Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, good vs. evil is the biggest theme. This story is seen as a metaphor about the good and evil in everyone, and the struggle of the two sides in everyone’s personality. Since Hyde starts to take over, I could argue that evil is stronger than good. But, Mr. Hyde ends up dying in the end of the story, so I could claim that the good of someone can overcome the evil in you. Overall, Stevenson is trying to communicate with the reader about the balance of good and evil in humans, also that your balance of good and evil has different results/effects in your life.

“It was for one minute that I saw him, but the hair stood upon my head like quills. Sir, if that was my master, why had he a mask upon his face?” (Stevenson 84 ). In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Mr. Utterson realizes that Dr. Jekyll has been acting strange and locking himself up in his laboratory. When Mr. Utterson meets Mr. Hyde for the first time he is weary of him. Mr. Hyde does many questionable things, such as killing a man and attacking a child. This leads Dr. Jekyll to write a note about his duality of human nature theory and how Mr. Hyde came about. In the letter he described how this theory had been his life’s work and that just by simply drinking a potion that he had compounded he became, the evil, Mr. Hyde. After writing this note Dr. Jekyll kills himself because he cannot stand to be Mr. Hyde any longer. Dr. Jekyll is in denial, he experimented with the potion, and because he is addicted to becoming Mr. Hyde, all of this makes Dr. Jekyll comparable to a drug addict of today.

In the novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson provides insight into the inner workings of the duality that exists within humans. Dr. Jekyll is a well-respected doctor in his community while his differing personality Mr. Hyde is hideous and considered by the public as evil based on appearance. As the novel progresses Dr. Lanyon begins to investigate Mr. Hyde, he begins to realize similarities between both Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll such as their handwriting which results in the discovery that they are the same person. Dr. Jekyll is able to transform himself into Mr. Hyde by drinking a serum he has created which was intended to purify his good. Stevenson stresses the duality of good and evil that exists

Every story needs a good villain. Villains and heroes are often portrayed in media as being very black and white, but in reality people are much more complex than that. Robert Louis Stevenson does a good job in portraying the complexity of human nature in his books, especially in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Kidnapped. The former is about a lawyer named Mr. Utterson seeking out the truth of Dr. Jekyll’s very strange will. He finds out that Jekyll was transforming himself into Mr. Hyde so that he could have the freedom to do whatever he wanted no matter how evil. By the time Utterson finds all this out and findsJekyll, he is too late and Jekyll has already killed himself. The latter is about David Balfour and his journey to take his rightful inheritance from his villainous uncle Ebenezer. Along the way he meets Alan, who is a highlander obsessed with vengeance. They help each other grow to be better people, and in the end, with the help of Alan, David reclaims what is rightfully his. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Kidnapped, Stevenson explores the characters´ villainous deeds and the philosophy that humans have two natures.

The title of this book by G. Edward Griffin may make you think about a frightfulness story along the lines of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." However terrible it is, The Creature from Jekyll Island is not fiction.

On the other hand, the interaction between the immorality and integrity of Jekyll is characterized by his repeated expression of temptation and his inability to resist, ultimately resulting in the death of his persona. Similar to how the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” gains a new identity, Jekyll’s persona is gradually replaced by the evil persona of Hyde. Some psychoanalytic critics “see Jekyll and Hyde not as equal personalities, but Hyde as a suppressed version of Jekyll, undercutting Jekyll's idea that separation of the two personalities may be achieved” (Brackett). At the outset, the relationship between Jekyll’s immorality and integrity is lopsided in favor of the latter, but as Hyde commits worser crimes, Jekyll’s spirit deteriorates.

From the Victorian age to the modern world, drug addiction has been a battle for society for centuries. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, the sinful character of Mr. Hyde experiences the negative toll substance abuse has on him. There are many debates about the reasoning behind the murderous novella, but with the analytical finding behind Hyde and his addiction, one can see that Stevenson is portraying the realistic struggle of substance abuse through Mr. Hyde. The novella exemplifies how man can drastically change when he becomes dependant on a substance, like alcohol, morphine, or even a toxic concoction like Hyde was addicted to. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

The author, Robert Louis Stevenson presents the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a unique and compelling way. Many aspects of the short story can be interpreted in different ways as its complexity can overpower the book transient storyline. One aspect of the book that can be considered controversial is the way Stevenson presents the novella and the book's historical context. Although, Stevenson’s work can be considered engaging, it can also lead the reader to question the reasoning behind the particular storyline of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Overall, in terms of historical context, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is written in an allegorical way in which different aspects of the book represent a major theme or event taking place in Victorian England.

