The Nature of Duality in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
It has long been debated that there are two sides to the human mind.
Many philosophers have stressed on the fact that human beings are
'dual creatures’. There is the duality of good and evil, right and
wrong, joy and despair. There always is the desire to do something
which is against the society, against the laws, although this varies
from person to person. Robert Stevenson brings the possibility of
another self in one person to life in his creation of Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde. His novel is a rich tale of the duality of mankind. We all
have a split personality in a sense, we have two sides to us: right
and wrong. There is a Mr. Hyde in all of us: anger, frustration,
murderous thoughts all prevail in us although we have evolved so much.
Morals, education, helping and unselfishness are the Jekyll side of
us. Stevenson believed that people knew they had a bad side, but they
all refuse to accept the truth, as the ‘dark side’ is so unpleasant.
The novel demonstrates how innocent curiosity about the darker
elements of our nature can soon get out of hand, how the evil triumphs
over good if let out of control. Stevenson portrays duality in almost
all of his characters, mainly Dr. Henry Jekyll. The symbols used, the
narrative viewpoints and the language use by Stevenson also puts
forward the dual nature of man. The philosophical context of the
novella also is another factor which Stevenson cleverly uses.
Stevenson creates a novel of gothic genre, which was extremely popular
at the time of release. And the bottom line of the novel is to
entertain the reader. The nature of duality, the philosophical
context, the scientific context, symbolism, and hy...
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...onality. Darwin’s theory of evolution and Freud’s creation of
psychoanalysis are well portrayed in this novel. Overall, Stevenson
clearly implies that humans are a mixture of ‘good’ and evil’ and
challenges the ‘human perfectibility’, which was presumed for the
upper class at the time.
I particularly enjoyed this novel as it was exploring various themes
at the same time. One interesting point is that, when Jekyll made up
the ‘transforming draught’, it never was intended to turn him evil. It
was just his desires which propelled him to being Hyde. The potion
just acted as a catalyst and in the end it was Jekyll who destroyed
himself. We had discussed this in class and it struck me as it wasn’t
an evil potion. This also shows that Jekyll wanted to break through
the Victorian laws and meet his inner desires, which leads us back to
the ‘nature of duality’.
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.
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.
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dual nature of man is a recurring theme. Jekyll constantly struggles with good and evil, the expectations of Victorian society, and the differences between Lanyon and Jekyll.
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.
In many countries, drugs are becoming more common. In the history of the US, drug abuse and drugs have a long history. Nowadays, people are so much into drugs. Most drugs affect the brain and drug uses are harmful. Every society and every family has been touched by the devastating effects of drug addiction. Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the story of a doctor who discovers a drug that can release the evil side of a person. This book is connected to Robert Downey Jr. He was a drug addict. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the current drug addiction of Robert Downey Jr are connected by different personalities, mental illness, and brutality.
The definition of a hero is subjective. Accordingly, Robert Ray believes the hero is able to be divided into three categories: the outlaw, official and composite hero. In most cases, a hero can be categorized into one of these categories. Through the examination of Jekyll and Hyde, the Batman movie from 1943, and film of Batman in 1989, qualities of the hero will be depicted as a function of time.
Romeo and Juliet and Jekyl and Hyde both show duality. One example is how Jekyl and Hyde are the same person just living a double life. He wanted to be able to live a life where he was able to let loose and still be respected at the same time. So he found a way to do that by making a potion that could make him someone else. However he could change back to the other person when it was necessary. An example in Romeo and Juliet is how their deaths were tragic but without them the families aren’t fighting anymore.
The novella "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson was a frail person that often fell deathly sick but has grown into a excellent writer. Stevenson was eventually forced to move out of his home country (London, England) to California. He nearly died on the way there. But when he made it, he created the famous novella in 1886. That novella is called "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The novella itself was written in four days which proves Stevenson's extreme talent as a writer. Inside the novella, it contained immense details and rich diction that had given the story life and meaning. The story contains a lot of interpretations and meanings throughout the novella which raises the question of the true meaning of the story. Some are concerned with the religious aspect of sin and temptation that caused Dr. Jekyll to permanently transformed into Mr. Hyde. Others pry on the physiological aspects of Dr. Jekyll's decisions and thought process that caused him wanting to stay as Mr. Hyde. In "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", Stevenson uses Dr. Jekyll as a representation of man falling into temptation, and Mr. Hyde as the one who stays in sin.
Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end.”(Jekyll and Hyde chap 10, last paragraph). This quote shows how Jekyll was willing to give up his life, which at that time was profoundly frowned upon, to let Hyde live; even though he knew Hyde wouldn’t last long at all. This human corruption and good vs evil theme also shows up in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. “Within the infant rind of this small flower/ Poison hath residence and medicine power/ In man as well as herbs, grace and rude will;/ And where the worser is predominant, /Full soon the canker death eats up that plant”(II iii 23-30). Friar Lawrence makes the connection in this quote with plants; that there are good and evil parts, and that if evil has more power than the good: the plant will die. As Shakespeare said that the evil will overpower the good, Stevenson does the same with the personalities of Jekyll and Hyde. Jekyll started out stronger than Hyde, but the longer he stayed Hyde, the more he enjoyed what he was doing as Hyde; this shows how humans will indulge in sins even if it meant eternal damnation. Another novel from around the same time as Jekyll and Hyde that shows the duality of man in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. At a glance
society. Rose writes, “Through serial adaptation, the story of Jekyll and Hyde yields a paratragic, predictive investigation into frightening themes; the process of adaptation reveals itself to be a cultural too, used to retain and refurbish images that contain too much anxiety, or hit too close to home, to be allowed to languish” (Rose 156).
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.
Duality has an impact on everyday life. Every action one takes could be intended to be a good action, but others might think of it differently Duality means things that appear to be purely good have a dark side. It could be good or evil, black and white.
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.
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.