The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
"The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" was first published
in1886, which was in the Victorian era.
Dr Jekyll was a scientist who went too far in his experiments. He
found a formula for a potion, which when drunk could separate his dual
persona into good and pure evil. The formula not only affected him
mentally but physically also. The evil side went by the name Edward
Hyde, and he did terrible things, he trampled a little girl and even
murdered someone by the name of Sir Danvers Carew. There was no
apparent reason for Hyde to murder him; Mr Carew simply appeared to
ask for directions then Hyde beat him to death with a rather posh
cane.
Jekyll could no longer become Hyde, as he was wanted for murder, so he
didn't take the potion any more. Then problems started to arise;
Jekyll "had gone to bed Henry Jekyll and had awakened Edward Hyde."
Jekyll soon ran out of potion, as he had to use some of it every time
he unwillingly became Hyde, until eventually he could no longer become
Jekyll again.
Eventually Utterson (Jekyll's lawyer, and close friend) and a servant
of Jekyll's started breaking the door down for the room in which Hyde
was, this was done because they thought that Hyde had done away with
Jekyll. Hyde knew if he was caught then he would be hung and so he
took cyanide to end it.
"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" caused such a sensation
for many reasons. The church did not like the idea of Mr Hyde being a
stage backwards in evolution. Charles Darwin had recently brough...
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... point of view, Stevenson was agreeing
with him from the aspect of Jekyll going back in the evolution process
to become Hyde. With the church saying it is disgraceful (the book),
it would get more people wanting to read the book and see what all the
fuss is about.
Robert Louis Stevenson obviously knew how to make a good book. He
dealt with issues which crop up in every day life, and many films have
been made either about or including Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, "The League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen" is just one example. The reason films are
made with them in, is because people like the idea behind the story,
that it is somehow possible to change your appearance and do evil
things.
These are the reasons why "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"
will always be a relevant text in today's life, and in the future.
For this reason I’ll be explaining Jekyll’s mental health. Jekyll has as what we now call Multiple Personality Disorder; “I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could be rightly said to be either, it was only because I was radically both,” Stevenson 57.) The disease was first discovered by Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot. He would ask patients symptoms that he found common in MPD. Many patients know about their alternate personality but refuse to acknowledge it’s existence. In some cases they may even refer to it as a separate person entirely. In this case Jekyll is very much aware of his alternate personality, going as to so far as to willingly change into him. However despite this he also categorizes Hyde into a separate being. For example when Hyde does something unappealing or distasteful he blames it on a separate person. Consciously though he is aware that he is Hyde and Hyde is him. (MD, Arnold Lieber. "Multiple Personality Disorder / Dissociative Identity Disorder." PsyCom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986. Vertical Health LLC, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016).
However, as the same happens much too often in real life, Jekyll is unable to keep this promise. He has already sunken too far into his addiction and it completely controls him, which Stevenson brilliantly illustrates as Hyde gains strength and begins to take over. As Hyde becomes stronger, he usurps Jekyll's body, mind, and life - just as drugs and alcohol often do to addicts, who sometimes lose their jobs, their possessions, and their friends. Jekyll finds himself turning into Hyde spontaneously, so he has to seclude himself from society, and give up his existence as Jekyll. His addiction has gotten so out of hand that his life has been completely destroyed; he is beyond resolution, since the only way to combat his problem is to kill Hyde, thereby killing himself.
...ry one may think that Jekyll should have reflected on his behaviour and when he got inkling to separate the two sides he should have stopped, as then he wouldn’t have been playing with God and becoming a heretic in the eyes of society.
the reader can see his duplicity. He is portrayed as a good person but if this were true, he would not have wanted to create such a wicked. being as if Hyde.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde takes place during a time in London when people flocked to the city for jobs which resulted in great competition and deceit. As the city grew in size with powerful men there became issues of appearance and reputation where men of high status began to dance with the devil allowing their evil nature to show itself. The social scene at the time required people to hide this evil nature so men and women began to create two sides of themselves so that they could maintain and uphold their reputation hypocritically. The text of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde reveals human nature to have two sides; one represented by what a man claims and the other represented by how he/she acts.
