The short fictional novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tells the tale of a dedicated London lawyer named Gabriel Utterson who searches for truth after a close friend of his named Henry Jekyll, gradually spirals downward, committing unspeakable acts of violence and depravity following his first ingestion of a mystical potion. Utterson must uncover the buried secrets kept by the withdrawn doctor and childhood friend before it is too late, while also investigating the puzzling murder of a respected senator and former client of his. Prominent themes in the book such as the polarization of the human psyche, the paradoxical effect of silence and the inherent, thinly veiled darkness that lies in commercial centers and popular cities …show more content…
Hyde’s physical appearance, the symbolism of the lab connecting to Dr. Jekyll’s home, and the symbolism of the mystical potion taken by Dr. Jekyll all help convey the powerful themes that transcend the book. First and foremost, Mr. Hyde’s physical appearance described by those that have seen him commit horrible atrocities signifies his alternate or dual personality as he crosses societal boundaries. Transformed from a tall, revered and affluent doctor, to a shorter hairier uglier looking figure, Dr Jekyll represents the part of society most of us try to embrace while his more nefarious counterpart represents the greatest fears of society-- a killer without a motive who feels euphoric and rejuvenated after slaying innocent prey. The lab that connects Dr. Jekyll’s home to his lab also allows readers to acknowledge the vastly different personalities that a person may have. After having its door broken down, this same lab illustrates that secrets cannot be kept indefinitely, especially those that regard personality and there will eventually come a time when a victor is chosen between the aforementioned good and evil combating inside an individual’s head. The potion that is discovered to have helped transform Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde could represent a plethora of external and internal catalysts. Today, substances like drugs and alcohol may have a similar effect to the potion taken by Dr. Jekyll. Internal factors like greed and gluttony could also symbolize the potion’s effect on the mind and body. Many of the listed substances don’t create something that isn’t already there; rather they expose our conscious and subconscious desires and in some cases amplify them. This is where genetics and natural, inherent proclivities come into play, making certain behavior like smoking and drinking enticing. These can sometimes reveal our true nature. Dr. Jekyll longed for true freedom and through the simple intake of a potion he was able to attain a
Impressions/Connections “‘with your rugged, strong face and your coal-black hair, and this young Adonis’” (5) This is an allusion to Adonis, a handsome, young man from Greek mythology. “‘Why, my dear Basil, he is a Narcissus’” (5) An allusion to Narcissus from Greek mythology. He was a handsome man who could only focus on his own beauty and nothing else.
In Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde by Stevenson, that was from Stevenson’s nightmare was created in three days. Stevenson uses imagery, diction, and details. All three of these are used to create a depressed mood.
Utterson, Lanyon, Enfield, Jekyll... one of these does not belong. Clearly, within the context of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Henry Jekyll struggles to fit himself into the strict Victorian society. In the events leading to his demise, he longs to separate his firm, polished face from his true inner self; from here, Stevenson paints this juxtaposition with the use of several point-of-view techniques. When Utterson, the protagonist, “[stands] a while when Mr. Hyde had left him... putting his hand to his brow like a man in mental perplexity” (Stevenson 19), he clearly becomes the literal center of attention for the story’s opinions and perspectives. Rather than giving an omniscient style to the novel, Stevenson provides an external viewpoint in order to engage his audience. The use of point-of-view techniques in Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reinforces the audience’s reaction to the story’s moral dilemma.
“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).
As humans, the hardships that are faced in life are inevitable events that are constantly trying to be avoided. In some cases, people look for an exit. To some, this exit may be family time or participating in their favorite hobby. In other cases, some people fail to have the same luck as others. Their desire to dodge their problems may result in drugs, violence, alcoholism, or possibly worse. The Strange Cases Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel about a man who needs an exit. Dr. Jekyll is a high class man that has an addiction fueled by his desires to become a different man, and to escape his bottled up anger and evil side that he cannot part with as Dr. Jekyll. This pushes him to create a potion that allows him to become this second man. This second man is Mr. Hyde, the evil dark side of Dr. Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll becomes addicted to being Mr. Hyde and wants to be him full time. Robert L. Stevenson displays a common pattern of addiction in The Strange Cases of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde through Dr. Jekyll’s initial desire to create something that allows him to escape his problems, without facing responsibilities, even though he ends up facing much heavier long term consequences.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the play Trifles are similar and different in their acts of violent behavior. In both genres the man and woman took a life, killed a person and had no regret. However in the late nineteenth century in London England Dr. Henry Jekyll dark side is kept under control. The dark half of him has a vicious appetite to do evil. There is no love lost between Jekyll and Hyde. Edward Hyde enjoys the tasteful lust of violence. His barbaric cold expression is noted by Mr. Utterson. The first impression Mr. Utterson got from Hyde, Hyde’s a friend to Satan. In spite of Dr. Jekyll honorable personality, fear grips Mr. Utterson mind. Mr. Hyde dwarf appearance and bold displeasing smile cause Mr. Utterson to fear for Jekyll safety and involvement with such an evil man.
