The Nature of Good and Evil in Stevenson's The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Introduction: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the story of a gifted doctor who discovers a drug which can release the evil side of one's nature. This drug changes Dr Jekyll into Mr Hyde. Stevenson does not reveal the details of Jekyll's story until the end of the novel, but presents the tale as mystery, in which the main characters try to figure out the identity of Mr Hyde and understand his strange relationship with Dr Jekyll. This story follows the gothic genre and below I will explain some gothic features that are used in this story This story follows 'The Faust Motif'. This is The use of a monster (Mr Hyde) Due to the fact that he looks abnormal, disabled and is ugly people feel uncomfortable around him and scared to stand anywhere near him. Another feature would be that Dr Jekyll has a second self or in other words an alternate identity being Mr Hyde. This book uses multiple narratives. This is when the story is told through many different perspectives so that the reader can make up his own mind about what the story is actually about. This story we first hear through the perspective of Mr Utterson and Mr Enfield as they try to discover the relationship between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Then as the story progresses we hear Mr Hyde's story and towards the end we hear Dr Jekyll' story. I think that Stevenson was trying to show that good and evil cannot be changed or intervened with using the aid of science. He gets his point across when we find out how Dr Jekyll ends up suffering and leading to his own downfall by trying to get rid of hi... ... middle of paper ... ...t they have seen, experienced and had evidence of rather than talking about what they have heard Conclusion In this essay I have gone through the main points of the story. From the beginning where Mr Hyde tramples the young girl and Mr Utterson and Mr Enfield decide to track Mr Hyde. Then I carried on by going onto how the doors of houses and other places can symbolise what is behind them and what type of person uses them. After that I analysed Mr Hyde in depth and discussed his actions. Including when he trampled the young girl and paid her family money to avoid any sort of trouble. Then he brutally murdered Sir Danvers Carew, even though from the maids perspective it seemed as if they were friends. Then I commented on the use of multiple narratives and the relationship between the narrators.
In both The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the 1941 movie adaptation, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a strong representation of evil is present. Both the film and the novel are surrounded with sense of immorality and sin. The text and the film have economical and historical characteristics that help define evil. While the film alone has a strong representation of evil surrounding gender and relationships.
Considering The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as an Effective Representation of Evil
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...
Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dual nature of man is a recurring theme. Jekyll constantly struggles with good and evil, the expectations of Victorian society, and the differences between Lanyon and Jekyll.
Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
In this essay I am going to look at Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll, the first
This essay will focus on how Robert Louis Stevenson presents the nature of evil through his novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Using ideas such as duality, the technique used to highlight the two different sides of a character or scene, allegories, an extended metaphor which has an underlying moral significance, and hypocrisy; in this book the Victorians being against all things evil but regularly taking part in frown able deeds that would not be approved of in a ‘respectable’ society. This links in with the idea of secrecy among people and also that evil is present in everyone. The novel also has strong ties and is heavily influenced by religion. Stevenson, being brought up following strong Calvinist beliefs, portrays his thoughts and opinion throughout the story in his characters; good and evil.
...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.
From the beginning of time, humans have questioned the validity of the intrinsic duality of man. Are humans born with both pure goodness and pure evilness or is the latter cultivated? Or simply altogether is man an existence embodied with both? In Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one man, a scientist named Henry Jekyll, concludes that all men are both good and evil. Through his own understanding of human nature, Henry Jekyll transforms and reveals himself to become and show the characteristics of both the protagonist and antagonist of the story.
In the novel “The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” a number of
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.
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.
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.