Many people might claim the book as a good vs. evil theme, but through the multiple misleadings of the book that convince others of everything but the truth, proves that deceit is a major portion of the novel. Misleadings are included in the definition of deceit, because they’re not telling the complete truth - trying to convince others of something that’s incorrect. Good vs evil explains the two sides of the spectrum, whereas the misleadings, the basis of the story, tell the exact truth of a person, no matter if they’re good or evil. One of the first and many misleadings is the will that Mr. Utterson becomes very curious about, for Hyde was the heir for all of Dr. Jekyll’s property if he disappeared for a certain amount of time. “It provided not only that, in case of the decease of Henry Jekyll, all his possessions were to pass into the hands of his ‘friend and benefactor Edward Hyde,’ but that in case of Dr. Jekyll’s ‘disappearance or unexplained absence for any period exceeding three calendar months,’ the said Edward Hyde should step into the said Henry Jekyll’s shoes without further delay and free from any burthen or obligation.” (25,26). Dr. Jekyll’s will was the first piece of evidence that caused Utterson to be involved in the case, causing him to think of the
Stevenson uses weak diction to illustrate the increase of Evil’s power and the decrease of Good’s control overtime. The first hint of Jekyll’s loss of control is shown when he “broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his foot, brandishing [his] cane, and carrying on… like a madman” at his meeting with Carew (Stevenson 17). Before Hyde’s bout of anger, he and Carew were speaking “in a manner of politeness”; just a few moments later, Carew was dead on the ground. The maid witnessing the murder described Hyde as a “madman”, implying that
When the story opens, a story is being told about how Hyde trampled a young girl. Rather than stay on the scene, he retreats. It is Jekyll who provides the family with a check in order to keep them silent about the tragedy. Mutual friends of Jekyll’s, Mr. Utterson and Dr. Lanyon, are suspicious of the possible individual who could be terrorizing London, and they begin to investigate on their own. Jekyll wanted to separate his good side from his evil impulses creating a potion that would allow him to do that physically. After drinking a potion, he could change into Hyde, a person with no conscience. Soon, Jekyll is metamorphosing without taking the potion. Hyde later kills Sir Daniels Carew by beating him to death. Hyde continues to struggle with Jekyll and Jekyll continues to struggle with Hyde. In the end Dr. Jekyll must decide if he should take the life of both he and Mr. Hyde or if he should face the consequences for the evil that HE ultimately has committed. In the end, Dr. Jekyll chooses
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde consists of reputation, good vs evil and damage control. In other words, Utterson tirelessly works to prevent his best friend Dr. Jekyll from being dragged into the horrid affairs of Mr. Hyde, and Dr. Jekyll goes through the greatest of lengths to prevent his Hyde identity from being discovered, in order to avoid anyone knowing of his somewhat questionable scientific work and morally despicable behavior. Much of the novel is based on the characters ' reputations, how they have to maintain a good public image, as they are upper class people.
Within the novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, there stands a strange case of good versus evil. However, this story has no great villain or even a valiant hero, it has only a man fighting with his vices and dark urges and desires, which grow darker, more morbid and perverted at the novel goes on. Then, as a means to free himself of such darkness and “evil,” the man creates an antidote or rather cocktail of drugs to help him in such matter. Only problem being, the cocktail separates his psyche in two and with the two sides released from each other. The darkness the bad is allowed to grow and lash out unattended and unblocked. Good, however, is shown to overcome evil, by the actions and events taken and that had occurred within the novel. The "evil", Mr. Hyde, being born of good, the evil deeds only present while the novel 's "good," Dr. Jekyll is not, and the novel’s end, where Dr. Jekyll deciding to not let his darker half kill any longer and makes a decisive and sacrificial decision. All of these point to this concept that good prevails and triumphs evil no matter the cost and no matter the strength or power of evil whether it be an overwhelming gap or a tiny little crack.
