The story “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson conveys the theme of duality in nature in which man is fighting himself, or in this case, another version of himself. Being a psychology major, it is interesting to see a case this serious over how an alter ego can control the main psyche up to the point where it no longer conveys influence, but instead manipulation. In order to understand the control an alter ego can eventually have on the individual, it is important to comprehend exactly what an alter ego is and how an individual can lose dominance over it. A common misconception with this story is the readers’ belief that Dr. Jekyll suffers from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia (also called dementia praecox) is a psychotic disorder characterized by progressive deterioration of the personality, withdrawal from reality, hallucinations, delusions, social apathy, and emotional instability. In layman’s terms, someone who suffers from schizophrenia is born with this disease and believes they hear voices, or see images, in their minds commanding them to complete certain tasks. They have no idea who the voices are or when they came to exist, but eventually they give into the demands in order to silence the voices. Subsequently, they withdraw themselves from society in the process. These symptoms do not accurately match up with the symptoms of Dr. Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll did extract himself towards the end of the story only because he could no longer manipulate his transformations. Nothing in the story reveals him being born with such a disease. Due to this, he cannot be classified as a schizophrenic. Another universal misconception is that Mr. Hyde is Dr. Jekyll’s split personality. This seems comprehensible ... ... middle of paper ... ... song represents the emotions tied in with someone who has an alter ego. The movie “Mr. Brooks” is a reflection of the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and how he battled with himself to contain control over his mind and his nature. This is how each source reflects the story of “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. Works Cited Stevenson, R. Louis. "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The Norton Anthology. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. Print. Mr. Brooks. Dir. Bruce A. Evans. Perf. Kevin Costner. Blockbuster: 2007, Film. Celesty. “Demon Inside.” Song and lyrics retrieved 3 May 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kXgeIzVLuU Hamilton, John. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." www.imdb.com. Web. 3 April 2012. Florentino, Sonya. “Alter Ego”. Poems by Sonya Florentino. New York, New York. Penguin Publishing. 2009. 48. Print.
Dual-Self Characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and A Study in Scarlet and Sign of Four
...hat he can finally recognize the severity of his weakness to his drug. Dr. Jekyll's plight, therefore, could be an exploration of the destructive behavior brought on by addiction, and an underlying moral message is embedded in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - the implication that addiction will inevitably lead to evilness and the destruction of productive lives.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Dover Publishing, Inc., 1991.
Stevenson focuses on two different characters Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but in reality these are not separate men, they are two different aspects of one man’s reality. In the story, Dr. Je...
Robert, Stevenson L. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Dover Publications, 2013. Print.
In this essay on the story of Jekyll and Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson I will try to unravel the true meaning of the book and get inside the characters in the story created by Stevenson. A story of a man battling with his double personality.
Jekyll has captured life for a while he is not just one, but two, Hyde
his deepest inhibitions. In addition, I believed that the people of the town were not fully aware of Mr. Hyde, only that there was a monster running about the city creating havoc. The townspeople would not be directly affected by Mr. Hyde and I most certainly never thought that Mr. Hyde was capable of murder. Furthermore, it was my thought that when people referred to another person as being like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that they could switch from being kind one minute to being irrational and short tempered the next. I never believe
...ve duality of man;… if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both” Thus, Stevenson creates in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, two coexistent, and eternally opposed components that make up a “normal” individual. However, here, good and evil are not related but are two independent entities, individuals even, different in mental and physical attributes and constantly at war with each other. Evil now does not require the existence of good to justify itself but it exists simply as itself, and is depicted as being the more powerful, the more enjoyable of the two, and in the end ultimately it is the one that leads to Dr. Jekyll's downfall and death. Stevenson creates the perfect metaphor for the never-ending battle between good and evil by using Jekyll and Hyde. However, this novella is perhaps one of the few that truly show the power of Evil.
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
Myers Frederic W. H., ‘Multiplex Personality’, in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Norton Critical Edition (New York: Norton press, 2003)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde both suffer; however, one from illness and the other from insanity. Mr. Hyde is a sociopath, and lives in it to the full extent as well as Jekyll being a psychopath. However, Hyde was created the way he was to portray a sinful side of Jekyll, while Jekyll was himself throughout, good and bad, to manipulate and gain in the harm of
In conclusion, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, represent many themes of duality in human nature. This is represented by the characters of Henry Jekyll, Edward Hyde, Hastie Lanyon, and John Utterson.
Jekyll himself. 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. This guilt drives him to have “clasped hands to God…tears and prayers to smother down the crowd of hideous images and sounds that his memory swarmed against him” (Stevenson 57). As a whole, the text demonstrates that Dr. Jekyll’s alter ego, Mr. Hyde, is the mastermind of pure malevolence who participates in activities that Dr. Jekyll cannot
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson primarily to portray the ‘dual’ nature of man and presented in numerous perspectives and point of views. These various methods of presenting a story all have particular uses and benefits which Stevenson exploits to the full in presenting a story that seeks to establish the fact of the duality of man and argues how if not properly harnessed and controlled, one of the ‘parts’ would ultimately subdue the other and collect more authority on the life and actions of the person whom they interplay. However, there are 3 major types of narrations that are clearly indicated in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These are the third person narrative, the framed narrative, and the personal narrative. First of all, the third person narrative is used in literature to present a narration from a completely neutral point of view.