Jekyll and Hyde

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It is very difficult to lead a respectable life in this society without both good and bad sides of one's personality surfacing. In Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" the author describes the difficulties of a man trying to lead two different lives. A scientist, Dr. Jekyll, makes an amazing discovery about isolating personalities in the name of scientific research. However, Dr. Jekyll's desire for leading different lives prevails over the nobler motive of being concerned with the good of scientific research. Dr. Jekyll had pondered long about how to separate his two "warring" personalities, but he did not do so for the sake of science. Dr. Jekyll had been dreaming of a way to separate his personalities so that he could lead two lives. One of the lives would be led by a mischievous man, who would not get close to anyone. The other would lead the respectable doctor's life in the comfort of his fellow friends. Even before the potion had been discovered Dr. Jekyll had the longing for separating his personalities and enjoy two different lives: "I (Jekyll) had learned to dwell with pleasure,..., on the thought of the separation of these elements." (p.170) Dr. Jekyll's motives were concentrated on his own pleasures rather than the good of science. When Jekyll discovered the drug for changing identities, his new body reflected the form of this mischievous nature of Jekyll. Unlike religious beliefs, Dr. Jekyll believed that the body is the reflection of the mind. In other words, if the mind was devious, then the features of the body would reflect evil and slyness. The original body of Dr. Jekyll reflected a: ."..life of effort, virtue, and control," (p.172) since for most of his life Dr. Jekyll had kept his mischievous nature under control. However, Dr. Jekyll's new body reflected this secretive personality of his. Mr. Hyde, the name given to the new body, reflected evil and repugnance. Mr. Hyde's nature was made up of almost all evil, just as Dr. Jekyll's personality was made up of almost all good. According to Dr. Jekyll, when the evil is separated into one body, one will not know right from wrong because there is no conscience in a being of complete evil. Dr. Jekyll had formed a man with no conscience or dignity to stop him from sinning.

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