Symbolism in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(Draft) Published on January 5, 1886 and written by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a bold novel that called into question the most basic of Evangelical principles and assisted in launching Stevenson into his prominent position as one of the most accomplished writers of the Victorian era. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde portrays the story of Mr. Gabriel John Utterson, a lawyer, who is fixated on unraveling the dark mysteries of the wretched Mr. Hyde and his appearances in the will of Utterson’s good friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll. When the novel concludes, Utterson is stunned to discover that Mr. Hyde is none other than the physical manifestation of Dr. Jekyll’s evil alter ego, bringing about the distinct theme in the novel. Through the use of symbolism, Stevenson displays the scrutiny …show more content…
Jekyll is quite pleased with himself as he feels younger, lighter, and happier in Hyde’s body, but his feelings of happiness toward Mr. Hyde quickly diminish as he receives word that Hyde is responsible for the gruesome murder of Sir Danvers Carew, a client and friend of Utterson (Thomason ed. 198). Jekyll becomes even more panicked after he transforms into Mr. Hyde in his sleep (198). More unauthorized transformations occur until Dr. Jekyll runs out of potion. He desperately tries to recreate the solution without success hence he is stuck in the body of Hyde. A worried Utterson and Dr. Jekyll’s butler, Poole, break down the door of the laboratory that Mr. Hyde is in only to find that he had killed himself moments before they had come through the door (Stevenson ?). Dr. Jekyll is now dead along with Hyde due to his experiment motivated by his frustration with societal norms and his desire to throw off the constraints of Victorian respectability and responsibility because of the hypocrisy and the unrealistic standards that forced him to suppress his true self
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Show MoreHyde was like a mask for Jekyll a different personality that wanted different things. Jekyll wanted to create an alter ego so he was able to things without feeling guilty or fear. If Jekyll didn’t create Hyde he would’ve lost his good status in the town and become a criminal. I strongly believe that when he was found dead in his house he committed suicide because he just couldn’t take it anymore.
One of the reasons I personally believe Jekyll creates Hyde is to not face the consequences of murdering someone. As most know, Jekyll is a well-respected man and has a good reputation. The man he creates "Hyde" is almost the opposite. Hyde murders a man named Sir Danvers Carew in the novella. Hyde then has an awful reputation after trampling a girl, and murdering
In 1886 the book "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", written by Robert Louis Stevenson, was released and became one of the most popular Stevenson's work. It was a huge success all around the world, bringing a lot of distinct aspects from the Victorian Era, such as conflicts between social classes; the influence of religion in people's life; the importance of people's reputation; conflicts
Irresponsible Use of Knowledge & Consequences Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein and Robert Stevenson 's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two horrific tales of science gone terribly wrong, it emphasizes the saying, with great power comes great responsibility. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tells the story of Dr. Jekyll who, while searching for a way to divide his good self from his bad impulses, creates a potion using science that transforms himself into a man without a conscience. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a bright young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother, becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. In the texts, authors Robert Stevenson and Mary Shelley use multiple literary elements to emphasize that knowledge
The fact that Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published in the year after private male homosexual acts was made illegal […] Two characters that paint the most homosexual undertones are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Utterson. While Jekyll represents the negative and repressed views of homosexuality, Utterson is the opposite. Utterson’s characterization represents homosexuality that was tolerated in the 19th century. Through clever storytelling and characterization, Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is able to provide insight on how homosexuality was viewed in the 19th century.
As Stevenson was fascinated by Darwin theory of evolution he decided to portray it in his work. Due to the fact that in Victorian times the idea of rationalism was popular and that people weren’t supposed to show their strong emotions their darker sides were repressed and The locked doors and curtained windows of Jekyll’s house form the imagery of a man locking away the truth that lurks inside; Jekyll turning into Hyde is a metaphor of what happens when the unconscious mind is revealed; the murder of Carew symbolizes the repressed mind striking out at the conscious mind. The whole narrative is about unpeeling the layers that hide the repressed desires inside Jekyll Stevenson also uses several narrative points of view to intensify the feeling of a frightening outsider. As Hyde is often narrated in a mysterious way through different characters perspectives which slowly reveals horror a feature used in gothics.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is clearly an allegory. The people depicted could not be real. There are many interpretations of the meaning. A Church of Scotland minister saw it as a parable on the wages of sin. Graham Balfour, who wrote Stevenson’s first biography (1901), tells us that it was also "made the subject of leading articles in religious newspapers".
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.
As soon as Jekyll gave into the existence of Hyde and created a compound he also compounded his situation or made it worse, emphasizing the negativity in giving into temptation. Soon after his transformation Hyde having been suppressed for two months, kills Sir Danvers Carew. Jekyll recalls the event saying “I struck in no more reasonable spirit than that in which a sick child may break a plaything. ”(87) The metaphor of equating murder with breaking a children's toy connects back to the first incident with Hyde where he tramples the child.
Dr. Jekyll is seemingly good, kind, and benevolent; while is not purely good he is a moral gentleman. He started his experiment so he could totally separate the bad and the good in himself into two separate beings. He did not succeed, however, for Dr. Jekyll is plagued by the feeling that he wants to become evil again, thus he wants to become Mr. Hyde. It is important to note that Mr. Hyde is completely evil; he has no goodness in him, in contrast to Dr. Jekyll who was a troubled mix. Mr. Hyde feels no remorse for any evil he has done and actually feels elated when he does commit a moral sin.
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.
This in itself is answered and directly bought up by Jekyll in the book, with the quote: I believe that this quote explains that Dr. Jekyll feels that although Hyde is pure evil, he knows that there is also an evil side to Jekyll – he allowed Hyde to exist, fully well knowing that Hyde would be dangerous. Alongside the titular Hyde and Jekyll is Utterson – Jekyll’s best friend who is only trying to find the truth and bring righteous justice – compared to his colleagues, he is a lot less judgmental of bad actions; and will only choose to judge when he has answers. Throughout the story, Utterson is trying to find out the truth about Hyde – who he is, and where he came from, et cetera – as well as Jekyll, wanting to know information like why he entrusted his fortune to such an unknown and shady person such as Hyde – as shown in the
Deception in ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ ‘The strange case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ is a novella by the scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. Stevenson, born November 13, 1850, is also the author of the well known book; ‘Treasure Island’. Robert L. Stevenson, who died December 3, 1894,, was said to be influenced by authors such as Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe. This book is part of the gothic genre, a genre of literature that combines fiction, and horror, death and at times romance. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or simply Jekyll and Hyde is about a London lawyer named Mr, Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend Dr. Jekyll and the evil Mr. Hyde.
“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson is a book that intrigues one’s mind, because it makes us question ourselves about the balance between the two opposing forces. The story starts out with Mr. Utterson, a lawyer and a great friend of Dr. Jekyll, hearing about Hyde for the first time, who is very shady and somewhat misconfigured. Mr. Utterson hears about Hyde’s bad reputation, and his usage of Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory; therefore, Mr. Utterson suspects some kind of relationship between Hyde and Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson’s friend Lanyon, who is a doctor, dies after Dr. Jekyll goes into seclusion; Mr. Utterson goes to Dr. Jekyll’s house to seek the truth behind Lanyon’s death, but he instead sees Hyde dead. Mr. Utterson
In the gothic novel “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Robert Louis Stevenson depicts an idea of the supernatural realm. It is a tale of a man that is well-known among the townspeople as Dr. Henry Jekyll. The doctor transforms into a being completely opposite of himself. Being a man of science, he feels a compulsion to create a potion that will release his alter ego, Mr. Hyde, while protecting his true identity. Throughout the story, many examples of symbolism are presented to the reader.