Anywhere you look, you are staring into the eyes of evil. You might not see evil staring back, but it’s there, trapped behind a wall of morality. It is always scheming, preparing to burst out of its confinement. It may find a hole for some time, but it can never win; good will triumph in the end. Bram Stoker and Robert Louis Stevenson, the authors of Dracula and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde respectively have this view of the world. Their novels illustrate that good and evil are constantly vying for control both in our lives and in the environment around us. The works differ in how their main conflict between good and evil is structured. In Dracula, the aggression takes the form of person-vs.-person interaction, while in Dr. …show more content…
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde differ in the main conflict that exists between the forces of good and evil, they both use supernatural elements to increase the disparity between them. Count Dracula lives as a vampire for hundreds of years because of his magical powers. Stoker writes, “He has the strength of many of his hand[,] ... he can transform himself to wolf[,] … he can be as bat[,] … he can come in mist which he create[,] … he [can] become so small[,]… [h]e can, when once he find his way, come out from anything or into anything[, and] ... he can see in the dark” (258). Of course, the human characters have none of these advantages, but they do have strength in numbers. If Dracula did not have these powers, his story would have ended much sooner and fail to show the near-balance of power between good and evil. Likewise, the plot of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde requires supernatural elements to amplify its conflict. The characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde both share the same physical body and, as such, cannot both exist at the same time to conflict in a traditional manner. Originally. Dr. Jekyll induces the transformation between his two forms with a special salt, but later it begins happening automatically. Dr. Jekyll writes, “At all hours of the day and night, I would be taken with the premonitory shudder; above all, if I slept, or even dozed for a moment in my chair, it was always as Hyde that I awakened” (Stevenson 68). This automatic, magical …show more content…
In Dracula, the protagonists use Christian symbols, such as communion wafers and crucifixes, to defend against vampires. They later use these symbols in conjunction against Lucy. First, they chink the door to Lucy’s tomb with a paste of mashed communion wafers; then, they surround her whilst holding up crucifixes. Stoker writes, “[F]or full half a minute, which seemed an eternity, she remained between the lifted crucifix and the sacred closing of her means of entry” (227-228). Traditionally, these symbols are used in defense from Satan. By showing that vampires are vulnerable to these symbols, Stoker implies that they are the devil incarnate. This also implies that the conflict between the protagonists and the vampires is as severe as the conflict between the goodness of God and the evilness of Satan. On the other hand, in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Mr. Hyde is not implied to be the devil, he is only compared to him. Stevenson writes, “[T]here was [Mr. Hyde] in the middle, with a kind of black, sneering coolness … carrying it off, sir, really like Satan” (8). Unlike Stoker, Stevenson does not imply a link between his character and Satan, but he does use Satan to show the magnitude of Mr. Hyde’s evil. Although the two authors use the symbols differently, both works use religious symbols to show the weight of the struggle between good and
There is a classic "good versus evil" plot to this novel. The evil of course being Count Dracula and the Good being represented by the Harkers, Dr. Seward and Lucy, Arthur, Quincy and the Professor. It is the continuing battle between Dracula and the forces of good. Good in this case is the Christian God. The battle is foretold by the landlady where she says, "It is the eve of St Georges Day. Do you no know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?" and she hands Harker a crucifix (p 12).
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).
What if in between good and evil did not exist? Where would you stand? Today, it is believed that everyone was born with the slightest bit of evil in them. In the Victorian Era, this theory would be considered very wrong, because one would either be all good, or all evil. In Dracula, by Bram Stoker, good versus evil was symbolised throughout the book as two antithetical forces without an in between. By clearly demonstrating the relationship between the dualistic ideas of intuition versus logic, good characters facing figures comparable to the devil, and symbolism within the natural world, Bram Stoker effectively recounts a “holy war” between the antagonistic forces of good and evil.
...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.
