Madyson Silva Clawson 6th hour February 22, 2015 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson explores duality of human nature through the representation of good versus evil in the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which he intertwined two characteristics into one character. Good versus evil is personified in the same traits as readers view monsters in modern day literature. In the novel the actions are portrayed through the changes of looks, personalities and actions. Dr. Jekyll is described as an admirable, wealthy, and comfortable man; meanwhile, Mr. Hyde is described as an evil, ugly, man of disgust. In chapter one, Stevenson states, “his looks bring an off vibe to others, and a …show more content…
Jekyll is portrayed as respectable, big hearted, and a generous man. While Mr. Hyde is described as a brutal, barbaric, unsightly man. To the reader this can be foreshadowed as Jekyll representing the good half, and Hyde being the evil half. In the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster states that most of the things in books symbolize something else specific. (Ch. 12) This gives the reader an imagination to dig deeper and analyze the text to fully understand. The reader could observe that Stevenson gave Mr. Hyde non-human characteristics to show that he isn't fully “evolved” like Dr. Jekyll is. This symbolizes the belief of some people that humans evolved from apes. Does this mean that all evil is a natural intuition in humans that has been matured through evolution? There is no right or wrong answer to these theories, but it definitely gives the reader a better understanding. The potion Dr. Jekyll creates to transform into Mr. Hyde is the obvious influence and cause of evil throughout the book. This can mean many things to the reader. Was Dr. Jekyll curious to how far things could go after every transformation? Or was the “little devil” on his shoulder tempting him to keep taking the potion? Life becomes cruel for people because of the social and economic recession going on; even though, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written in a completely different time period than today's society, good versus evil will always be a common theme in books, and
The criticism by Vladimir Nabokov, supports the claim that Stevenson uses symbolisms to express ideas and to create suspense. Finally Stevenson’s certain tone when he describes Hyde or the evil things the Hyde commit allowed him to express Hyde’s evil and created an unusual atmosphere. When Hyde was described he was described as small and the facial expression of his was very odd and hard to explain “Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with some sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering somewhat broken voice” (Stevenson 16). After Utterson’s first encounter with Hyde, he is just amazed and shocked because of Hyde’s physical appearance. Also in their first encounter, the setting was very dark and gloomy which adds to the claim. Also the description of Hyde symbolizes Hyde’s evil. Hyde’s ugliness and his deformed face symbolizes his evil, his small size symbolize Jekyll’s evil side inside him that was repressed for so long along with the dark setting. Another symbolism used in the book is between Jekyll’s laboratory and his house. Jekyll’s house is described as a place of wealth and comfort but his laboratory is described as “a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the streets” (Stevenson 6). The wealthy house represents the respectable man Jekyll and the laboratory represents the corrupt Hyde. Normal people will not see the two structures as one just like how they won’t be able to see the relationship between Hyde and
To conclude the way that Stevenson has described Hyde and what Jekyll has done in most parts he has related it to the devil which in Victorian times was considered very dangerous, even though today he’s not considered that powerful it would still make a big impact. Stevenson has been successful in using many elements of a shocker/thriller to write a novella with a much deeper moral significance because every aspect of the story relates back to the Victorian morals of 1837 till 1901 and for a 21st century reader some parts of the novella will make them think what is really happening around them now and whether it is right or not!
...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.
In creating Hyde, Jekyll breaks the balance between good and evil within himself. Without that balance Jekyll cannot survive. Each time Hyde becomes active he gains more power over Jekyll, and ultimately leads to his downfall. Hyde started out as just the small things that Jekyll refrained from doing or even thinking about because he knew that he would not be accepted by society if he indulged in them, but as he grew more powerful little “undignified” pleasures turned into murder, and other horrible heinous crimes. The evil that Hyde possessed turned into something uncontrollable, while Jekyll remained Jekyll, not purely good and not purely evil. In the end Hyde’s evil overwhelmed Jekyll’s normalcy. Maybe there was a reason that society originally prompted Jekyll to repress Hyde within
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
In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the author Robert Louis Stevenson uses Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to show the human duality. Everyone has a split personality, good and evil. Stevenson presents Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as two separate characters, instead of just one. Dr. Jekyll symbolizes the human composite of a person while Mr. Hyde symbolizes the absolute evil. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who are indeed the same person, present good and evil throughout the novel.
One half of this duality is given to Mr. Hyde, for he is the embodiment of the darkness and all of its many faces, such as night, and fog. This dark symbolism is used by Stevenson to show the evil half of Dr. Jekyll, the irrational, suspicious, sinful, lustful, and disfigured person that Mr. Hyde is. This dark imagery can easily be associated with Mr.
