The Disparity Between Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

The disparity between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is also evidenced in their actions which underscore the duality of good and evil. Hyde is introduced in an altercation in alley when he collides with a little girl. Rather than expressing remorse, he “trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground.” (Stevenson, 7) He puts the incident to rest by buying the family off but not without raising suspicion. There is a sense of other worldliness about him that people just can’t place, “like some damned Juggernaut” both displeasing and “downright detestable.” (Stevenson, 7) Hyde’s atrocities escalate as a maidservant relays watching him brutally murder Sir Danvers Carew. With no seeming provocation, Hyde breaks out in a “great

Lanyon’s Narrative and Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case. The reason for Lanyon’s feelings becomes clear as he describes Hyde appearing on his doorstep, only to be transformed into Jekyll after drinking from a vial. It was a transformation that was horrifying to watch: “he reeled, staggered” and “gasping with open mouth” “he seemed to swell – his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter. “ (Stevenson, 54) Unable to come to terms with Jekyll’s discovery, Dr. Lanyon is “sickened”, with his “life is shaken to its roots” and overcome by “the deadliest terror.” It is not so much the physical change in Jekyll that Lanyon reacts to but rather “the moral turpitude” (Stevenson, 54) as he sees evil come to life. Jekyll is essentially playing God and stepping outside the boundaries that Lanyon feels must be kept. The exposure to the evil that Jekyll unleashes results in Lanyon’s

(Stevenson, 57) Instead of searching out the good, as was his stated intention, the evil takes root: “my virtue slumbered; my evil, was alert and swift to seize the occasion.” (Stevenson, 59) Jekyll recognized that Hyde was only a different version of himself, but he took no onus for Hyde’s actions. “It was Hyde alone, that was guilty”; Jekyll’s “conscience slumbered.” (Stevenson, 60) Rather than feeling outraged by Hyde’s behavior, he revels in, feeling exhilarated. Free of the bonds of obligation, his loss of moral code allows evil to overcome. He is alarmed and frantic when it reaches the point where he is no longer in control; Hyde is able to reassert himself with, or without, the potion. Now, “it was the horror of being Hyde that racked” him. (Stevenson, 68) He comes to realize how wrong he was and how little control he has as the evil side becomes all