The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare both share the same theme of duality. They show that everything has two sides: good and evil. Both are great works of literature and even though two different authors write them, the themes intertwine. They are unique in their own ways but are similar in some aspects aswell. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Stevenson takes place in a Victorian culture. Stevenson probably chose this time period because it helped add to the theme of the story. Dr. Jekyll was a respected doctor with a lighthearted side. Because of this, he set out to find a way to create an opposite side that never got in the way. After continuously …show more content…
Shakespeare says, “O heavy lightness, serious vanity/ Misshapen chaos of well seeming forms/ Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health/ Still waking sleep” (I, i, 178-181). Shakespeare uses this series of oxymorons to display the love of the elusive Juliet. He uses highlights to array the emotional effect that is produced with the words such as “heavy lightness”, “hating love”, “bright smoke”, “cold fire”, and “sick health”. Friar Lawrence says, “The earth that’s nature’s mother in her tomb/ What is her burying grave that is her womb/ And from her womb children of drivers kind/ We sucking on her natural bosom find/ many virtues excellent/ None but for some and yet different” (III, iii, 9-14). With this quote, we see the qualities of both humankind and plants that composes of positive and negative or medicine and poison. Stevenson mentions in his book, “Evil besides (which I must still believe to be the lethal side of man) had left on that body in imprint of deformity and decay” (pg. 131). With this being said, it is suggesting that mankind’s evil side never truly leaves and it will always affect humankind’s soul. “It leaves an imprint of deformity” means that if and when the evil side abates, there will always be a piece that
William Shakespeare is really famous for his writings, especially Romeo and Juliet. A pair of two star crossed lovers take place, on their mission to unite two houses, Capulets and Montagues, once and for all. In the play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare presents a lot of paradoxes. This provides a lot of contrast to the text and allows readers to think harder and better understand the intricacies of this writing. In this play, there are many paradoxical themes expressed through the text for example good versus evil, love versus hate, and many more. All these paradoxes are communicated through figurative language, characterization, sound devices, and literary foils. These are literary devices that authors use to help readers to visualize
...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.
Duality is a recurring theme in literature; both modern and classic works reference it in numerous ways. It is the idea that everything, no matter what, is two sided, hence it is called duality. There are two works of literature that are considered the best to represent what duality is and what it can stand for: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. These two discuss the effects of duality and the duality of the human nature. Good vs. evil: one of the most popular storylines to do.
Duality is a combination of opposites, such as good and evil, love and hate, or life and death. It is used to explore things such as suppression, law breaking, and the unpredictability of human nature. It has been presented in many literary works, such as The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Romeo and Juliet, and “The Fall of The House of Usher”. The theme of duality is used in these three stories to convey new thoughts and concepts.
In many different types of stories, authors use their writing to critique stereotypes of their own countries, whether it be fiction or nonfiction. In both Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, they show the demise of a person and humanity. They both have prevalent themes of the struggle of power. Except, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are in a power struggle of self-control, while in War of the Worlds the struggle is of humanity and the outside world. Both worlds, personal and humanity-wise, are overcome by other forces also trying to gain power. Both are forced to succumb and give in to the struggles they face. For example, in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jekyll struggles constantly with not allowing for Hyde to take over his life. He wants to keep his reputation clean, and he wants to be seen as a respectable man.
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.
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, the dual nature of man is a main theme. Jekyll says: "Man is not /truly one, but truly two"(125), meaning all people have both a good and a bad side. Dr. Jekyll creates a potion to fully separate good and evil, but instead it awakens a dormant character, Mr. Hyde. Throughout the novel, Stevenson uses society, control, and symbolism to tell the reader about human nature.
In this essay on the story of Jekyll and Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson I will try to unravel the true meaning of the book and get inside the characters in the story created by Stevenson. A story of a man battling with his double personality.
Jekyll does deserve his final miserable fate because he commits several selfish deeds to the point where he brings his miserable fate upon himself. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson uses Jekyll to represent how man prioritizes by putting himself over others. Throughout the book, Jekyll’s two different sides are used to show that man is consistently selfish and will usually think of himself before others. Even though Jekyll has a good side and an evil side, both sides of him are selfish. Jekyll originally takes the potion for selfish reasons, Jekyll uses Hyde to conquer his own evil temptations, and in the end Jekyll gives into Hyde and completely gives up.
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll, in grave danger, writes a letter to his good friend Lanyon. With Jekyll’s fate in Lanyon’s hands, he requests the completion of a task, laying out specific directions for Lanyon to address the urgency of the matter. In desperation, Jekyll reveals the possible consequences of not completing this task through the use of emotional appeals, drawing from his longtime friendship with Lanyon, to the fear and guilt he might feel if he fails at succeeding at this task. Through Jekyll’s serious and urgent tone, it is revealed that his situation is a matter of life and death in which only Lanyon can determine the outcome.
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.
Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde I have been reading the book Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The book was written by Robert Louis Stevens on during in the 19th century. This book was written during a time where Victorian society had a lot of strong moral values. These codes were very strict and controlled every aspect of the Victorian lifestyle. People in these times believed to settle things verbally rather than aggression so fighting was looked down upon.
wrong, a lot like the way Mr Hyde was thought of. So to Mr Utterson,
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a highly acclaimed novel, in which Jekyll is painted as the loving victim while Hyde is the murderous villain. In the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the fact of the matter is one is a psychopath born cold-hearted, while the other is a sociopath created by society. Anti-social disorder is at the crux of the novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, which reveals the psychotic characteristics, deprived social relations, and *** of the psychopath, Dr. Jekyll, and the sociopath, Mr. Hyde.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde shared the same body, but they didn’t share the same personalities nor physical, mental and morally. In the story “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” A man name Henry Jekyll turn himself into a monster named Edward Hyde. Dr. Jekyll made a potion to create Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde then does things that Dr. Jekyll would never do. Mr. Hyde would go out only at night and do unspeakable things. They are clearly two different personalities because of their physical, mental and moral differences.