Many books throughout history have tried to make sense of and explain the human condition. Some books succeed in analyzing the human condition on a level beyond other books. These books are able to become timeless, and their lessons about the human condition remain relevant throughout mankind s existence. These timeless classics would be considered as good works of literature. In the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, he utilizes the dual natures of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as each pursue his own self-interest to affirm his belief that the clash of one’s opposing personalities are what truly motivate us to SOMETHING. Stevenson’s effective use of truth to comment on the human condition is one reason why his story …show more content…
The true connection that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person is not revealed until Jekyll pays Hastie Lanyon, a fellow physician, a visit. Lanyon cries, “‘o God!’ ... For there before my eyes-pale and shaken, and half fainting, and groping before him with his hands, like a man restored from death-there stood Henry Jekyll” (Stevenson 47). This big reveal of how Jekyll and Hyde are the same person shows how everyone has a second side to them, even if it is unknown to the world. Humans are dynamic and different emotions and personalities will show different “sides” of the same person. Henry Jekyll also states that humans have two sides, good and evil. He states, “this as I take it, was because 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 51). Jekyll reveals the truth that that there are two …show more content…
Early on in the story, the reader is introduced to Jekyll and Hyde. They are set up to be opposites in terms of personality. Mr. Enfield says, “‘I see you feel as I do. Yes it’s a bad story. For my man was a fellow that nobody could have to do with, a really damnable man; and the person that drew the cheque is the very pink of the proprieties’” (Stevenson 10). Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are well developed characters because they are set up from the very beginning of the novel to be diametric opposites. Jekyll admits in his letter that had both sides of good and evil within himself as Dr. Jekyll. He states, “both sides of me were in dead earnest; I was no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame, than when I laboured, in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and suffering” (48). Dr. Jekyll has the two opposite personalities of good and evil clash within himself. It shows his two sides, and the fact that they both existed at the same time. Sometimes evil would overcome him, and he would turn into Hyde. This complexity reveals that humans experience something similar when different personalities clash. Stevenson is able to use vitality in complex characters to reveal the human condition of mankind’s dual
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
Stevenson creates in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, to coexistent to make up a “normal” individual (Singh). Seeing things as Jekyll did, “Humans are half-good, half-evil” Stevenson separated the two, making one pure good (Jekyll) and one pure evil, as Jekyll says, “Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil” (Stevenson 88). After all, good and evil are independent objects, people; they possess distinctive psychological characteristics and consistently fight with each
In the last chapter, Henry Jekyll’s full statement of the case, Dr.Jekyll states that he now believes that there is truly more than two sides of man. One way that this is true in the story is how Mr. Hyde becomes jealous of Dr. Jekyll and wants to overpower him showing the jealous side of man.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is good versus evil as well as our bad side triumphing over your good side. Even if some critics may think that your bad side almost always triumphs because of movies or any other place that has happened, the yin and yang symbol is of perfect balance, and someone cannot possibly have a double-sided appearance where the two sides are opposite. It is clear to see that in Robert Louis Stevenson’s writing, a person can have two opposite personalities, the yin and yang symbol is not evenly balanced, and your bad side can triumph your good side. As Robert states, “All human beings are commingled out of good and evil” Hopefully those critics may now understand not to believe what they see or may hear about when dealing with good versus evil and evil triumphing over
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 and Mr. Hyde. Some attention has been given to Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He claims that the brain was composed of several faculties, and that the brain and mind were connected in mysterious ways of madness. A trestle on insanity becoming a source of systematic perversion of the natural feelings, affections, inclinations, temper, habits, moral disputations, and natural impulses. Dr. Jekyll knew what he was doing when he made Mr. Hyde but he did not think about the consequences of making a duplicate of his insane side. As the story goes on, Dr. Jekyll becomes anti-social in some way for example, morbidly depressed or angry with everyone. Utterson soon knew that Dr. Jekyll was not telling him something when he read his will left up to a man name Mr. Hyde. Throughout the story Dr. Jekyll’s friends try and find out little by little who this man is and why are these crimes occurring and no names lead back to anyone. Even though Jekyll and Utterson are two totally different people, they are still somewhat the same because Jekyll is driving himself insane trying to keep Hyde alive but yet a secret to everyone. Mr. Utterson is also driving himself insane by trying to find out who Hyde is. These two men were obsessed with something made up and their obsession just grew stronger until neither of them could take it anymore. At the end of the story both Jekyll and Hyde become reckless as he locked up in the
Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde" depicts the notion of the exploration of good and bad that resides in human nature. The main character, Dr.Jekyll/Mr.Hyde, is shown to struggle between those two forces. However, it is only until the very last chapter "Henry Jekyll's Full Statement of the Case" where the theme of good versus evil is fully transpired. There, the theory of the duality of human nature is revealed within the Jekyll-Hyde relationship after witnessing the events prior to the character's death. This theme is central, as it forces us to contemplate the management of our own battle with these two forces that fester beyond our control. In addition to Jekyll and Hyde's support of the theme of human nature,
To begin with, Stevenson shows duality of human nature through society. During the Victorian era, there were two classes, trashy and wealthy. Dr. Jekyll comes from a wealthy family, so he is expected to be a proper gentleman. He wants to be taken seriously as a scientist, but also indulge in his darker passions.“...I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality/ of man; 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).
..., but truly two’ could be considered with a number of meanings: civilisation versus savagery, good versus evil, or religion versus science. All of these were significant to Stevenson and are asked rhetorically throughout the novel.
Thus in conclusion, the concept that texts are a reflection of their context is applicable in Robert Stevenson’s novella: “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”. This is due to the values of the nineteenth century Victorian England such as technological advances, reputation and masculinity being reflected through the main characters of the text through Stevenson’s use of literary devices support.
To begin, Stevenson uses several characters in the book to show human nature by how
Robert Louis Stevenson’s, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, creates an atmosphere of constant suspense and perplexity. The context of the book promotes an intriguing plot that highlights a man with a struggle between his dual identities, one of these being Dr. Jekyll whose intentions are essentially for good, and the other being Mr. Hyde whom Jekyll is attempting to prevent from overtaking him completely. The exploration of this “dual identity” is truly the main aspect of what Stevenson tries to convey towards his readers. This thriller portrays the uphill battle Jekyll faces as he fights the inherent evil nature of man, the multiplex personality that enslaves him at times, and the uncertainty of the way that he perceives himself all contribute to the rise of Mr. Hyde and his reign of evil.
Due to their concealed yet present inner evil, humans are naturally inclined to sin but at the same time resist temptation because of influence from society, thus illustrating a duality in humanity. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde focuses on how humans are actually two different people composed into one. The concept of dual human nature includes all of Hyde’s crimes and ultimately the death of Jekyll. Jekyll proposes that “man is not truly one, but truly two,” and describes the human soul as a constant clash of the “angel” and the “fiend,” each struggling to suppress the other (Stevenson 61, 65). Man will try to cover up his inner evil because once it rises to the surface everyone will know the real...
..., and also used subtle contrasts between characters and places to create in depth detail and to portray the popular secrecy that bound the Victorian era. His feelings and thoughts are cleverly wound into his writing. The morals of the story, it is thought that he wrote the books as an allegory, however discreet are very important. Stevenson believed that gentlemen were hypocrites with outward respectability and inward lust and greed, and in this novel there are several occasions where hypocrisy is brought into the lime light.
A major theme in the novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the duality of good versus evil. A character in the novel 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 truly one, but truly two.”. Dr. Jekyll is a respectable and well mannered man that gains an urge to set free his “wild side” from his