...Duality is the idea of everything having an opposing truth. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s book, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, duality is the main theme. Stevenson explores the concept of duality with the setting, events that take place throughout the story and this character’s dialogue. William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, also demonstrates the inherent duality of the world. The dualities in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde consist of the duality of human nature and the duality of society; Romeo and Juliet ties in with some of these dualities. Dr. Jekyll, a character in Stevenson’s novel, is used a common example of the duality in human nature. Dr. Jekyll was thought to be an entirely good person, by the Victorian...
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...Anmol Shah Mr. Stovall and Mr. Chan English 10 29 October 2015 The Duality of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde In the novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde portrays the duality of a human. Every human being has a good and bad side. In the novella, Dr. Jekyll is represented as a dualistic person. Dr. Jekyll is a good well-mannered scientist and conducts an experiment that brings out his evil side, Mr. Hyde. This tells the reader that every man has a bad side and one can be more in control than the other. In this case Mr. Hyde beings to corrupt Dr. Jekyll and causes major damage. Does Dr. Jekyll think of Mr. Hyde of himself or as another person? Should the blame of Sir Danvers Carew be Mr. Hyde himself or Dr. Jekyll? Dr. Jekyll believes that a man cannot ever be pure good, but he cannot avoid the evil....
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...Jacob Bowman Mr. Romick British Literature March 11, 2016 Guilty Until Purged God and evil, they both lie within us all. The duality of man is a major topic that has been discussed for centuries. Throughout the story of “The Strange Case Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Stevenson presents his idea of the duality of man- where we all have a demonic side within us. Evil is held within waiting to surface, but we ignore our impulses, we act as if it does not exist. Stevenson presents this idea by using two characters, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who are essentially the same person. One of these characters, Dr. Jekyll, symbolizes the good side of man, and the other, Mr. Hyde, signifies the purest of evil. Conscience, the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's motives, it’s what refrains us from fulfilling all of our impulses.Without a conscience, all hell would break loose and everyone would abandon the moral laws of life. The theme of good and evil is a topic that is talked about in length in books, movies, stories, and in real life. Good vs. evil is referred to in “The Bible" many times. “As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (Romans 7:17-19). This quote from “The Bible” relates to the idea of the duality of man laced within “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. This quote talks about how the evil...
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...CHARACTER EVALUATION STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL and MR. HYDE (Robert Lewis Stevenson, 1886) BERTHA THOMAS PSY/230 FEBRUARY 12, 2012 PURVI PATEL CHARACTER EVALUATION: STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL and MR. HYDE, (Robert Lewis Stevenson, (1886)) “I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man . . . if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both” (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Lewis Stevenson (1886). Dr. Jekyll’s self-description of his personality, toward the beginning of his impending and irrevocable metamorphosis, fit comfortably into the category of what is known as psychoticism. Hans Eysenck (1952) proposed that a susceptibility to psychosis represented an important dimension of Personality and might, in fact, be present, in mild form, in the general population. Consequently, Dr. Jekyll seems to be the subject of this mental disorder, coupled with scientific product. Although it is safe to say that most of us would score somewhere at the low or high end of the Big Five characteristic traits, there is usually a plateau upon which we can be scored. Contrarily, Dr. Jekyll fluctuated between these two extremes, enjoying each in its totality, until the pressure of the duality became too much to bear. I believe the concept of humanity’s sense of good and evil (our duality) can be represented by the low and high ends of the Big Five characteristic traits that dwell within...