Jekyll is respectable man with a very good career. He is a doctor that is highly regarded in his community for what he does as far as charity and his manners. As young man growing up, he was secretly involved in weird behaviors that made him a bit questionable. Dr. Jekyll finds his other side to be quite bothersome and he decides to experiment so he could try a separate the good from the evil. He creates potions and other things that really do not help. After so many attempts of trying to restrain his evil side, he brings forth Hyde through his failed experimentation. Therefore, he only accentuates his evil self to come forth. Hyde is an extremely ugly creature that no one could stand the sight of. He is deformed, violent, and very evil. Throughout the story, he fights against Jekyll to take over his life eventually causing Jekyll to murder one of his good friends, Mr.
Though Hyde is pure evil, Jekyll is not pure goodness; he is still the same old conflicted mix of both good and evil. To cover his tracks, Jekyll rented a room for Hyde, opened a bank account in his name, and explained to his household servants that Hyde was to be allowed to freely come and go through the house. Hyde was even made Jekyll’s sole heir. At first, Jekyll delights in having his alter ego. Through Hyde, he can live out his fantasies of doing whatever he pleases, with no consequences, seeing as how he has but to drink the potion to make Hyde disappear. No accountability for Hyde’s
Dr. Jekyll shouldn’t have let his guilt win due to his choice of killing himself. No matter what he did to try and forget that he was also Mr. Hyde he couldn’t, but after all that happened,
When Jekyll first turns into Hyde, he feels delighted at his newfound freedom. He states: "... And yet when I looked upon /that ugly idol in the glass, I was conscious of no repugnance, /rather of a leap of welcome..."(131). Now he could be respected as a scientist and explore his darker passions. Stevenson shows duality of human nature through society.
Jekyll had to seclude himself from society in order to protect his friends. This in turn leads to a shocking discovery by Dr. Lanyon, and so forth he becomes secluded as well. Mr. Utterson observes that Jekyll is shut in, and in turn asks Dr. Lanyon “Jekyll is ill, too. Have you seen him?” (40). Utterson is suspicious about his friend’s disappearance and sudden lack of communication, all caused by Jekyll being held down by Hyde for months on end. He decides to investigate, and learns that Dr. Lanyon, too, has something to hide that he will not share. If Dr. Jekyll’s good side was not being repressed by his bad side, he would be outside more often or throw more dinner parties like he had previously. The good and evil in Dr. Jekyll’s life is controlling him day by day, almost like his life is not his to live
We know now that it wasn't just the lower class individuals committing sins, but they weren't individuals either. Robert Luis Stevenson explorers this very well and shows that the upper class can be evil too. Stevenson used 'Hyde very well to hide Dr Jekyll's evil side well. Even the name is ironic. The upper class society had seemed to 'Hyde' all this very well.
The obvious push-and-pull between Dr. Jekyll’s good intentions and Mr. Hyde’s desires to create corruption sparks an innovative conflict between the forces of good and evil within one’s self, specifically the inherent evil that exists within humans. This issue is evident in various parts of the book as Jekyll constantly tries to control his evil self, but fails frequently. Jekyll recognizes this evil is portrayed in himself:
Jekyll has captured life for a while he is not just one, but two, Hyde
Jekyll experiences. For instance, Dr. Jekyll’s physical appearance begins to decline as he stops taking the draught. The text describes Dr. Jekyll’s physical characteristics as “looking deadly sick” when his is usually a “large well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness” (Stevenson 19-25). Not only does Dr. Jekyll’s health begin to decline, but also his behavior changes as well. Normally, when Dr. Jekyll would have a visitor he would greet his guest with a warm welcome, but as the text illustrates in Chapter 4, Dr. Jekyll did not have the strength to greet Mr. Utterson: “He did not rise to meet his visitor but held out a cold hand and bade him welcome in a changed voice”( Stevenson 25). Another example of Dr. Jekyll’s behavioral change is seen when he physically separates himself from his colleagues for days on end locked in his laboratory resulting in his friends to repeatedly check on him. This act of withdrawal connects to the reality an addict faces during rehabilitation. The said addict has to seclude himself from temptation in order to be successful in the recovery stage. The final behavioral change for Dr. Jekyll is shown through his reiteration of him cutting off all ties to Mr. Hyde and his outburst of violence. During a conversation Dr. Jekyll has with Mr. Utterson shortly after the murder of Sir
... hide him, and Jekyll must ultimately be his own murderer to avoid full disclosure of the duality of his personality.