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Literary analysis of the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde
Dr jekyll and mr hyde critical essay
Literary analysis of the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde
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Mr. Hyde and Dorian Gray are characters that nearly match each other in their symbolism and manner. However, it is the key differences that make them remarkably interesting as a pair. They symbolize the battles between good and evil, though they have differing interpretations of morality.
Mr. Hyde is the monstrous side of Dr. Jekyll from their book “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” In their story, Dr. Jekyll is a brilliant scientist who has created a formula that turns him into Mr. Hyde. It is stated that, at some point, Dr. Jekyll became addicted to the potion. Though it is unclear what would cause the addiction, since it would be Hyde who would experience the “high” and not Jekyll himself. Hyde is the contrast to Dr. Jekyll, and is considerably more brutal and immoral. Modern incarnations depict him as becoming incredibly muscular after the transformation, though in the original work it is only implied that Hyde is stronger, retaining his previous physique. It is consistent that Hyde is shown to be ugly, perhaps even deformed.
Dorian shares Hyde’s immoral nature, but exhibits it in a different way. Hyde is brutal and uses strength to commit his acts of terror. Dorian uses his suave and charisma to corrupt others. Dorian’s story is that he had a magical painting of himself that aged for him, took his ills, and displayed his sins. So long as the picture remained, he would remain immortal and young. Throughout the book, he continued to perform worse depravity, feeling no remorse for the live she destroyed or the people he killed. He only ever killed one man directly, though. His every kill was that of convincing someone to a worse fate, turning rich men to beggars and young virgins to prostitutes.
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...sner, Mary. "'A Total Subversion of Character': Dr. Jekyll's Moral Insanity." Victorian Newsletter Spring 1998: 27-31. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Kathy D. Darrow. Vol. 228. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Artemis Literary Sources. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Ruddick, Nicholas. "'The Peculiar Quality of My Genius': Degeneration, Decadence, and Dorian Gray in 1890-91." Oscar Wilde: The Man, His Writings, and His World. New York: AMS, 2003. 125-37. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Russel Whitaker. Vol. 164. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Artemis Literary Sources. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Tropp, Martin. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Schopenhauer, and the Power of the Will." Midwest Quarterly Winter 1991: 141-55. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 126. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Artemis Literary Sources. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are the same person all within the body of Dr Jekyll. He switches between the two willingly for science and his own personal desire. This can be proven in the last chapter of the book where we see
Showalter, Elaine. "The Not So Strange Addiction of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The Haunted Mind in Victorian Literature. Eds. Elton E. Smith and Robert Haas. Landham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1999.
What is human nature? In almost every century someone has asked this question to try and find the answer. Each individual had a specific way of debating the matter. One specific author, Robert Louis Stevenson, described the duality of human nature in his book, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Hyde’s character doesn’t seem to be liked by Mr. Utterson and most likely will be a theme throughout the entire story. Most characters in novels are first described on a physical level to get the reader to have an image in his or her head on what the character might look like. Mr. Utterson doesn’t really give us any physical attributes on Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde seems to be a broken down individual emotionally or spiritually because Mr. Utterson describes Mr. Hyde as deformed somewhere when it isn’t on his body. In the next sentence, Mr. Utterson describes Mr. Hyde as an extraordinary looking man so, Mr. Hyde may look normal on the outside, but may have a dark character that may foreshadow future events coming to Mr. Hyde and his relations with Doctor
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is good versus evil as well as our bad side triumphing over your good side. Even if some critics may think that your bad side almost always triumphs because of movies or any other place that has happened, the yin and yang symbol is of perfect balance, and someone cannot possibly have a double-sided appearance where the two sides are opposite. It is clear to see that in Robert Louis Stevenson’s writing, a person can have two opposite personalities, the yin and yang symbol is not evenly balanced, and your bad side can triumph your good side. As Robert states, “All human beings are commingled out of good and evil” Hopefully those critics may now understand not to believe what they see or may hear about when dealing with good versus evil and evil triumphing over
...Chrie, D., (ed.), Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1986. Vo. 13, pp. 53-111.