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...to the human mind. There is some sort of duality in the human mind and has been a recurring theme of discussion in many stories. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Strange Case) (Stevenson, 1886) brings the topic of human duality to the forefront by observing it from a third person point of view. Edgar Allan Poe brings up human duality too from a first person point of view in his work The Murders in the Rue Morgue (The Murders)(1841). Strange Case is about an internal struggle that is externalized, while The Murders shows no struggle between the characters. The former about the concept of self-control, while the latter on mental capacity. Although both stories show it in very different ways, the underlying theme is the same, the duality of the human mind is true and apparent but cannot be separated. It may help to demonstrate the nature of human duality with another concept that is physical but not human, the wave-particle duality. This concept is derived from the nature of light, or electromagnetism. Classically, people, especially scientist, used to believe that waves and particles were two separate entities but after an experiment (the double-slit experiment) found that light behaves as both at the same time. This concept shook science from the very foundation upon which it stood and began the era of quantum mechanics. Many people assume that the human mind is one but in actuality it is two, similar to the wave-particle duality. These two minds are one in the same and...
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...Title: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Author: Robert Louis Stevenson Type: Short Story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a classic tale written by Robert Louis Stevenson. This book is structured as a mystery/thriller, told from the perspective of a lawyer named Utterson. Utterson’s steady, rational approach to life lends credibility to the strange and ultimately horrifying events he reports. Utterson is a lifelong friend of the famed surgeon Dr. Henry Jekyll, who has some deep, inexplicable association with a mysterious sociopath who goes by the name of Hyde. Utterson is bothered by a will written by his friend that completely benefits the strange fellow named Mr. Hyde. Utterson believes Hyde is blackmailing Jekyll and tries to persuade Jekyll to confide in him, so that he might help free his friend from this baleful influence. But Jekyll refuses to reveal anything of his relationship with Hyde. Utterson relates the progression of Hyde’s criminality, and the effect this has on Jekyll. One mystery piles on another as Jekyll breaks his association first with another physician friend, and then isolates himself entirely from the outside world. In a climactic scene at the end, Utterson breaches the walls surrounding Jekyll, and learns the truth. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a mystery that brings into question the basic duality of the human personality. The character which I found the most fascinating was Dr Henry Jekyll’s alter ego Mr Edward Hyde...
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...Representation of Victorian Values in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a well-renown novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1808. Stevenson was always fascinated with the idea of a split personality, so he includes this concept into the heart of his story. But despite the novel focusing on the de facto detective case of Mr. Hyde’s whereabouts and his connection with his polar opposite, Mr. Jekyll, the context presented in the plot and characters of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde criticizes the morality and respectability of Victorian values in the late nineteenth century. The book approaches this through its recurring themes of the upholding of one’s reputation, regression of thoughts and ideas beyond logic, and conflicting nature of duality. In the novel, both the main and supporting characters prioritize more in defending the reputation of themselves and their peers than taking the right course of action. This act confines with the principles of Victorian respectability in which preserving order, etiquette, and appearance was vital. An appropriate example of this sort of mentality is with Dr. Jekyll, one of the prominent characters of the book. The doctor holds a prestigious reputation and is well-respected by his friends and colleagues. When Jekyll throws a dinner party at random, background characters who live in the dark, fictitious setting of London attend in large numbers. However, when his reputation is put on...
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...Works that have stood the tests of time, such as canonical texts like Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, have proven themselves influential over and over again in every field of the arts. They have impacted and altered the course of history and set the bar for other great works of fiction and have even inspired other worlds entirely; moreover, Stevenson’s and Wilde’s work have had a conscious and subconscious effect upon such successful work as Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho, and even Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s Batman which has a story that spans over decades. The dualities that appear in Stevenson’s and Wilde’s work pay tribute to mans’ opposing, and even conflicting, nature that rage inside them. On one hand you have the desire to be an outstanding moral citizen, while on the other you have the desire to give in to your more primal inclinations. In Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian, who heard his friend’s hedonistic world view, decides that beauty is the only aspect of life pursuing and wishes that his self-portrait would age instead of himself. After breaking the heart of his first love, he discovers that his wish has been granted. His portrait begins to age instead of him and also changes and alters itself based on the moral choices Dorian makes. When he leaves his first love, Dorian notices that there appears a sneer of cruelty on his portrait that wasn’t...