Despite being published in 1886, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson remains to be recognized and referred to as one of the initial studies of the duality of human nature and mans struggle between two natural forces – good and evil. The story takes place during the Victorian Era in which society is already somewhat constrained and cruel and explores the human struggle between being civilized and facing the more primitive aspects to our being. According to author Irving S Saposnik, “Henry Jekyll’s experiment to free himself from the burden of duality results in failure because of his moral myopia, because he is a victim of society’s standards even while he would be free of them.” Henry Jekyll, an English doctor faces duality when he comes into battle with his darker side. Creating a personification under the name of Edward Hyde in order to fulfill his desires, Dr. Jekyll feels as if he will be able to control the face that he wants seen to public vs. the one in which he wants to keep more private. “Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me, and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life.” (10.1) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a story about how people are scared to acknowledge personal duality so they keep silent and in this case, create a personification in order to fulfill evil desires without thinking through the consequences of such actions.
From reading the last chapter, we can all see that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are easily viewed as a symbol about the good and evil that exists in all men, and about the struggle these two sides in the human personality. Hyde has a short temper and is made to look evil. “I observed that when I wore the semblance of Edward Hyde, none could come near me at first with a visible misgiving of the flesh”. Jekyll is arguing that Hyde is the perfect physical embodiment of the evil inside him, implying that Hyde looks evil. Stevenson has also explored which aspect of human personality is superior, good or evil. Since at the start of the book Hyde seems to be taking over, you might argue that evil is stronger than good. However, Hyde does end up dead at the end of the story, suggesting a failure of the weakness of evil. Since Hyde represents the evil in Jekyll he is therefore symbolically represented being much smaller than Jekyll as “Jekyll’s clothes are far too large for him”. But as the plot progresses Mr. Hyde began to grow and becomes more powerful than Jekyll, and the reason for Hyde to become more powerful is due to the fact that Jekyll enjoys what Hyde does, which allow Hyde to gradually destroy the good in
As Jekyll reached adult hood, he found himself living a dual life. He had become more curious in discovering his other side. Jekyll insists, “Man is not truly one, but truly two” (125). This eventually led Jekyll into the scientific interests of separating his good and evil side, and he finds a chemical concoction that transforms him into a more wicked man, Edward Hyde. At first, Hyde was of pure impulse, but in the end, he became dominate and took control over Jekyll. Jekyll had never intended to hurt anyone, but he was aware that something could potentially go wrong. Jekyll presumes, “I knew well that I risked death, for any drug that so potently shook the very fortress of identity… utterly blot that immaterial tabernacle which I looked to it to change” (127-129). One could say this makes Jekyll equally as menacing as Hyde. Jekyll couldn’t control the imbalance between the two natures. Jekyll foolishly allowed his evil side to flourish and become stronger. This is shown when Jekyll has awoken to find that he has turned into Hyde without taking the solution. Jekyll says, “But the hand in which I now saw, clearly enough in the yellow light of a mid- London morning…It was the hand of Edward Hyde” (139).
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was easily viewed as an analogy about the good and evil that exist in all men, both sides of a human personality. Edward hyde was a strange, repulsive person. He was very violent, cruel and reckless. Dr. Jeykll wanted to get rid of his dark side and be only good. Dr. Jekyll began to run out of his potions.
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...
Jekyll plays man as a whole, good and bad, he was “wild” and also “smooth-faced” at the same time. Both characters lack vital emotional outputs that make humans socially, even though the psychopath is more cunning than the sociopath. “…lack of conscience, remorse or guilt for hurtful actions to others….There may be an intellectual understanding of appropriate social behavior but no emotional response to the actions of others” (“Psychopath vs. Sociopath” -- http://www.diffen.com/difference/Psychopath_vs_Sociopath). Both are social defaces, and cannot be helped; however to the naked eye, these two characters are savage. Both victims of anti-social disorder are lacking factors that make humans acceptably sociable, one lacking empathy while the other lacks sensibility. Diffen, a website, tells us, “Psychopaths…lack of empathy; no conscience…sociopaths…high impulsivity” (“Sociopathy versus Psychopathy” -- http://www.diffen.com/difference/Sociopathy_versus_Psychopathy). Dr. Jekyll shows no empathy by using and manipulating people close to him, and Mr. Hyde, as intended, has no sensibility to act with caution resulting himself in trouble for barbaric actions. This, in turn shows the comparison and contrast of the psychopathic creator and his sociopathic creation which in reality are two halves to a whole.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it is obvious the binary opposition structuring the text can be found in the good versus evil theme. In fact, the main theme of the novel is good versus evil. In the novel, Stevenson writes, “doing the good things in which he found his pleasure, and no longer exposed to disgrace and penitence by the hands of this extraneous evil” (64) and “Jekyll was no worse; he woke again to his good qualities seemingly unimpaired; he would even make haste, where it was possible, to undo the evil done by Hyde” (69). It is obvious that the binary opposition is good/evil or Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. As we read the novel, the normal reader will keep in mind that Dr. Jekyll is the good guy while Mr. Hyde is the bad guy.
In conclusion, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, represent many themes of duality in human nature. This is represented by the characters of Henry Jekyll, Edward Hyde, Hastie Lanyon, and John Utterson.