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. Marxism is a method of analysis based around the concepts developed by the two German philosophers Karl Marx and Fredrich Engel, centered around the complexities of social-relations and a class-based society. Together, they collaborated their theories to produce such works as The German Ideology (1846) and The Communist Manifesto (1848), and developed the terms ‘’proletariat’ and ’bourgeois’ to describe the working-class and the wealthy, segmenting the difference between their respective social classes. As a result of the apparent differences, Marxism states that proletariats and bourgeoisie are in constant class struggle, working against each other to amount in a gain for themselves. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde features a setting based in various locations throughout Victorian London, including a variety of areas in different ends of the economic class spectrum. The primary characters, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, represent these opposite ends: Dr. Jekyll’s home is located in Soho, on a “dingy street” (Ste... ... middle of paper ... ...d Mr. Hyde, despite being placed in a setting where it would have been difficult to disregard, generally depicts the lower class as nonexistent in humanity, ignored in favor of characters higher on the scale of living. He gives the antagonist a home and appearance similar to how the impoverished would live to contrast the “good” of the protagonist, who is well-educated, prosperous, and accepted by society. Robert Louis Stevenson failed to give the poor in Victorian London society proper representation within the novel, and rather made the appearance of an educated male to be one of the only accepted individuals within the Victorian society. Works Cited "Robert Louis Stevenson Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. Robert, Stevenson L. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Dover Publications, 2013. Print.
Texts are a representation of their context and this is evident in Robert Stevenson’s novella: “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”, where many values of late nineteenth century Victorian England values were reflected through the themes of the novel using language and structural features. These values included: technological advances, reputation and masculinity and are demonstrated in the text through literary and structure devices as well as the characterisation of the main character.
Stevenson’s most prominent character in the story is the mysterious Mr Hyde. Edward Hyde is introduced from the very first chapter when he tramples a young girl in the street, which brings the reader’s attention straight to his character. The reader will instantly know that this person is a very important part of this book and that he plays a key role in the story. This role is the one of a respectable old man named Dr Jekyll’s evil side or a ‘doppelganger’. This links in with the idea of duality. Dr Jekyll is described as being ‘handsome’, ‘well-made’ and ‘smooth-faced’. On the other hand, Mr Hyde is described as being ‘hardly human’, ‘pale and dwarfish’, giving of an impression of deformity and ‘so ugly that it brought out the sweat on (Mr Enfield) like running’! These words all go together to conjure up an image in the mind of an animal, beast or monster. During the novel...
Stevenson’s Portrayal of Good an Evil and the Dual Nature of Men in Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde
The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is a story set in nineteenth century England and focuses on Doctor Jekyll and his alternative personality, Edward Hyde. Robert Louis Stevenson was born in the year 1850, in the midst of the Victorian era. Victorian Morality is the term that represents the moral of the people living in this time period. This concept supported sexual repression, low tolerance of criminal activity, and a strong social responsibility.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde takes place during a time in London when people flocked to the city for jobs which resulted in great competition and deceit. As the city grew in size with powerful men there became issues of appearance and reputation where men of high status began to dance with the devil allowing their evil nature to show itself. The social scene at the time required people to hide this evil nature so men and women began to create two sides of themselves so that they could maintain and uphold their reputation hypocritically. The text of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde reveals human nature to have two sides; one represented by what a man claims and the other represented by how he/she acts.
It is captivating, the thought of being able to have something no one else could. This read explores the possibilities of how those events might play out. In the award winning novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mr. Hyde’s ominous, mysterious nature intrigues the curious Dr. Jekyll as Hyde allows Jekyll to lead a double life void of consequences, live the gift of youth once again, and indulge in vile pleasures.
Henry Jekyll is the character who has repressed the most and who consequently suffers the direst of outcomes. In his statement of his experiences leading up to the emergence of Edward Hyde, one anticipates the revelation of some early trauma of a fairly significant scale that would clarify the man’s need to regress to an alternate identity. However, Jekyll’s letter is free from any mention of anything of the sort. He instead emphasizes his “gaiety of disposition”, and his “guarantee” of a “distinguished future,” while steering clear of any descriptio...
Point of View and Language in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.” The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novella that tells the story of a troubled man, Dr.Jekyll. In the novella, The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson presents symbols such as the door and character names along with conveying a theme of duality regarding good and evil.
Stevenson uses many methods to achieve and sustain an atmosphere of mystery and suspense in the novel of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He does this by using a clever sense of setting, vocabulary, surroundings and the manner of his characters which are used to describe and slowly reveal the appearance of Hyde . Some of these are highlighted in the depiction of the Dr Jekyll’s house, such as Mr. Enfield's story, Henry Jekyll’s will and the meeting with Hyde.
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,
The schism between mind and heart is conveyed throughout Stevenson’s novel ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. The disagreement between the desires and expectations of man are highlighted throughout the text, especially through the different personality of ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Jekyll thought he was able to control Hyde, stating he can be ‘rid’ of him at any given ‘moment’. However, it is evident in ‘Jekyll’s full statement on the case’, the shackles that once restrained Mr Hyde were broken, and it was Hyde who was in control of
Everything in this story has a Dual side, including the setting in London, London had streets that were respectable and others that were made of squalor and crime. In the story of Dr.Jekyll and Hyde characters hid their side and showed only one certain side, as a matter of fact a quote from the book that says “an ivory-faced and silvery-haired old woman opened the door. She had an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy: but her manners were excellent..” (Stevenson Chapter 4 P 54). This quote is trying to convey a message of Mr.Hyde's keeper being oh so well mannered, but don't let her fool you she was an evil person. That quote was also trying to demonstrate good versus evil and how it is conveyed through the book. Hyde was taking control completely over Dr.Jekyll , Dr.Jekyll was sure that there was no way for him to regain his identity, and his only option was to flee. “I lingered but a moment at the mirror; the second and conclusive experiment had yet to be attempted; it yet remained to be seen if I lost my identity beyond redemption and must flee before daylight from a house.” (Stevenson Chapter 10 P 112) Dr.Jekyll’s
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a fiction novel written around 1886. This novel is a science fiction horror-mystery set in Victorian London, England (Stevenson and Wolf). Dr. Jekyll enjoys the advantages of his double life to have as an outlet for his undignified desires; however, after some time, finds that having two separate lives does not mean two separate bodies. Mr. Hyde, experiencing the benefits of living an unrestricted independent life, ends up being held for murder. He and Dr. Jekyll face the consequences although Mr. Hyde is the one with blood on his hands. Being monstrous, Mr. Hyde’s evil is exposed through his appearance and questionable blackmailing of Dr. Jekyll: “Poor old Harry Jekyll, if ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face, it is that of [Mr. Hyde] your new friend” (Stevenson 30). The Victorian citizens become suspicious and deduce that Mr. Hyde is responsible for the recent crimes and murder. Stevenson illustrates characterization and personification to enhance the wickedness and tameness of the two characters; without these literary devices the suspense and duality would be lost.
In this novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson, we see throughout the story the different class rankings and how life was for them in the Victorian period. Utterson, Jekyll and the maid all portray some of the rankings that took place in the Victorian era. Life in the Victorian London era portrayed many unique characters such as Utterson, the maid and Jekyll. They are all seen as representations of the different elements that occur in the era.