Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde Character Analysis

Stevenson develops the idea that evil can be seen visibly through physical appearance, and is always the ugliest form of a human being. When Dr. Jekyll transforms into the 100% evil Mr. Hyde his mentality and mindset changes, but so does his appearance. Stevenson depicts the change from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde as a change that can be visibly seen. Mr. Hyde is much uglier than Dr. Jekyll, as well as more evil in nature. When Mr. Utterson first sees Mr. Hyde he considers him deformed and repulsive, “Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky,

The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is a story that focuses on two completely different characters and their reputations. Actions of an individual define who that individual is as a person. In the story, Mr. Hyde’s actions make him out to be an evil character and Dr. Jekyll’s actions show that he is a good man.

If Hyde has been described as Hyde "savage, uncivilized, and given to passion…poorly evolved" (Shubh), then perhaps he represents the true, original nature of man, repressed by society, norms, and conscience. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde suggests that this restrained, amoral side of human nature, once given a chance to escape, cannot be controlled. Even in this 'height of western civilization', Victorian England, this tempting evil can overcome even the most virtuous of men. Jekyll is neither good nor bad, but a man whose deeply repressed urges motivated him to separate, but not remove, the evil parts of his nature. There is a misinterpretation that Hyde is an unwanted byproduct of trying to create pure good, that Jekyll is not in control as Hyde, and that Jekyll doesn't enjoy being Hyde. In fact, Jekyll loves being Hyde, he revels in the freedom that he brings him (Stevenson 54), but the problems with his dual personality starts when he has to face the consequences of his actions. Jekyll has a difficult time balancing Hyde's debaucheries and Jekyll's rational, refined side. However, Jekyll realizes too late that he has indulged in Hyde too much and has let him grow out of control. At the beginning of the novel, Hyde was the “smaller, slighter, and younger than Henry Jekyll” (Stevenson 57). His more youthful appearance represents how young and free Jekyll feels as Hyde, but also symbolizes how little his personality was seen before Jekyll drank his potion. Early in the novel, Hyde is easily controlled, Jekyll can use his potion to limit how often he transforms into Hyde (Stevenson 56). However, as he starts to morph back and forth, it starts to take more and more potion to control the switches until

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson uses very rich diction so that his audience can visualize every detail of the setting and characters. In Dr. Lanyon’s letter to Mr. Utterson describing how he came to know of Dr. Jekyll’s deception and secrets, he also describes Mr. Hyde. This was the first time in the novel that Mr. Hyde was descriptively described. The diction Stevenson used influenced not only the visual aesthetics of the reader but several themes and gives the reader foreshadowing. Dr. Lanyon first describes Mr. Hyde’s clothing as “enormously too large”, and goes into further detail by observing that his pants were too long for him and were “rolled up to keep them from the ground” and “the collar sprawl wide upon his shoulders” (Stevenson). Dr. Lanyon’s description also foreshadows the truth behind Dr. Jekyll’s secret because Dr. Jekyll was described as a large man, “a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty” (Stevenson). Mr. Hyde’s description also included Dr. Lanyon’s surmise that “there was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature” (Stevenson). In the last chapter, the letter from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Utterson, the audience gets a sense of shame and understanding from Dr. Jekyll. Stevenson’s diction strongly influences the reader’s perception of Dr. Jekyll’s letter. His use of words like “morbid sense of shame,” “driven to reflect deeply and inveterately on that hard law of life,” and “shed a strong light on this consciousness of the perennial war among my members” (Stevenson), imply the emotional impact that Dr. Jekyll’s experiments had on

“Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” is a gothic novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson that was first published in 1886. It’s about a lawyer from London named G.J. Utterson who explores strange events that involves his old friend Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. The novel’s influence on language is extraordinary, with the phrase “Jekyll and Hyde” coming to the meaning of a person of diversity in moral character from one situation to the next (French literature).

“All human beings are commingled out of good and evil.” Robert Louis Stevenson was no fool when it came to understanding the duality of human nature evident within mankind. In his novella, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson is able to explore his interests concerning the dark, hidden desires that all human beings are guilty of possessing. In his story, a well-respected professional by the name of Dr. Jekyll experiments with the idea of contrasting personalities and successfully undergoes a physical separation of such identities—one which would soon wreak havoc upon his very existence. As a result of his success, Edward Hyde is born. Hyde, characterized as a miniscule and terrifying, apelike figure from the start,

But in private, Jekyll confesses that when he “looked upon that ugly idol in the glass, [he] was conscious of no repugnance, rather of a leap of welcome. This too, was [himself]. It seemed natural and human” (Stevenson 78). Instead of feeling disgust at the appearance of Hyde, like every other character in the story, Jekyll feels comforted. The fact that Jekyll is able to view pure evil without revulsion is symbolic of his innate corruption and foreshadows Hyde inevitably overwhelming Jekyll. Throughout the story, Jekyll is utterly incapable of resisting the temptations of Hyde. Even after vowing to never transform into Hyde again, Jekyll drinks the potion after two months: “I began to be tortured with throes and longings, as of Hyde struggling after freedom; and at last, in an hour of moral weakness, I once again compounded and swallowed the transforming draught” (Stevenson 86). By allowing himself to fall prey to temptation and feel comfortable with Hyde, Jekyll refuses to acknowledge the immorality of Hyde. This is illustrated by the fact that “While the other characters find ways to accept and cope with their shadow sides, Dr. Jekyll cannot, and his failure to integrate the seemingly opposite aspects of himself… [results] in his