In the Victorian Era, one of the most important parts of one’s everyday life was the need to protect his or her reputation. While some abided by the Victorian moral code of conduct, others kept their evil hidden in an attempt to secure their reputation. Because of this, creating excuses for one’s actions were commonplace. As seen in the last chapter of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, titled, “Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case”. In this final chapter, Dr. Henry Jekyll writes a letter to his only good friend left, Mr. John Utterson. Throughout the novella, Mr. Utterson tries to uncover the mystery of Mr. Edward Hyde. Dr. Jekyll, in an attempt to save his reputation, makes excuses for Hyde’s behavior ultimately hoping to stop Utterson’s inquiry. This does not quite work out for Jekyll in the end, leading him to write Utterson a letter explaining the “strange case”. Throughout the letter, Jekyll uses a variety of techniques that ultimately aim to push the blame off of himself and save his reputation. Jekyll presents himself as a victim of Hyde, describes Hyde as an outlet for his emotions, and claims his brief feelings of remorse. Dr. Jekyll, who is coincidentally a Doctor of Laws in English, is able to present to Utterson an extremely strong argument justifying his and Hyde’s actions.

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence cites fourteen primary indicators of alcohol or drug addiction—Dr. Jekyll displays almost all, as I will show. The first four are specially signs of alcoholism, the rest are of substance abuse in general:

The novel "Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde", written by Robert L. Stevenson, starts off in the point of view of Mr.Utterson in the nineteenth century, London. As stated, it all starts with old, drab, Mr.Utterson a well known lawyer of the town he resides in.One day the lawyer is on a stroll with his close friend Mr.Enfield. They stumble upon the doorsteps of an abandoned looking building."I do recall this door with a very odd story" stated Enfield. He goes on to explain that he once saw a man simply run a little girl over, severely injuring her. The family required a payment to not report him to the authorities and pay for any damage done to the child. The man returned with the money from, none other than, the building the two friends were

Evil becomes a very addicting trait. Dr. Jekyll was a person living with a strong addiction to evil which allowed Mr. Hyde to stay alive throughout the story. In Jekyll’s “full statement” at the end of the story, he admits his addiction with Hyde goes deeper than the drug he used to first induce the change. He believes that there is a “duplicity of life” which his high moral standing in the community would never permit him to explore without the help of creating a second personality, which is already within him. This second personality helps to relieve him of loneliness and he discovers a perverse pleasure in the evil life that Hyde lives.

“A moment before I had been safe of all men's respect, wealthy, beloved—the cloth laying for me in the dining-room at home; and now I was the common quarry of mankind, hunted, houseless, a known murderer, thrall to the gallows.” The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, explains that everyone has a dark side to them. In Dr. Jekyll’s case, it was Mr. Hyde. As the book goes on, Mr. Jekyll’s dark side soon becomes stronger than the good side and takes over the body. Many people question which theme fits best with this book, since many themes show as you read on.

Being a respected doctor, Jekyll is tied of chains by his social status in the society, for instance if a child is restricted to do something, by his parents. He will eventually find a secretive way to fulfill his needs. In the same manner Jekyll finds Hyde as a solution to satisfy his simple need like drinking. “His every act and thought centered on self; drinking pleasure with bestial avidity from any degree of torture to another” ().As the quote demonstrates Hyde enjoys drinking, which he cannot do as Dr. Jekyll, living in an oppressed Victorian society. The small and harmful temptation like drinking leads to more serious offences. As this boosts, Jekyll’s confidence, he ends up indulging into violent acts, “With ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows” (). The simile in this quote delineates Jekyll’s unexpressed desire that erupts through Hyde. His small desires manifests into bigger crimes. Stevenson uses this theory to showcase temptation the evil cause of problems in mankind.

The purpose of the mask is to portray the combined inner psyche of Jekyll and Hyde. There are two distinct halves of the mask: the left side is Jekyll and the right side is Hyde. The far left side of the mask is white, which transitions into a light grey further to the right. The far right side is a dark, blood red. Going towards the middle from the right side, the red becomes lighter. The middle is where these two colors, grey and red, blend together. The red is slightly to the right of the middle, pushing over into the left side. The left side, however, has a small amount of tiny lines of red paint, scattered about. Each of these elements represents the minds of Jekyll/Hyde and how their minds interact with each other. The white on the very