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. The novel takes place in Victorian England and the main characters are all male members of upper class London. Enfield, Utterson, Lanyon and Jekyll are all aware of the social expectations and the importance of appearance, Jekyll and Hyde shows a contrast of public vs private. Even in the first chapter, Enfield is wary of sharing his story …show more content…
So, perhaps Jekyll’s experiment reduces his being to its most basic form, in which evil runs freely without his reputation as Jekyll being tarnished at all. Jekyll and Hyde are not the only examples of duality in this novel. The city of London is also portrayed in contrasting terms as both a foggy, dreary and ‘nightmarish’ place, and a well kept, bustling center of commerce. Indeed, just as men have both positive and negative qualities, so does society. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde contains extremely violent scenes. In each instance, the culprit is Mr. Hyde and the victim is an innocent. For example, in the first chapter, we learn how Mr Hyde literally trampled young girl in the street and later on we learn that Hyde unprovoked, mercilessly beat Sir Danvers Carew to death. Even worse, we find at the conclusion of the novel that Hyde enjoyed committing this violence and afterwards felt a rush of excitement and
In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , the dualities reflected of the Victorian times. Where people lived a double-life because the norms society set for honourable individuals to comply with were to high for people to come after . Double standards created along of this and fuelled the deception of the middle-class . As society allowed , they lived superficially respectable , moral lives . Alternatively , at night , when doors was closed , that was when people started showing who they really were , showing their dark and desires from the deepest part of their mind .
Mr. Hyde is the embodiment of Jekyll’s repressed homosexuality. Firstly, Hyde’s victims reflect Jekyll’s repressed feelings. The first victim is “a girl of maybe eight or ten” (Stevenson 3). His act of trampling the young girl shows his resentment toward women. This is because the Victorians try to force their views onto him and that he should be
Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll are the same person, but Mr. Hyde is still the antagonist to Dr. Jekyll. Stevenson uses these conflicting personas to express the duality and opposite forces within all people. This is particularly important as the Victorian Era standards of society press that one must never let the negative side of them show, trying to create the impression that the dark side of someone’s personality is almost inexistent. However, by having a man of such high social stature have such an evil persona within him calls into question the standards of the Victorian Society as a whole. If someone of such high social class isn’t able to live up to the standards of society, then how can anyone be expected to live up to these standards?
One of the major ideas presented in Jekyll and Hyde is the need for both good and evil to live in coexistence within an individual’s conscience. Jekyll’s experiments prove that a balance between the two sides of nature is crucial to be content in the world. He realizes that the only reason he is able to be one of the two sides of his nature is because he
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.
The conflicting social classes of Jekyll and Hyde builds upon the context of duality. Jekyll is shown as a respected man of the higher class who is acknowledged by the society and its values, whereas Hyde is giving away the image of a lower class member, by the actions and the physical appearance he portrays throughout the novel. In the context of this novel, Victorian society higher class people had several moral expectations to look upon, where as lower class people were referred to as “criminal in nature”. This was to show how the higher class society controlled the actions of lower class as they would not be able to express their true self. Another distinction that was looked upon was the duality of the home
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.
Aidan Marinace Mrs. Cunningham English 10 13 April 2023 The setting of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is essential in highlighting the cultural and socioeconomic conditions of Victorian London. The contrasting settings of the luxurious and the poverty-stricken areas of the city emphasize the duality of human nature. The two settings of the novel expose Victorian class division and problems.
This is the opening line of Pride and Prejudice; a romance novel written by Jane Austen and published on the 28th of January 1813 by an anonymous author – the same pseudonymous that she had previously used to publish Sense and Sensibility -. Jane Austen was born in 1775 in England (Stevenson, Hampshire) and it is thought that by the age of 16 had already written many different novels, even though it was not until 1811 when she was able to publish her first novel. The novel brings up many relevant topics that reflect the British life and customs characteristic of the eighteenth century. Austen makes a critic on these topics in a subtle -almost unnoticeable- way, the characters personify the British old-fashioned values that the author rejects, giving the reader freedom to judge the situation, while guiding them to
Jekyll and Hyde TCEA In the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, the predominant archetypal theme is “good and evil exist in all humans, and we live our lives struggling with these two forces.” This theme describes the duality of good and evil in Dr. Jekyll—the good being Jekyll and bad being Hyde— and the struggle he has with both sides fighting for dominance within himself. The emotional mindset and the physical attributes of Jekyll and Hyde show the good and evil within themselves.
“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
Stories are all told from different perspectives and told from several points of view. In some stories, the story is not told by any of the characters, but rather from an omniscient viewpoint. In literature, choosing a point of view is one of the most important pieces in telling a story. It is through the point of view that the readers experience a story. In Jack London’s short story, “To Build a Fire,” he utilizes an omniscient point of view in order to add to the impact of his story.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde deals with the awareness of the duplicity of the life, that evil resides within the human. Also, the religion that is dualistic admits not only that the universe comprises good and evil, or light and darkness, but also that though these are eternally opposed they are coeternal, coexistent, and equipotent. Evil has to exist in order to the goodness exist because the appearance related fundamentally to the contrast. These two forces are at constant war and only at the end will good finally vanquish evil. Finally, we have to accept the fact that every human on earth contains both sides evil and the good one, also every community as a whole, some of it seek for self-savage desires and the others seek developed society.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Terror is told from three different perspectives, the last one being that of Dr. Jekyll. Jekyll is a well-liked scientist who has an unusual tale to tell. Jekyll’s story is a compilation of tragedy, horror, and triumph. Having spent the majority of his waking hours creating a fine balance between good and evil within himself, eventually successfully creating an outlet for his most sinful desires; Dr. Jekyll represents a stereotypical evil genius.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s dark novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explores the universal theme of the duality of human nature. In the novella, Stevenson describes a quiet and well-respected lawyer named Gabriel Utterson who becomes involved in a strange case regarding his friend Dr. Henry Jekyll and the unusual Mr. Hyde. Hyde’s hideous actions raise questions and concerns for Utterson but Dr. Jekyll pleads with the attorney to leave the man alone. Eventually, the author reveals the wicked Mr. Hyde as Dr. Jekyll who transforms himself into Hyde by drinking a potion he ironically created to rid man of evil. Jekyll eventually surrenders his old self to his evil counterpart.