The description Jekyll portrays upon taking the potion is illustrated to the reader as if he is being re-birthed but into a whole new perception of life. Physically, he is in such a pain because his bones are grinding, horrendous spirits are among him, and he is overcome with nausea. When it subsides, he is self-aware of his new mentality of wickedness (Stevenson 1710). Hyde sees himself in a mirror as the smaller, less robust side of Jekyll, and this is probable due to the facts of evolution because Jekyll, as a public figure, practiced more good in the world, as to Hyde, who is now getting to release his evil (Ferrer-Medina). Hyde, having an aggressive instinct, no moral or social standards, takes pleasure in violence ultimately leading to his own destruction (Singh). Jekyll wanted to release his inner self, but in doing so, he released a madman that murdered Sir Danver Carew. Hyde also indirectly caused another death in the novel; when Dr. Lanyon seen the transfiguration in the park and Hyde insisted that he go retrieve the ingredients for the potion to turn him back to Jekyll, he was traumatized by the whole incident. Not only did the appearance of Hyde begin to consume Jekyll, but also Jekyll began to grow weak and sick while Hyde grew stronger (Moss). Jekyll knew that Hyde was bad, but in the end, the power of Hyde and the overwhelming guilt from Hyde’s choices was too
Without the bad force, the good force can’t be present; therefore, the bad is within the good and vice-versa. The book presents Dr. Jekyll as a good and respectable man, but Dr. Jekyll hides his dark nature until the creation of Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll likes being nice and friendly, but he also has dark urges he wants to satisfy. Once he creates Hyde, he feels Hyde’s dark urges seeping into his mind, because his good intention and nature wasn’t able to keep his dark nature in check. Dr. Jekyll presents what is going inside his head in his statement. “I would still be merrily disposed at times; and as my pleasures were (to say the least) undignified, and I was not only well known and highly considered, but growing toward the elderly man, this incoherency of my life was daily growing more unwelcome. It was on this side that my new power tempted me until I fell into slavery.” (Stevenson 62) This line is very obvious at pointing how Dr. Jekyll is getting bored of his dignified and mannerly life. He is losing the balance that kept him satisfied. Before he created Hyde, he was not able to satisfy most of his dark urges, which causes him unhappiness. There is a small imbalance of nature before, and that causes him to be curious about separating his nature to satisfy his dark apetite. Hyde helped him satisfy the bad urges without destroying his good appearance. But, Hyde’s evil power becomes extremely strong that it pulled all the joy out of being the good-natured Dr. Jekyll. When a person falls into any kind of slavery, they have no power to choose their fate. This line proves the imbalance that is present before and after the creation of Hyde. Even Dr. Jekyll is beginning to understand the imbalance between the two opposing forces can cause trouble, as he described in his statement. “I were more conscious of a more generous tide of blood; and I began to spy a danger that, if this
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" brings the double personality theme, but, the story itself is about the mystery behind Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde's connection. The whole story goes around Mr. Utterson - a decent lawyer - trying to find out what is wrong with his dear friend, Henry Jekyll, and what is his relationship with the devilish man, also known as Mr. Hyde. On the end of the story, the reader finds out that Mr. Hyde is Jekyll's evil side: the doctor was fascinated by the duality of human nature and decided to do some experiments to separate his two sides, the good one and the evil one. Henry Jekyll wanted to do things that he couldn't because of his reputation and social morals, therefore, the best and only way of doing what he really wanted to was to have another side that no one knew. On the other hand, he didn't know how evil his other side could be: Mr. Hyde was purely evil and Dr. Jekyll wasn't purely good.
Dr. Jekyll is viewed as a smart man with a lot of knowledge, however, due to Jekyll not being satisfied with his life, he is determined to get more out of his live and is willing to do anything to fulfill his determination. Dr. Jekyll expresses this when he states, “[A] grinding in the bones, deadly nausea, and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death. Then these agonies began swiftly to subside… [t]here was something strange in my sensations, something indescribably new and, from its very novelty, incredibly sweet. I felt younger, lighter, happier in body within I was conscious of a heady recklessness, a current of disordered sensual images running like a millrace in my fancy, a solution of the bonds of obligation, an unknown but not an innocent freedom of the soul.” (Stevenson 57). Dr. Jekyll is in a state of happiness at this point of the text. He is being very positive and is describing how he feels to be free of the bonds of obligation. He is implying that he had left all the prior obligations he had as Dr. Jekyll, but now knows that he is a completely different person and is able to do the irregularities that he was able to do as Dr. Jekyll. Victor Frankenstein throughout the text played god and misused science in many ways. He attempted to make a beautiful human being but due to lack a skill, he made a monster unintentionally and
The good in Dr. Jekyll, and evil in Mr. Hyde are both trying to overpower each other. Mr. Enfield describes to Mr. Utterson as to what he saw: "Well, sir, the two ran into one another naturally enough at the corner;
In Robert Stevenson’s novella ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, Dr Jekyll transforms from the handsome “well-made” scientist into the devilish, sinful and villainous Mr Hyde. Similarly, in William Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Macbeth’, Macbeth transforms from a patriotic hero into a malevolent tyrant. By comparing the thoughts, intentions and actions within the protagonists’ behaviour, it is clear that both Stevenson and Shakespeare present the theme of change from good to evil within their stories.
Everything existing in this world has two sides, human are no exception. When human want to make a decision, there are two different thought in their brains, one is kind, and another one is evil. If virtuous one wins the vicious one, they will show they are kind-hearted people to the public, on the contrary, they will be wicked people. It will due to one person has both good and evil characters. That is called double identity. “The Strange Case Of DR. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde” is a gothic fiction book which is written by Robert Louis Stevenson. It describes a doctor hover between good and evil to present double identity. This essay will discuss how he does to reflect his double identity by focusing on three aspects, they are people’s appearance,
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. As the novella progresses, Jekyll desires to transform into Hyde more and more. One night, two months before the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, Jekyll falls asleep and wakes up as Hyde. This unsettles Jekyll, and he begins to feel that he has to make a choice between the two. Jekyll then decides he will continue his normal life, but his decision does not last long. Two months later, after days of longing to be Hyde, Jekyll decides to take the transformative potion. Jekyll turns into Hyde and then beats Sir Danvers Carew to a death. Horrified of his actions, Hyde breaks into Jekyll’s lab, takes the potion, and resumes a life as Jekyll. As the story goes on, he runs out of potions and Hyde grows more powerful and ultimately defeats Jekyll. This is explained brilliantly by the quote, “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” (Stevenson
Jekyll says that “you can deaden your curiosity by mortifying it”, but it takes a stronger character with a stronger will to state that curiosity no matter what. Although Jekyll knows the consequences of his action by drinking the position he satisfies his curiosity. “It is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it.” Victor Frankenstein creates the monster with a greed to prove to himself and mostly his counterparts that he is worthy of an evolutional doctor. He does not take his prior actions into account if the monster is made. He fails to interpret the feelings of the Monster. The Monsters lack of knowledge when brought into the world paired with his ability to learn proves the downfall of Dr Frankenstein.