The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde deals with Dr. Henry Jekyll who is widely respected and successful. In the process of his experiments, he accomplishes the production of a concoction that allows him to free this evil in him from the control of his good self, then giving rise to Edward Hyde. Edward Hyde is pure evil and amoral. Not only is his psyche different from Dr. Jekyll but also his body is grotesque and deformed. After, Dr. Jekyll thinks that he can receive the pleasure that both parts of his being crave without each being encumbered by the demands of the other. Edward Hyde progressively becomes ever more powerful ultimately leads Dr. Jekyll to his fatal death. This all comes to the idea of duality. Duality is a theme used a lot in late-Victorian century. Monica Ericson defines duality as two conceptually ideas that are interrelated (Ericson 10). There are …show more content…
many ways that Stevenson incorporates duality in the novel. Some are within the characters and others are within the home. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in the end, show that they are two different people, but are the same people at the same time. Later on in the story, the reader finds out that they are in the same body. Jekyll is seen as a good looking guy and seen as good in the eyes of society, whereas Hyde is seen as very ugly and evil in society. Because of the duality of these characters, it shows us that there is good and evil in people; the combination of Jekyll and Hyde proves that in ways that one is good and the other evil but both are the same body. McDonald feels that the duality in “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” can be seen as a reflection of Stevenson’s own double life (McDonald). The novel implies that readers have a double life just as Stevenson and the characters, Jekyll and Hyde. In the story, Jekyll is seen as good and Hyde is seen as bad.
In my opinion, Jekyll could be seen as purely good and evil due to his actions, which some were to end the misery he was going through at the point where Hyde was trying to take over his body during the experiment. Unfortunately, Jekyll had to die, but along Hyde did, too. In the process, there was a realization of the good and evil in just himself, Dr. Jekyll. Hyde was really used as a cover up so that Jekyll could act on his thoughts of evilness and not be seen as it because of his current reputation. Hyde would be seen as bad because of his actions in the beginning of the story, where he is seen with his body over a young girl, accused, then determined of murdering Sir Danvers Carew, and his attempt to overrule Jekyll’s body in order to achieve his goal of evilness. Also, he was trying to take the belongings of Jekyll, which includes the will. It does state in the story, that “all human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil” (Stevenson
88). There are essential differences between Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. Jekyll, as stated in the story, is described as a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness”(Stevenson 24). Edward Hyde is described as “pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice” (Stevenson 19). Overall, Hyde is much younger in looks than Jekyll. Based on the talk of a will in the story, the reader can determine that Jekyll is wealthy, which means he is well respected by people. Hyde is seen as having dirty clothing and no money, which suggests that he is poor. There wouldn’t be other differences because both are actually evil. There isn’t that one is more evil than the other. Evil is evil; so both are considered evil. There was always that good, but Jekyll let the evil overwhelm who he was. Robert Stevenson places a great idea of what a human being is like. It shows that many might not show evilness, but it doesn’t mean that they are always good. The duality in this story was mainly implanted within the two characters, Jekyll and Hyde. These two characters merged and represented good and evil.
From reading the last chapter, we can all see that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are easily viewed as a symbol about the good and evil that exists in all men, and about the struggle these two sides in the human personality. Hyde has a short temper and is made to look evil. “I observed that when I wore the semblance of Edward Hyde, none could come near me at first with a visible misgiving of the flesh”. Jekyll is arguing that Hyde is the perfect physical embodiment of the evil inside him, implying that Hyde looks evil. Stevenson has also explored which aspect of human personality is superior, good or evil. Since at the start of the book Hyde seems to be taking over, you might argue that evil is stronger than good. However, Hyde does end up dead at the end of the story, suggesting a failure of the weakness of evil. Since Hyde represents the evil in Jekyll he is therefore symbolically represented being much smaller than Jekyll as “Jekyll’s clothes are far too large for him”. But as the plot progresses Mr. Hyde began to grow and becomes more powerful than Jekyll, and the reason for Hyde to become more powerful is due to the fact that Jekyll enjoys what Hyde does, which allow Hyde to gradually destroy the good in
Good and evil exist in everyone and any attempts to repress your darker nature can cause it to erupt. Dr. Jekyll was more evil than he wanted to admit to himself or any one before he even separated his soul. Born into a world of privilege and wanting to keep the impression of goodness and morality, Dr. Jekyll really just wanted to indulge in his darkest desires, choosing to hide behind his serum like a coward. However this became his fatal flaw and at the end of the day he could longer hide his true self.
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.
Jekyll is respectable man with a very good career. He is a doctor that is highly regarded in his community for what he does as far as charity and his manners. As young man growing up, he was secretly involved in weird behaviors that made him a bit questionable. Dr. Jekyll finds his other side to be quite bothersome and he decides to experiment so he could try a separate the good from the evil. He creates potions and other things that really do not help. After so many attempts of trying to restrain his evil side, he brings forth Hyde through his failed experimentation. Therefore, he only accentuates his evil self to come forth. Hyde is an extremely ugly creature that no one could stand the sight of. He is deformed, violent, and very evil. Throughout the story, he fights against Jekyll to take over his life eventually causing Jekyll to murder one of his good friends, Mr.
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.