Within the text of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson portrays a complex power struggle between Dr. Jekyll, a respected individual within Victorian London society, and Mr. Hyde a villainous man tempted with criminal urges, fighting to take total control of their shared body. While Dr. Jekyll is shown to be well-liked by his colleagues, Mr. Hyde is openly disliked by the grand majority of those who encounter him, terrified of his frightful nature and cruel actions. Throughout Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson portrays the wealthy side of London, including Mr. Utterson and Dr. Jekyll, as respected and well-liked, while showing the impoverish side as either non-existent or cruel.
... man. Society in the Victorian era was consisted of two classes, trashy and wealthy. Jekyll was expected to be a gentleman, but he wanted to have fun. This was the reason he created Hyde, so he could both be respected and have fun. He was delighted at the freedom he now had. Lanyon was overly contolled, but Utterson knew all men had both good and bad within them and could control it. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, the dual nature of man is a main theme.
“All human beings, as we meet them, are comingled out of good and bad” (pg. 78). says Jekyll, reflecting on human kind. In the story of the two characters, Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the journey of switching back and forth becomes problematic rapidly. Throughout the story it becomes evident that it is harmful to try and separate the good and bad tendencies and hide the evil side. The experiments Jekyll went through seemed beneficial at first but later showed to be harmful.
Henry Jekyll’s innermost vices, but since he held himself to an extremely high standard of moral excellence, he needed to find another way of releasing. He creates Hyde as his way of getting these primal urges out. During this time period, the focus on reputation and credibility was huge, and this is how men were judged. He had many urges that he was internally repressing, as a result of existing in the Victorian era, which was well known for how incredibly stuffy and repressed it was. Jekyll was widely respected in the community as a doctor and he had many friends, so it is understandable that he didn’t want to lose his reputation, which came first for men of his social standing in this time period. He went to great lengths to create and cover for Hyde, including renting a place for Hyde to live, and making a bank account for his alter ego. The creation of Hyde turns out to be way more sinister than Jekyll initially imagined. Hyde’s own name is a pun, as he is the part of Jekyll that he must keep hidden away for fear of
Stevenson’s most prominent character in the story is the mysterious Mr Hyde. Edward Hyde is introduced from the very first chapter when he tramples a young girl in the street, which brings the reader’s attention straight to his character. The reader will instantly know that this person is a very important part of this book and that he plays a key role in the story. This role is the one of a respectable old man named Dr Jekyll’s evil side or a ‘doppelganger’. This links in with the idea of duality. Dr Jekyll is described as being ‘handsome’, ‘well-made’ and ‘smooth-faced’. On the other hand, Mr Hyde is described as being ‘hardly human’, ‘pale and dwarfish’, giving of an impression of deformity and ‘so ugly that it brought out the sweat on (Mr Enfield) like running’! These words all go together to conjure up an image in the mind of an animal, beast or monster. During the novel...
Dr. Jekyll is a symbol of both the good and the bad in mankind, while Mr. Hyde represents pure evil. For instance, when Dr. Jekyll is himself, he is seen as a respectable man who is adored by his colleagues: “he became once more their familiar quest and entertainer; and whilst he had always been known for his charities, he was now no less distinguished for religion” (Stevenson 29). However, when Dr. Jekyll transforms to Mr. Hyde his morals are quickly disregarded. An example of this occurs when Mr. Hyde murders Sir Danvers, shortly after Dr. Jekyll submits to the temptation of changing to Mr. Hyde: “instantly the spirit of hell awoke in me…with a transport of glee, I mauled the unresisting body, tasting delight from every blow” (Stevenson 56). Even though the carnal side of Dr. Jekyll enjoys the incident, this event also illustrates the conscience side of Dr. Jekyll because in the mist of this brutal murder, he begins to feel guilty for committing the crime.
First reason how Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are different is their physical appearance. Both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have many different physical features. Dr. Henry Jekyll is a tall middle aged man. He is well looking and a man of great status. On the other hand Mr. Hyde is a short younger man, he has a hunched back and is always said to be deformed but people don’t know why he is like that. Dr. Jekyll is a handsome man compared to Mr. Hyde who is ugly and not good looking
Abrams, M.H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993.
Set in the late 19th Century, Oscar Wilde wrote his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is a story about debauchery and corruption of innocence and well known as a "Gothic melodrama." Violent twists and a sneaky plot make this novel a distinct reflection of human pride and corrupt nature.