Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 “shilling shocker”, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, has been subjected to various interpretations over the years. While some have assessed the trope of duality in the light of racism, colonization and cultural ‘other’, others have drawn on psychological references of split personality or ‘dissociative identity disorder’(i.e. existence of more than one personality in one body). The popularity of the novella and the idea of binaries existing in one being, has given birth to the phrase ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ which associates itself to a person whose attitude is vastly different from situation to situation. The respectable Dr. Jekyll, in his attempt to prove the worth of his scientific ambitions and studies, creates a monster much like Frankenstein’s monster but at the same time completely different from it. In both the cases, it is a scientific experiment gone wrong but in Stevenson’s text, the horror lies in the transformation of the protagonist. Set in fog-bound London, this Gothic masterpiece explores the baser instincts in a human being that necessarily hastens the doom of the same. …show more content…
Henry Jekyll in his ‘Full Statement of the Case’ where he states that “…man is not truly one, but truly two.”(58) In my paper, I have attempted to explore the transformation that takes place in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and connect it to the transformations in Thomas Harris’ novels The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon and their respective movie
Duality In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde
329 Words | 2 PagesThe theme of dual personality is prominent in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The two differ greatly in their looks, moral values and mental abilities. Because of this I believe that they are two different personalities. Dr. Jekyll is described as a good looking middle age man with a “smooth face”. His friends are comfortable socializing with him at his home.
Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Reputation Analysis
986 Words | 4 PagesSignificance of Reputation in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde illustrates the significance of concealing your secrets and desires in order to maintain a flawless reputation. He creates distinctive characters with various reputations and contrasts their abilities in retaining one. Stevenson emphasizes this through Hyde’s actions, when portraying Utterson’s flawless reputation, the contrasting vulnerability to desires between Utterson and Jekyll and the creation of Hyde.
Jekyll And Mr Hyde Identity Analysis
1545 Words | 7 PagesIn 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.
Jekyll And Mr Hyde Human Nature Essay
813 Words | 4 PagesIn the novel, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson explores the complexity of human nature. He uses characters and events in the novel to present his stance on the major theme: “man is not truly one, but truly two” (125). Branching from this major theme are many more specific views on the idea that human nature is divided into good and evil. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two very different people who occupy the same body. Human beings struggle with good and evil and Stevenson goes to the extreme to to show this relationship.
Superego In Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
523 Words | 3 PagesIn the story “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by R.L.S three characters represent Freud’s psychoanalysis of the id, ego, and superego. Freud describes id as the devil sitting on your shoulder or the evil side. In addition, the superego is a human moral conscience. Finally, the ego is a good balance between good and evil. The characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde represent Freud’s psychoanalysis by each other's character have a different personality as Utterson happens to be good is he is the superego, Jekyll is the ego because he is most like a human and is both good and bad, and Hyde is like a devil and bad so he represents the Id.
Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Good Vs Evil Analysis
728 Words | 3 PagesWithin 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.
The Theme Of Repression In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde
525 Words | 3 PagesJekyll and Mr. Hyde” because the story takes place in Victorian England we see that the characters have no room for expression of emotions or violence. Everything they do is secret, so the more Dr Jekyll is repressed, the more he wants to be Mr Hyde. The original characteristics of Henry Jekyll are reflected as “...life of effort, virtue, and control” (pg. 172) because, most of his life his vice activities were maintained a secret. According to Jekyll, when evil is separated into one body, one will not know right from wrong because there is no conscious in a being of complete evil which was Hyde for
Conflict Between Good And Evil In Dr. Jekyll And Hyde
1037 Words | 5 PagesThe novella Jekyll and Hyde tells the tragic story of a battle between good and evil, a battle for total control over the mind and soul. The clash between the pure and impure sides of man: a fight to the finish. It explores the aspect of a person’s good and bad side; holy and unholy, the one who bathes himself in God’s light and the one whom plays with The Devil’s fire. The battle between the good-willed Dr. Jekyll, and his evil persona: the murderous Mr. Hyde. The author, Stevenson, presents this in numerous ways and describes the two conflicting sides well.
Knowledge And Consequences In Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
1591 Words | 7 PagesRobert Stevenson uses his protagonist’s, Dr. Jekyll, person versus self conflict to illustrate this point. Throughout the text, the reader learns that Dr. Jekyll was born into good fortune and was well-respected in society. However, the reader learns that it was not enough for him. He craves irregularities and he seeks a way to experience both sides of his identity without harming his reputation, which leads him to immoral experiments that bring out Hyde. To be specific, Jekyll states the following, “Many a man would have even blazoned such irregularities as I was guilty of; but from the high views that I had set before me, I regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame” (Stevenson 55).
Dr Jekyll And Hyde Book Report
1581 Words | 7 Pages“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
Jekyll And Hyde Duality
151 Words | 1 PagesOverall, Stevenson’s presentation of the duality of man is conveyed by the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde because towards the end of the novel. Jekyll begins to realise that the schism which once caused them to despise one another, help them understand each other situation. Jekyll even begins to ‘pity’ Hyde toward the end of novel, praising his ‘love for life’ by calling it ‘wonderful’, as his creator he consequently acknowledges the condescending attitudes towards Hyde, unfairly for his appearance, however rightfully so for his actions. Moreover, like Darwin’s theory, Hyde could never be accepted into society, often being characterised as a ‘brute’. Additionally, Jekyll’s actions would be condemned by the Victorian readers, as he was
Duality In Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
855 Words | 4 PagesSo, 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.
Monster Culture In Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
1330 Words | 6 PagesIn Cohen’s \ perspective, the respectable Dr Jekyll could entertain thoughts as a man living a forbidden life and full of vices. However, he is held in check by his superego’s moral restraints. Consequently, we see Jekyll gradually transforming his moral and physical self into another being, Hyde, a diabolical man that comes to recognize his
A Comparison Of Scientists In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein And Robert Louis Stevenson
2180 Words | 9 PagesRepresentation of Scientists in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Towards the end of the 19th century, the portrayal of science in literature became more frequent than before; science has been progressing and it began to spark the interest of the readers of fiction. Supernatural elements in stories have been ascribed to scientists and experiments rather than God and miracles. However, since science still covered much of the unknown and inexplicable, the characters of scientists have occasionally been given almost godlike powers, thus prompting the readers to consider the question of morality. The scientist characters in both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have initially been successful with their scientific experiments and achieved groundbreaking discoveries, but have ultimately been punished for having gone too far with their experiments on humanity.
Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Research Paper
1065 Words | 5 PagesJekyll 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.
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