Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde begins with a lawyer named Mr. Utterson and his friend, Enfield, on a walk discussing a strange occurrence that Enfield witnessed. He recalls the tale about a suspicious man named Mr. Hyde who suddenly tramples a young girl on the street and disappears into a door, only to return moments later to pay off her family with a check that was signed by an unknown gentleman. Although both of the men agree not to talk about the matter further, it soon comes to light that one of Utterson’s clients, Dr. Jekyll, has written a will that will transfer all of his property to a certain Mr. Hyde. Utterson then decides to visit Jekyll and their friend Dr. Lanyon to try to learn more. It is then that Lanyon reveals that he no longer sees …show more content…
After a year without another incident, a girl witnesses Hyde an old man to death, a man who happens to be a member of Parliament and another client of Utterson. The police contact Utterson, and after telling them he suspects Hyde, he leads the officers to Hyde’s apartment. When they get there, they find that Hyde has vanished without a trace and police searches all wind up with nothing. Shortly after, Utterson visits Jekyll who shows him a note he received from Hyde, that apologizes and says goodbye. For a few months, Jekyll is happy and prosperous until he suddenly begins to refuse visitors. It is then that Lanyon dies, but not before giving Utterson a letter that he is not to open until the day of Jekyll's death. After Jekyll has secluded himself in his laboratory for several weeks, his butler calls Utterson who then ventures to Jekyll’s house. After breaking into Jekyll's laboratory, they find that Hyde killed himself wearing Jekyll’s clothes as well as a note from Jekyll. Utterson takes it home and then sits down to read both the letter from Dr.Jekyll and the letter from Lanyon. He begins with Lanyon's letter which reveals that the shock of seeing Mr. Hyde use a potion to turn into Dr. Jekyll is what led to his
The previous chapter before the two confessions is reasonably remarkable. Poole, Dr. Jekyll’s butler, provides another portrayal. He offers many comparisons between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. (“My master (…) is a tall, fine build of a man, and this was more of a dwarf.” (p.38)). The affirmations of the poor butler are all correct except perhaps the most important: This “thing” that is in the cabinet is in fact Dr. Jekyll.
This passage is significant in the novel for the sudden changes which are revealed in the characters of Lanyon and Jekyll, which are as yet inexplicable for the reader. In the preceding chapter the reader has learned of the connection between the handwriting of Jekyll and Hyde, with Guest noticing that they are identical, yet 'differently sloped '. This chapter, therefore, comes as a shock to the reader, as there has been nothing to suggest why Lanyon should so suddenly fall ill, nor why Jekyll should decide to 'lead a life of extreme seclusion '. Later in the novel the reader will discover that it was Jekyll 's relapse into the form of Hyde while comparing his 'active goodwill ' to the 'lazy cruelty ' of those
However, as the same happens much too often in real life, Jekyll is unable to keep this promise. He has already sunken too far into his addiction and it completely controls him, which Stevenson brilliantly illustrates as Hyde gains strength and begins to take over. As Hyde becomes stronger, he usurps Jekyll's body, mind, and life - just as drugs and alcohol often do to addicts, who sometimes lose their jobs, their possessions, and their friends. Jekyll finds himself turning into Hyde spontaneously, so he has to seclude himself from society, and give up his existence as Jekyll. His addiction has gotten so out of hand that his life has been completely destroyed; he is beyond resolution, since the only way to combat his problem is to kill Hyde, thereby killing himself.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Hyde was an evil being it was slowly starting to take over and Dr. Jekyll knew that was happening. By shutting him out self off more and more he was helping everyone around him. Since he did not have any control over Mr. Hyde he had to stop Mr. Hyde from hurting anyone else and couldn’t tell anyone of these issues. In the book where Hyde and Jekyll are struggling, it says “ I was so far in my reflections” (53). This was Dr. Jekylls note for his struggles when he was finally telling people. He was deep in reflection and hiding them self off because he knew it was too late. It also states in this section of the book: “When Jekyll locks himself in his library” (61). Everyone was worried about him even though sometimes he does do this like in the beginning when he’s in solitude to work on his research. Dr. Jekyll had finally shut himself off from the word completely due to him knowing it was his final moments. He knew that since his potion was out and he could not find more materials it was over so he made a backup plan for when Hyde has taken over. This brutal plan was to kill himself and ultimately this is what he did. He had put all the other parts of the plan into effect and left a note to explain what truly happened, thus signifying the end of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, helping others but only helping him at the
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll, in grave danger, writes a letter to his good friend Lanyon. With Jekyll’s fate in Lanyon’s hands, he requests the completion of a task, laying out specific directions for Lanyon to address the urgency of the matter. In desperation, Jekyll reveals the possible consequences of not completing this task through the use of emotional appeals, drawing from his longtime friendship with Lanyon, to the fear and guilt he might feel if he fails at succeeding at this task. Through Jekyll’s serious and urgent tone, it is revealed that his situation is a matter of life and death in which only Lanyon can determine the outcome. Jekyll begins his letter by mentioning his and Lanyon’s long-lasting friendship saying, “[Lanyon is] one of my oldest friends.”