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...that affect people every day in modern society. Alexander Solzhenitsyn writes, “Literature that is not the breath of contemporary society, that dares not transmit the pains and fears of that society, that does not warn in time against threatening moral and social dangers-such literature does not deserve the name of literature; it is only a façade.” The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, reflects Solzhenitsyn’s quote by warning the individual of the evils found in the duplicity of human nature and the threat this may pose to society as a whole. The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reflects Solzhenitsyn’s belief that literature must inform readers about issues that society faces, or otherwise it is merely a superficial illusion. The story reflects this statement, by exploring the duplicity of human nature, showing how this duplicity can corrupt an individual’s mind, and revealing why humans have this dual nature. The duplicity of human nature is revealed in the book through various aspects of behavior displayed by the characters. The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reveals the dual nature of humans in the form of an uncontrollable mental disorder. However, Stevenson is not necessarily giving a literal interpretation of this chemically...
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...Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: is Jekyll a tragic hero? Dr. Jekyll is certainly one of the most complex and layered characters in the novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. His character can be interpreted in many ways. In order to describe Jekyll as a tragic hero, one first must decide what a tragic hero is. A tragic hero is someone who was born into wealth or nobility. Also the character must be someone of great respect and admiration to fall down the social ladder. They are responsible for their own fate and suffer with a flaw which will no doubt lead to their demise. This flaw will doom the character to make a serious misjudgement. This character must also inevitably realise they have made an irreversible mistake. They meet their end with honour and dignity. Finally, the audience should feel pity or fear with respect to the characters actions. Jekyll certainly fits the criteria of a tragic hero if we consider how he was born into a wealthy family. His parents were upper-middle class people who introduced Jekyll to the upper-middle class life from a very young age. This may have influenced Jekyll’s lifestyle and his attitudes. Dr. Jekyll was also highly admired and respected throughout society. He was known as a good man and one of the best doctors in the country. He lived in an illustrious two hundred and fifty thousand pound estate in one of the richest parts of London; this would be an estate worth many millions of pounds today. On the other hand...
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...Robert Louis Stevenson explores the theme of appearance versus reality in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in many ways, this includes the language and structure Stevenson uses The most obvious example of this is Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The novel written by Stevenson in 1886 was hugely influenced by the religious raising of Stevenson in Edinburgh, the social division present at the time also had an influence on Stevenson. Firstly, Stevenson explores the theme of appearance versus reality in the novel Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde through the lawyer, Mr Utterson. As an audience we see Utterson as the ‘perfect’ Victorian. In comparison to his society, they see his good appearance being a ‘loveable’ man who is ‘eminently human’. From this language and imagery we can clearly see that Utterson is portrayed as a respectable lawyer in the Victorian society. Stevenson describes Utterson’s real self subtly by describing his repression ‘ He was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone’. From this we gather that Utterson’s reality is perhaps an alcoholic or a person who likes to drink showing his real self. To add to this point the setting of the novel allows Stevenson to explore the duality of Victorian London representing the two sides. Our first introduction of the setting occurs in the first chapter ‘the story of the door’. Stevenson portrays the street to be a ‘quiet’ street which ‘shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood’ with ‘smiling saleswomen’, here we get the feeling the...
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...How has your study of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and an appropriation of your own choosing enhanced your understanding of how and why cultural values are maintained and changed? “The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, follows the duplicitous notion of a single body containing both the erudite Dr. Jekyll and the depraved Mr. Hyde. Stevenson’s novella imagines an inextricable link between civilization and savagery, and the palpable influence of cultural value and standard. Set within the height of the Victorian era circa 1886, this duality of human nature is examined by a specific Eurocentric interpretation, narrated by the mild-mannered lawyer Mr Utterson. Steven Moore’s filmic appropriation of the original novella is the BBC television series “Jekyll”, which encapsulates the similar split personality of Dr Tom Jackman and his alter ego ‘Mr Hyde’, within today’s current context. Through analysis of both the novella and the first episode of the film adaptation, a clear similarity between both protagonist’s circumstances is observed. However, the effects societal interpretation has on this controversy is varied in such a way, which distorts the very nature of duplicity, and thus the definition of the classic trope of Jekyll and Hyde. Social respectability and the desire to pursue pleasure both offer the fantasy solution of having a second self to carry the burden of one’s vices. Dr Jekyll explores the circumstance of an educated, Victorian...