The reason The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is vital to the rehabilitation of prisoners is because it teaches a powerful lesson on actions and there consequences. By Dr. Jekyll continually choosing to change into Mr. Hyde and feeding his evil side, he enabled Mr. Hyde to overpower him and become the more dominant personality. Which is shown on p. 72 when it states, “…it seemed only by a great effort as of gymnastics, and only under the stimulation of the drug, that I was able to wear the countenance of Jekyll.” Dr. Jekyll has now been confined to his home because at any moment he could change to his other self and would be without explanation to his friends and family. Now instead of using the drug to change into Mr. Hyde, he has to use it to stay in the form of Dr. Jekyll, his original self.

Even though he knew it could lead to his arrest, Hyde brutally murdered a highly regarded man. He could not look past the evil temptation, and so it overtook his better judgment. Jekyll acknowledges these horrible acts committed by Hyde, but they do not seem to impact him. Because Jekyll has not performed the actions, he does not feel guilty; however, he eventually realizes Hyde’s true malevolence. By this time, it is already too late. Hyde already has too much control over Jekyll, and he understands he must give up: “And indeed the doom that is closing on us both, has already changed and crushed him. Half an hour from now, […] I shall again and forever reindue that hated personality […] I am careless; this is my true hour of death, and what is to follow concerns another than myself. Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to and end” (Stevenson 70). He realizes that Hyde has become dominant, and that his inner evil cannot be suppressed. Accepting this as fact finally ends Jekyll’s struggle with suppression and

The novel Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson contains frequent situations where conflicts among the characters arise. This literary classic also has a prominent and iconic villain depicted in one of the title characters, Mr. Hyde. The general plot of the novel is as follows; Utterson, a respected lawyer, and Enfield, Utterson’s cousin, are on their weekly walk when Enfield tells Utterson about his first encounter with Hyde. During his retelling, Enfield explains how he witnesses Hyde trample a young girl in the street and then pay for her family’s silence in the matter. Utterson nor Enfield are one to indulge in gossip, so they put an abrupt end to the conversation. Soon thereafter, Utterson visits his and Jekyll’s mutual

In the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde it is regarded that these identities are two different persons but this is not the case, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are one in the same. There is much confusion when reading this literary work by Robert Louis Stevenson; this piece is regarded as horrific and disturbing in many ways. But the biggest twist is when it is reveled to the reader that these two people are the same and that below the surface of Dr.Jekyll is an evil man who enjoys committing evil acts. Mainly that Dr. Jekyll believes he has no choice but to commit these horrid acts because he has no control over is evil side. I don’t believe this is the case, Hyde isn’t a real person and doesn’t exist, nor is he someone who commits

In the story of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886), the character Dr Henry Jekyll develops an alter ego called Mr Edward Hyde while trying to seperate the two consciences he believes everyone has inside of them. This Mr Hyde ego is the evil half of Dr Jekyll and performs horrendous acts like murder feeling no guilt, but when Dr Jekyll regains control of the body they share he is overcome with regret. This wonder about multiple consciences was popular at the time of the story’s writing with double personality being “one of the most widely discussed clinical disorders” (Armstrong 189). This essay will discuss the ‘reverse transformation’ found in the novel and how it was influenced by the thoughts of society in the time it was written.

Throughout the course of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, there were three characters that underwent significant changes in their traits. Those three were Dr. Jekyll (of course), Mr. Hyde, and Mr. Utterson. One common pattern in the book was that all the character change was due to the plot and mystery of the novel. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were both the most affected due to potion, obviously because Jekyll was the formulator of the chemical. Mr. Utterson, who, although, played an important role in the story, did not experience much of a character change; this was probably intended by Stevenson because he did not want the main voice of the novel to change over time, which does make sense. However, the main change to notice in terms of character development of any of the characters was with Dr.Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.

In the spooky mysterious novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson we start our journey with the main character, Mr. Utterson, and his companion, Dr. Lanyon. The two men talk about their colleague Dr. Jekyll and this mysterious figure named Mr. Hyde. In doing this Stevenson introduces the four characters that prove to be pillars in the investigation and resolution of the book. Throughout the book we experience plenty of conflict between these four characters and society. Stevenson sets up the theme through the conflicts that arise between the characters in the book. In the end the author wraps it all up by the use of his unique point of view and ends the confusion by allowing the us to finally solve “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde. In this way, Jekyll becomes monstrous himself as he wishes to pass on his evil parts into another person. Jekyll’s concoction is a threat to cultural morals and values as it enables someone to set evil free. Consequently, there is no obligation and interest in adhering to any moral standards. In the end, he is a split person, one-half is represented by Jekyll and the other one by Hyde. Stevenson used the different standpoints in the story to create the feeling that Jekyll and Hyde are two different individuals: “‘The Master Hyde, if he were studied,’ thought he [Utterson],’must have secrets of his own; black secrets, by the look of him; secrets compared to which poor Jekyll’s worst would be like sunshine.” (Stevenson 22). Thus, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a story where the line blurs. As Hyde and Jekyll are one and the same person, the reader realises that they together are both moral and immoral and both good and