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The development of good vs evil in jekyll and hyde
The development of good vs evil in jekyll and hyde
Literature of the victorian age essay
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The Concept of Evil in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Stevenson
The substance of the Bible and Greek myths - the premise of the evil
that is in man - sometimes lurking deep in the psyche, sometimes
controlling and consuming like a wild beast, is explored in Robert
Louis Stevenson's (1850-94) short Victorian novel of 1886. Rarely does
the mere title of a novel have the myth-making depth to grip the
imagination and ensure its place in our language for generations to
come. Today everyone knows what is meant by a 'Jekyll and Hyde
character'. A handful of other novels with this quality perhaps come
to mind; including 'Frankenstein'.
In this book the good Dr Jekyll has grown bored with his respectable
life, aware that his darker side is suppressed by two things - his
conscience and the need to keep up social appearances. He asks the
fateful 'what if'. What if I release the dark side and see what will
happen, all in a scientifically controlled way? The answer is exciting
at first, but inexorably murderous and self-destructive all too soon.
His most tragic discovery is that once given its head, man does not
have the power to control his evil desires by will power or science
alone.
Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based on the chronicle of Edinburgh's
renowned Deacon Brodie, who was revealed to have been living a double
life, coupled with a dream Stevenson had one night, what he called "a
fine bogey tale," about a man who drinks a concoction made from a
white powder and subsequently transforms into a devilish being.
The novel is set in Victorian London. This was a historically
important era.
Benthamism, also known as utilitarianism, became ...
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...ch awfully violent and
antagonistic responses in all who come across him. Here Stevenson is
arguing that Hyde symbolisesthe dark side which is present in all
people. Clearly, the characters in the novel are not capable of
recognisingthis and the abhorrence which they have for Hyde is an
expression of the distaste which all human beings have for accepting
the unpalatable truth. In wanting to kill Hyde, they are ignoring what
is in fact part of their true selves and so are guilty of hypocrisy.
I feel that the sense of evil has been successfully conveyed
throughout the novel. I think that Hyde's actions play a big part in
conveying the evil.
Overall I think that this novel is more than a good horror story, and
is a message to mankind; that we all have a part of Hyde within
ourselves, whether we realize it, or not.
Stevenson then went on to put a scary touch to the story by telling us
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
The sense of conflict being created through disapproval portrays duality that the Victorians had at the period; it is almost as if they were in a dilemma and confusion in deciding which element of sanity to maintain. Stevenson wrote the story to articulate his idea of the duality of human nature, sharing the mixture good and evil that lies within every human being. In the novel Mr Hyde represents the evil part of a person and of Dr Jekyll.
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 the novel “The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” a number of
The Notion of Good and Evil in Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The book entitled The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was published in the year 2000. published in 1886. Although in the book Stevenson does not ever state the exact year, it was at the time recognized immediately as a grand. work.
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.
Stevenson focuses on two different characters Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but in reality these are not separate men, they are two different aspects of one man’s reality. In the story, Dr. Je...
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
Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
The reader is drawn to the plot of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde through the literary devices Stevenson employs. Foreshadowing displays the sense of mystery throughout the novel, the foreshadowing of the actions of Mr. Hyde leaves the reader wondering what will happen next. The ironic nature of Dr. Jekyll relates to the reader as a person, no person is completely perfect and Dr. Jekyll exhibits the natural wants and desires of humans. The irony behind Mr. Hyde adds an enigmatic side to the plot. These two devices expose the readers to the complexity of the novel and reveal the inner meaning of the hidden details.
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...
The evil side, Edward Hyde, could enjoy all the wicked pleasures and execute all of Dr. Jekyll's angry, and vengeful wishes, yet, Dr. Jekyll does not have to be afraid of his conscience. Since Mr. Hyde was pure evil and was affected by science, Stevenson tells his readers that science is evil through Hyde's actions, and through the characters like Utterson whose descriptions of Hyde is immense horrifying. As he says, Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish; he gave an impression of deformity without any namable malformation, he had a displeasing smile,., and he spoke with a husky whispering and somewhat broken voice,. God bless methe man seems hardly human! (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde pg.20) Like Frankenstein, the words "evil, satan, and devilish" were all used to describe Mr. Hyde.
Mr. Hyde and Dorian Gray are characters that nearly match each other in their symbolism and manner. However, it is the key differences that make them remarkably interesting as a pair. They symbolize the battles between good and evil, though they have differing interpretations of morality.