Dracula, a gothic novel by Bram Stoker, prominently displays three gothic motifs -- the supernatural, entrapment, and nightmares. Throughout the entirety of the novel, the main characters were being harmed or attempting to destroy the vampire, Count Dracula. Without this supernatural character there would not have been a plot line to the story. Count Dracula makes his victims feel physically entrapped as well as entrapped in their own mind. The characters in the novel that had direct interaction with Dracula seem to confuse reality with nightmares, making it hard for them to understand what was happening to them. Without these three main gothic motifs Dracula would not portray the same message.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Both authors similarly demonstrate the theme through their use of characterization to show a characters’ transformation from good to evil. However, the novels differ in the way that while one character, Lucy’s, change is involuntary, Dr. Jekyll makes the choice to change. In addition, both Dracula and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde exemplify the theme through the use of conflict between good and evil forces. They contrast in the type of conflict they use. Moreover, the theme is commonly expressed by both authors through the use of a character suffering from a mental illness showcasing vulnerability to the side of evil. However, the characters differ in who they are displayed as vulnerable towards. Similar to the film, the Avengers, both Dracula and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde present the theme of a constant battle between the opposing sides of good and evil. Bram Stoker expresses the theme better through his novel, Dracula. A natural battle between the opposing sides of good and evil has existed since the beginning of time, and it appears that as long as the Earth keep spinning, the battle will never
In Bram Stoker's "Dracula", Dracula is portrayed as a monster made evident by his gruesome actions. An analysis of Dracula shows that: shows his evil nature in his planning, brutally killing Lucy Westrenstra causing a violent response from Dr. Seward and others, and how his evil ways lead to his downfall. To characterize Dracula in one way, he is a ruthless, cunning monster who uses tricks, torture, and wits to manipulate people to his will. However when he trifled with some courageous people, he had no knowledge that it would be his undoing.
Mr. Hyde is the monstrous side of Dr. Jekyll from their book “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” In their story, Dr. Jekyll is a brilliant scientist who has created a formula that turns him into Mr. Hyde. It is stated that, at some point, Dr. Jekyll became addicted to the potion. Though it is unclear what would cause the addiction, since it would be Hyde who would experience the “high” and not Jekyll himself. Hyde is the contrast to Dr. Jekyll, and is considerably more brutal and immoral. Modern incarnations depict him as becoming incredibly muscular after the transformation, though in the original work it is only implied that Hyde is stronger, retaining his previous physique. It is consistent that Hyde is shown to be ugly, perhaps even deformed.
While studying the diabolical figures in the devil, the idea of presenting Dracula came to mind. Dracula represents the devil in many similar ways. Dracula remains as a character in many diabolical movies and films. For instance, Van Helsing provides a good interpret of how Dracula remains noticed in the past and in present day. Although Dracula’s character obtains different views in every movie and film, he plays an important role in Stephen Sommers Van Helsing movie. In the movie, he acts as many different things. Demonstrating both the kind and evil inside, Dracula portrays his character as a mystery. Different views of Dracula throughout the movie include harsh, strong, powerful, evil, the devil, and unstoppable. The studies of Dracula
‘Dracula’ is a novel that probes deeply into people’s superstitions, fears and beliefs of the supernatural. The creature Dracula is an evil being with no concern for others, he kills for his own ends and cannot be stopped, and this is what makes ‘Dracula’ truly frightening.
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.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are the same person all within the body of Dr Jekyll. He switches between the two willingly for science and his own personal desire. This can be proven in the last chapter of the book where we see
Essentially, the two men are complete opposites. Reputable and successful, Dr Jekyll was outlined “… [possessed] every mark of capacity and kindness” (Stevenson, 1978 pg. 14) . Paradoxically, Stevenson gave a man that hides from people the name Mr. Hyde. A couple examples of crimes which reflect his evil disposition include an incidence where he “trampled calmly over [a] child’s body and left her screaming on the ground,” (Stevenson, 1978 pg. 5) and his attack on Sir Danvers where “…with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway.” I did not, however, outline the severity of criminal events in which Mr Hyde (or in case Dr Jekyll) had triggered, as it would be too unbefitting to include in the
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde both suffer; however, one from illness and the other from insanity. Mr. Hyde is a sociopath, and lives in it to the full extent as well as Jekyll being a psychopath. However, Hyde was created the way he was to portray a sinful side of Jekyll, while Jekyll was himself throughout, good and bad, to manipulate and gain in the harm of
Some non believers may think that it is perfectly equal because in the picture the sides look almost the same. Despite this idea, Robert Louis Stevenson’s work [proves this claim wrong. The first example in the novel is when Jekyll is explaining what happened at Regents Park, “I began to be aware of change in the temper of my thoughts , greater boldness, a contempt of danger, a solution of the bonds of obligation. I looked down; my clothes hung from lessly on my shrunken limbs; the hand that lay on my knee was corded and hairy. I was once more Edward Hyde.” (73). This is an example of how Jekyll’s evil side just immediately takes over and causes his sides to be unbalanced. The second example is when Jekyll implies, “And hence as I think it came about that Edward Hyde was so much smaller, slighter, and younger than Henry Jekyll.”(64). And also a little further states, “Evi besides had left on that by an imprint of deformity and decay” (64). Jekyll is implying that the reason for why he his now older looking than Hyde is because his evil side of Hyde has now left an imprint on a regular body. Therefore leading to the fact that his two personality sides (Yin and Yang) are no longer balanced. The final example is when Jekyll states, “I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end” (78). Finally Dr Jekyll’s evil side is taking over and there will no longer be a Dr. Jekyll only a Mr. Hyde