Everything in this story has a Dual side, including the setting in London, London had streets that were respectable and others that were made of squalor and crime. In the story of Dr.Jekyll and Hyde characters hid their side and showed only one certain side, as a matter of fact a quote from the book that says “an ivory-faced and silvery-haired old woman opened the door. She had an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy: but her manners were excellent..” (Stevenson Chapter 4 P 54). This quote is trying to convey a message of Mr.Hyde's keeper being oh so well mannered, but don't let her fool you she was an evil person. That quote was also trying to demonstrate good versus evil and how it is conveyed through the book. Hyde was taking control completely over Dr.Jekyll , Dr.Jekyll was sure that there was no way for him to regain his identity, and his only option was to flee. “I lingered but a moment at the mirror; the second and conclusive experiment had yet to be attempted; it yet remained to be seen if I lost my identity beyond redemption and must flee before daylight from a house.” (Stevenson Chapter 10 P 112) Dr.Jekyll’s
In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a major theme in the story is the duality of good versus evil. In the novel, a character by the name of Dr. Jekyll believes in the dual nature of human beings, for he states, “ With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not
Jekyll plays man as a whole, good and bad, he was “wild” and also “smooth-faced” at the same time. Both characters lack vital emotional outputs that make humans socially, even though the psychopath is more cunning than the sociopath. “…lack of conscience, remorse or guilt for hurtful actions to others….There may be an intellectual understanding of appropriate social behavior but no emotional response to the actions of others” (“Psychopath vs. Sociopath” -- http://www.diffen.com/difference/Psychopath_vs_Sociopath). Both are social defaces, and cannot be helped; however to the naked eye, these two characters are savage. Both victims of anti-social disorder are lacking factors that make humans acceptably sociable, one lacking empathy while the other lacks sensibility. Diffen, a website, tells us, “Psychopaths…lack of empathy; no conscience…sociopaths…high impulsivity” (“Sociopathy versus Psychopathy” -- http://www.diffen.com/difference/Sociopathy_versus_Psychopathy). Dr. Jekyll shows no empathy by using and manipulating people close to him, and Mr. Hyde, as intended, has no sensibility to act with caution resulting himself in trouble for barbaric actions. This, in turn shows the comparison and contrast of the psychopathic creator and his sociopathic creation which in reality are two halves to a whole.
society. Rose writes, “Through serial adaptation, the story of Jekyll and Hyde yields a paratragic, predictive investigation into frightening themes; the process of adaptation reveals itself to be a cultural too, used to retain and refurbish images that contain too much anxiety, or hit too close to home, to be allowed to languish” (Rose 156).
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a riveting tale of how one man uncovers, through scientific experiments, the dual nature within himself. Robert Louis Stevenson uses the story to suggest that this human duality is housed inside everyone. The story reveals “that man is not truly one, but two” (Robert Louis Stevenson 125). He uses the characters of Henry Jekyll, Edward Hyde, Dr. Lanyon, and Mr. Utterson to portray this concept. He also utilizes important events, such as the death of Dr. Jekyll and the death of Mr. Lanyon in his exploration of the topic.
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.
In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll has a desire for splitting his personalities and taking pleasure in two different lives. A sinister, malicious, abnormal, small man would control one life while; an honorable, wise doctor would control the other life. Dr. Jekyll produces a potion, which allows
One of the major ideas presented in Jekyll and Hyde is the need for both good and evil to live in coexistence within an individual’s conscience. Jekyll’s experiments prove that a balance between the two sides of nature is crucial to be content in the world. He realizes that the only reason he is able to be one of the two sides of his nature is because he has the capacity to be either as long as both are present within him. He makes this clear in the quote, “I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both” (125). Jekyll aims to segregate his good side from his bad side. He begins on his endeavor to create a potion that creates an entirely new identity for the evil element of his nature named Mr. Hyde. Jekyll is pleased with himself and feels that he has been successful in his undertaking. He maintains this happiness until Hyde begins to commit unspeakable crimes without Jekyll’s rationality and sense of morality to temper him. Jekyll becomes miserable trying to contend with his evil counterpart and it is then that Stevenson’s message is evident. It is difficult to maintain true happiness without both sides of nature present within one’s conscience to balance each other out and to coexist.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are both different is morality. Both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have highly different morals. For example Dr. Jekyll’s morals are to contain the evil inside him and to keep his good side away from his bad side. Eventually Dr. Jekyll’s for trying to isolate his evil side it took over him. Dr. Jekyll’s mind was too weak that is how Mr. Hyde took over. Which now lead to Mr. Hyde’s evil mind, Mr. Hyde is the evil side to Dr. Jekyll and now he has full control. Mr. Hyde is the moral downfall of Dr. Jekyll.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as Dr. Jekyll, a reputable man who followed all the rules in life who itches for pleasure and sin goes through trials and experiments in order to let his alter-ego free. The result of this is Mr. Hyde, the man who lets his sinister side roam free and who fulfills all of the doctor's bad intentions. The creation of Mr. Hyde was due to Dr. Jekyll's realization that "man is not truly one, but truly two" because all individuals have a good and bad side, and each side is independent from each other (Stevenson 10). In duration of the story, Dr. Jekyll begins to see that his transition to Mr. Hyde becomes a more natural change, meaning that Mr. Hyde is getting stronger with every sin committed. Unlike Victor Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll has a conscience, he was fully aware of the damage he was doing but he just could not help himself and he had to participate in the world of