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Hyde becomes Jekyll's demonic, monstrous alter ego. Certainly Stevenson presents him immediately as this from the outset. Hissing as he speaks, Hyde has "a kind of black sneering coolness . . . like Satan". He also strikes those who witness him as being "pale and dwarfish" and simian like. The Strange Case unfolds with the search by the men to uncover the secret of Hyde. As the narrator, Utterson, says, "If he be Mr. Hyde . . . I shall be Mr. Seek". Utterson begins his quest with a cursory search for his own demons. Fearing for Jekyll because the good doctor has so strangely altered his will in favor of Hyde, Utterson examines his own conscience, "and the lawyer, scared by the thought, brooded a while in his own past, groping in all the corners of memory, lest by chance some Jack-in-the-Box of an old iniquity should leap to light there" (SC, 42). Like so many eminent Victorians, Utterson lives a mildly double life and feels mildly apprehensive about it. An ugly dwarf like Hyde may jump out from his own boxed self, but for him such art unlikely creature is still envisioned as a toy. Although, from the beginning Hyde fills him with a distaste for life (SC, 40, not until the final, fatal night, after he storms the cabinet, can Utterson conceive of the enormity of Jekyll's second self. Only then does he realize that "he was looking on the body of a self-dcstroyer" (SC, 70); Jekyll and Hyde are one in death as they must have been in life.
Jekyll. Hyde commits acts of murder and assault yet can be seen as Dr. Jekyll’s id or deep desires. By trying to separate good and bad . Dr. Jekyll passed scientific and social borders to isolate his personality. In doing so, he lost control of who he wanted to be. As a last resort he created a poisonous potion that Hyde drank and died through act of suicide. Dr. Jekyll although not working with anyone took matters in his own hands which makes him seem like an outlaw hero. He did not turn himself into the police when he had control. However, Dr. Jekyll seems to have qualities of a official hero in his maturity in handling the situation. He knows how evil his alter ego is, so he isolates himself from others as a safety precaution. Jekyll tries to live a normal life, but is unable to. His status as a well distinguished doctor and sociability skills with his
Many mysterious events occur throughout this novel. Stevenson foreshadows the imminent end of Dr. Jekyll in the very beginning. As Utterson reads the will of Dr. Jekyll, he is perplexed by the statement that “in the case of Dr. Jekyll’s disappearance” (6), all of his money will go to Mr. Hyde. This questionable intent of Dr. Jekyll leads the reader to assume that there is something for complex connecting Mr. Hyde with Dr. Jekyll. Utterson not only tries to protect Dr. Jekyll from Mr. Hyde, but Utterson wishes to solve Jekyll’s entire problem. In the first description of Mr. Utterson, the reader learns that he is “inclined to help rather than to reprove” (1). This simple description implies that Utterson will be helping to solve a problem in this novel, though it is not identified whose problem he will try to solve. This also foreshadows a problem in the book; Utterson leads the reader to believe that a horrid situation will arise between Jekyll and Hyde. Mr. Hyde is driven purely by the temptations of evil; the urges that Dr. Jekyll is unable to act on. This temptation causes Mr. Hyde to murder Sir Carew with the wal...
Jekyll unveils his story, it becomes evident that Dr. Jekyll’s efforts to keep Mr. Hyde, his immoral outlet, reticent are in vain. Dr. Jekyll succumbs to Mr. Hyde once and eventually the pull of his worse self overpowers Dr. Jekyll completely. His futile attempts to contain Mr. Hyde were more damaging than auspicious, as Mr. Hyde would only gain a stronger grip on Dr. Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll writes, “I began to be tortured with throes and longings, as of Hyde struggling after freedom; and at last, in an hour of moral weakness, I once again compounded and swallowed the transforming draught… My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring” (115). Dr. Jekyll’s inevitable passion for debauchery is only further invigorated by his repression of Mr. Hyde. By restraining a desire that is so deeply rooted within Dr. Jekyll, he destroys himself, even after his desires are appeased. Like a drug, when Dr. Jekyll first allowed himself to concede to Mr. Hyde, he is no longer able to abstain, as his initial submission to depravity resulted in the loss of Dr. Jekyll and the reign of Mr.
