The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

Stevenson writes ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ with the intention of showing the reader the duality of man and explores this through the juxtaposition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this novella, Stevenson also uses the environment and setting of the story to represent the contrast between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Good and Evil in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and published in 1886. It concerns a lawyer, Gabriel Utterson, who investigates the strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the reclusive Mr. Edward Hyde. This novel represents an ideology in Western culture; the perpetual conflict between humanity’s virtuosity and immorality. It is interpreted as an accurate guidebook to the Victorian era’s belief of the duality of human nature. This essay will explore Mr. Edward Hyde and whether Stevenson intended for him to be a mere character in the novel or something of wider significance.

to say that Dr Henry Jekyll is very much the best in what he does and

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a classic mystery story, enticing to all audiences merely upon it’s suspense alone. When Stevenson first wrote the story (after recalling a dream he had) he had only the intentions of writing such an entertaining tale. Yet at the suggestion of his wife, he decided to revamp the mystery to comment on the dual nature of man and of society in general.

“All human beings are commingled out of good and evil.” Robert Louis Stevenson was no fool when it came to understanding the duality of human nature evident within mankind. In his novella, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson is able to explore his interests concerning the dark, hidden desires that all human beings are guilty of possessing. In his story, a well-respected professional by the name of Dr. Jekyll experiments with the idea of contrasting personalities and successfully undergoes a physical separation of such identities—one which would soon wreak havoc upon his very existence. As a result of his success, Edward Hyde is born. Hyde, characterized as a miniscule and terrifying, apelike figure from the start,

In the novel “The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde” there is a theme of good vs evil. Good being Dr. Jekyll and evil Mr Hyde they have the inner fight between themselves, because they are the same person.Robert louis Stevenson uses Diction,imagery,and details to contrast the character of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde

The sophisticatedly-constructed novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was devised in 1886, during the revolutionary Victorian era, by the author, Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson developed a desire to write in his early life and ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ cemented his reputation. The novel is widely known for its shocking principles that terrified and alarmed the Victorian readers. ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ plays with the idea of the dual nature of man, his two identities. On the surface, Dr Jekyll is a conventional, Victorian gentleman, but below the surface lurks the primitive, satanic-like creature of Mr Edward Hyde. One of the elements that play a significant part in the novel is setting. Stevenson subtly uses the setting to

This essay will focus on how Robert Louis Stevenson presents the nature of evil through his novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Using ideas such as duality, the technique used to highlight the two different sides of a character or scene, allegories, an extended metaphor which has an underlying moral significance, and hypocrisy; in this book the Victorians being against all things evil but regularly taking part in frown able deeds that would not be approved of in a ‘respectable’ society. This links in with the idea of secrecy among people and also that evil is present in everyone. The novel also has strong ties and is heavily influenced by religion. Stevenson, being brought up following strong

In the Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be seen as an analogy the good and evil forces that are present in every individual. Dr. Jekyll (who is a well-respected and educated doctor) secretly creates a potion that enables him to express his vile urges without the sense of remorse. As a result of drinking the potion, he forms into a pale, deformed, and younger individual- Mr. Hyde. As Dr. Jekyll's journey of two identities continues, Dr. Jekyll becomes unable to control his transformation of Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde.

Doubleness in gothic literature often explores the duality of humanity. It asks whether there was inherent goodness and evil within a person. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson engages with the idea of an individual being comprised of two separate entities—a double in one body—the evil Mr. Hyde and the good Dr. Jekyll. This split person of Jekyll and Hyde talks back to the optimistic ideas about humanity, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson. He writes in his address “The American Scholar” that “They did not yet see... that, if the single man plant himself indomitably on his instincts, and there abide, the huge world will come round to him”. However, in Stevenson’s novel, the world does not “come round to him” in Jekyll’s pursuit to a better self by indulging in his worse self, instead he was consumed by his own evil and harms others in the world. In Stevenson’s language, he continually emphasizes the advancement of self by using terms like “prison-house of [Jekyll’s] disposition” that encapsulates the inner turmoil Dr. Jekyll faces because of Mr. Hyde’s horrifying actions (1678). In this paper, I will argue that Jekyll’s inability to indulge into his darker desires without any stain on his consciousness is merely an illusion. Dr. Jekyll believes his “instincts” will stay grounded within himself when in reality, he is unable to maintain his status in upper society and thus he succumbs to Mr. Hyde’s reckless freedom. Not only does this reflect the

In the novella Stevenson draws attention to the idea of a good and bad personality. This dualism that is followed throughout the novella illustrating the characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jekyll says that dualism is a part of“man’s dual nature.” (Page 76). A fraction of this dualism is good and evil.

The analysis of Stevenson’s depictions of human duality through characterizations of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde shows his perspective of human nature: “Man is not truly one, but truly two” (Stevenson 54). Dr. Jekyll is not unusual in wanting to maintain his veneer of morality while satisfying his immoral nature. His fundamental flaw, however, is not considering the necessities in maintaining both qualities and preserving his intrinsic humanity. He eventually loses touch with his reputable self and is overcome by his evil counterpart, Edward Hyde. Through the narrative, Stevenson shows that everyone struggles with instinct, reason, and will to transcendence.

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, many see it as a mystery story that shows the good and evil sides in a person. During the Victorian Era, many people analyze others by what they wore and what social class they belong in. Stevenson does a phenomenal job when choosing Dr. Jekyll, a rich upper class scientist, and Mr. Hyde, a low class slum who causes a lot of trouble with the general public, to represent the two sides of one person. This correlates with Jung’s Shadow Theory by the two centers of personality, ego and self. Many people do not like to share their limelight with the other half of themselves.

The text studied here is extracted from Robert Louis STEVENSON’S The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. This extract is from the novella’s final and conclusive chapter, it is a letter addressed to Mr Utterson in which Dr Jekyll states his motives and the proceedings/history of his transformation into Mr Hyde. The novella therefore treats of the question of duality in one’s mind and is especially as relevant as it was published in 1886, during the highly morally coded Victorian period and right before the emergence of psychoanalysis. But then, how does this extract deals with the question of the dual nature of humanity? This question will be answered through the study of the literal transformation of Dr Jekyll into Mr Hyde as well as its