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...The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) By Robert L. Stevenson Dr Lanyon’s Narrative COMPREHENSION 1. What was suspicious about the visitor’s behaviour before he entered the house? 2. What emotional state was the visitor in? 3. How did Lanyon react when the visitor touched his arm? 4. Does Lanyon give the visitor what he wants immediately? What eventually convinces him to show his guest the drawer? 5. When the visitor removes the sheet from the drawer, how does he react to the contents? 6. Dr Lanyon’s guest offers him the choice of leaving without witnessing what is about to happen or staying and witnessing a prodigy. Which does Lanyon choose to do and why? 7. What happens to the visitor when he drinks the potion? 8. What is Lanyon’s reaction to the scene he has just witnessed? ANALYSIS 9. At what time does the episode take place? What associations do you make with this particular time? What kind of atmosphere does this time setting create? 10. Find words and expressions in the text which express Lanyon’s repulsion for his visitor. Is his repulsion psychological or physical or both? Give examples. 11. Identify the statement in which Lanyon suggests that his revulsion for the visitor represents something more than personal dislike. 12. Line 3 and 13-18 provide some vague descriptive details of the visitor but for the most part the reader is invited...
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...Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde When reading the story of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde many readers are able to easily relate the situations that are occurring and place them into their own lives. Many psychologists and philosophers have also seen this and have done research to see why this has come to be. George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a philosopher, began to research the duality of human nature before this story was even written; he concluded that every conflict has a thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Hegel is easily able to explain the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde by using his own Hegelian Dialectic. In the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll is determined to find a way to let his alter ego; his other personality, the evil Mr. Hyde allows Dr. Jekyll to release the anger that he keeps in that are caused by the social ‘norms’ that are present in this time period. In comparison Dr. Jekyll is seen as being a cultures young man that had many of the characteristics or a well to do man in the Victorian time period. Mr. Hyde on the other hand is seen as vulgar, disrespectful and is seen as a monster throughout the book. Both personalities of Dr. Jekyll try and balance each other out but are not able to which leads to the ultimate self destruction of both. The idea of the Hegelian Dialect, that everything have a thesis, antithesis, as well as synthesis can be seen throughout the book as a reflection of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One of the first impression that we receive of Jekyll is...
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...Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Duality of Human Nature Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde centers upon a conception of humanity as dual in nature, although the theme does not emerge fully until the last chapter, when the complete story of the Jekyll-Hyde relationship is revealed. Therefore, we confront the theory of a dual human nature explicitly only after having witnessed all of the events of the novel, including Hyde’s crimes and his ultimate eclipsing of Jekyll. The text not only posits the duality of human nature as its central theme but forces us to ponder the properties of this duality and to consider each of the novel’s episodes as we weigh various theories. Jekyll asserts that “man is not truly one, but truly two,” and he imagines the human soul as the battleground for an “angel” and a “fiend,” each struggling for mastery. But his potion, which he hoped would separate and purify each element, succeeds only in bringing the dark side into being—Hyde emerges, but he has no angelic counterpart. Once unleashed, Hyde slowly takes over, until Jekyll ceases to exist. If man is half angel and half fiend, one wonders what happens to the “angel” at the end of the novel. Perhaps the angel gives way permanently to Jekyll’s devil. Or perhaps Jekyll is simply mistaken: man is not “truly two” but is first and foremost the primitive creature embodied in Hyde, brought under tentative control by civilization, law, and conscience. According to...
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