Hyde kills Sir Danvers due to Jekyll’s attempt to repress him from coming out, Jekyll is imprisoned in his house because he realizes that he could no longer be Hyde in public. From this point onward, light is brought to the matter of Jekyll’s uncontrollable desire to be this detestable man and the reckless nature takes control due to its rush. When Hyde killed Sir Danvers, he needed to hide himself from sight and become confined but he could not confine Hyde because that was what gotten him into this predicament in the first place. He felt imprisoned in both being forced to be Jekyll and having to hide himself from his friends in case Hyde took over at any given point. This is analogous to having a drug addiction because just as somebody would want to hide their persona when on drugs, Jekyll is hiding Hyde. This additionally takes over their body and can affect them randomly and uncontrollably, just as Hyde affects Jekyll. In addition, this scene reveals how cruel Mr. Hyde because Jekyll says that when Hyde killed Danvers, he was “With the transport of glee, I mauled the unresisting body, tasting delight for every blow; and it was not till weariness had begun to succeed that I was suddenly in on top of my delirium, struck through the heart by a cold thrill of terror” (49). Jekyll has now begun to have good feelings while being Hyde, even though he does regrettable things in an uncontrolled and selfserving
Jekyll is given as a respected man raised in a wealthy family. During the era, people are meant to be well-mannered and polite without any sign or thinking of violence and crime; however, Dr. Jekyll secretly has a desire to perform evil. Conflicted with the ideal of society, he has repressed his emotion through many years and eventually he decided to conceal his pressure as he said, “And indeed the worst of my faults was a certain impatient gaiety of disposition, such as has made the happiness of many, but such as I found it hard to reconcile with my imperious desire to carry my head high, and wear a more than commonly grave countenance before the public. Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life.” (48) From this quote, Dr. Jekyll discloses that he’s not desired to be cheerful, as many do, and decides to fake his pressure in front of the public eyes. After many years, he then realizes he was only hiding his true emotion. Eventually, to resolve his situation, he is inspired to create a potion that could transform himself to Mr. Hyde that could free him from the struggle between protecting his reputation and following his emotion and
Jekyll experiences. For instance, Dr. Jekyll’s physical appearance begins to decline as he stops taking the draught. The text describes Dr. Jekyll’s physical characteristics as “looking deadly sick” when his is usually a “large well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness” (Stevenson 19-25). Not only does Dr. Jekyll’s health begin to decline, but also his behavior changes as well. Normally, when Dr. Jekyll would have a visitor he would greet his guest with a warm welcome, but as the text illustrates in Chapter 4, Dr. Jekyll did not have the strength to greet Mr. Utterson: “He did not rise to meet his visitor but held out a cold hand and bade him welcome in a changed voice”( Stevenson 25). Another example of Dr. Jekyll’s behavioral change is seen when he physically separates himself from his colleagues for days on end locked in his laboratory resulting in his friends to repeatedly check on him. This act of withdrawal connects to the reality an addict faces during rehabilitation. The said addict has to seclude himself from temptation in order to be successful in the recovery stage. The final behavioral change for Dr. Jekyll is shown through his reiteration of him cutting off all ties to Mr. Hyde and his outburst of violence. During a conversation Dr. Jekyll has with Mr. Utterson shortly after the murder of Sir
At a brief 70 pages and 10 chapters, Jekyll and Hyde is a quick read. The novel opens up with two men, Utterson and Einfeld, walking through London, discussing a recent incident that numerous people in the neighborhood witnessed. A small girl and a peculiar, dwarfish man rounded a corner at the same time, but instead of stopping or stepping aside to avoid colliding with the girl, the man proceeded to brutally trample the girl. It is revealed that this callous man is named Edward Hyde. This sets Utterson ill at ease because he is the lawyer for a reputable doctor, Henry Jekyll, and in his will, Jekyll has recently made this same Hyde his sole heir.
Lanyon replied that he had not done all that in order not to know the end. Then, Hyde ingested the mixture and after a while of having painful reactions, that person became Henry Jekyll. For the first time in the novel, the readers prove what they have suspicious about. The letter opens a single possibility that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two opposite sides of the same person or Mr. Hyde is the bad side of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” Some will agree that there are quotes that represent the theme of curiosity, however they will also testify that there are quotes that back up other themes too, which there definitely are. However, almost every single page has at least one thing to demonstrate the theme of curiosity and the quotes that back up this theme are extremely deep and meaningful. In chapter nine, paragraph twenty-one, there is one little decision keeping Dr. Lanyon from seeing the truth, “But here I took pity on my visitor's suspense, and some perhaps on my own growing curiosity.” If Dr. Lanyon’s curiosity wouldn’t have took over him then Dr. Lanyon would not have died. Curiosity as a scientist just came over him to see what this potion would do. In chapter nine, paragraph twenty eight, Mr. Hyde tortures Dr. Lanyon with his curiosity, "And now," said he, "to settle what remains. Will you be wise? will you be guided? will you suffer me to take this glass in my hand and to go forth from your house without further parley? Or has the greed of curiosity too much command of you?" Mr. Hyde tortures Dr. Lanyon by giving him the choice of seeing what the potion will do to him or letting him have his sanity and not knowing anything. However, when Dr. Lanyon says that he died from shock in previous chapters, we can all infer that his curiosity got the best of him. In chapter ten,