struggle between two or more characters.

Analyzing the first excerpt:

The first excerpt has a character (presumably Dr. Jekyll) asking Utterson to bear with "that young man" (likely Mr. Hyde) and get his rights if Dr. Jekyll is "taken away". Here, we can infer that there is a potential conflict related to Mr. Hyde, and Dr. Jekyll is concerned about him. The interaction here shows a concern that could be related to the conflict between Dr. Jekyll (and his connection to Hyde) and perhaps the outside world's perception of Hyde, but more directly, the request about Hyde implies a character - related conflict (between Hyde and others, or Dr. Jekyll's concern for Hyde in the context of character interactions).

Analyzing the second excerpt:

The second excerpt is Dr. Jekyll thanking Utterson. This is just an expression of gratitude and does not show a conflict between characters. It is a positive interaction without any struggle or conflict.

A character - vs - character conflict requires a struggle between characters. The first excerpt involves a character (Dr. Jekyll) asking Utterson to protect another character (Mr. Hyde), implying a character - related conflict. The second is just gratitude, no conflict.

Answer:

The excerpt: "But I do sincerely take a great, a very great interest in that young man; and if I am taken away, Utterson, I wish you to promise me that you will bear with him and get his rights for him."