On this date worker visited Mr. Hyde at dialysis, for the purpose of gathering information and having him speak with Mr. McAdams and authorize bank statements. Mr. Hyde stated Mr. Hunt was still living with him. However, he did not think it was fair that Mr. Hunt stole his money. Mr. Hyde became emotional and stated "Put me in a home if you have to at least there I will be taken care of." Worker explained to Mr. Hyde since his health had improved he may be able to live in an assistant living facility. Mr. Hyde stated "whatever as long as I'm taken care of."
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886. The novel is set in Victorian England and follows a man by the name Dr. Jekyll, a respected doctor. Dr. Jekyll is a revered man in society and has every intention of remaining that way. However, one day he goes too far with one of his experiments and he creates a draught that unleashes a split personality within him. This personality goes by the name of Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll does not seek a cure at first because he enjoys having an outlet for all of his desires that are deemed unacceptable by society. Hyde commits evil deeds, such as murdering an old man and trampling a young girl, which Dr. Jekyll could never normally let himself go through with. Dr. Jekyll believes that he can remain a good, reputable man even when a part of him is doing wrong. However, he soon learns that this is impossible. Soon after, Dr. Jekyll loses control over his ability to transform into Mr. Hyde. At first, he would only change during the night. Then, he started transforming during the day as well. Dr. Jekyll finally admits that the problem is starting to get out of control. However, he cannot create a remedy any longer. Dr. Jekyll is eventually completely overtaken by Mr. Hyde and the reader does not hear from him again. In this novel, Dr. Jekyll illustrates the duality of human nature through his struggle to choose between good versus evil, societal expectations versus unacceptable desires, and
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and published in 1886. It concerns a lawyer, Gabriel Utterson, who investigates the strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the reclusive Mr. Edward Hyde. This novel represents an ideology in Western culture; the perpetual conflict between humanity’s virtuosity and immorality. It is interpreted as an accurate guidebook to the Victorian era’s belief of the duality of human nature. This essay will explore Mr. Edward Hyde and whether Stevenson intended for him to be a mere character in the novel or something of wider significance.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the play Trifles are similar and different in their acts of violent behavior. In both genres the man and woman took a life, killed a person and had no regret. However, in the late nineteenth century in London, England Dr. Henry Jekyll dark side is kept under control. The dark half of him has a vicious appetite to do evil. There is no love lost between Jekyll and Hyde. Edward Hyde enjoys the tasteful lust of violence. His barbaric cold expression is noted by Mr. Utterson. The first impression Mr. Utterson got from Hyde, Hyde’s a friend to Satan. In spite of Dr. Jekyll honorable personality, fear grips Mr. Utterson mind. Mr. Hyde dwarfish appearance and bold displeasing smile is cause enough for Mr. Utterson to fear for Jekyll safety and involvement with such an evil man.
Vladimir Nabokov’s ability to interpret and analyze Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is impressive, yet his label’s of the tale cause some debate. In an effort to delve deeper into the inner workings of the tale, and Stevenson’s intentions, Nabokov discusses some ideas that are both complex and controversial. Though he tackles this feat with great effort, the way in which he labels the story as a whole, contradicts reality.
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the author draws attention to a contradiction between good and evil through the use of figurative language. I choose the passage in which a maid witnesses the Carew murder committing by Mr. Hyde to base my artwork because it creates a nightmarish and merciless scene.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde “explores the sinister side of Victorian masculinity, in particular the idea that the criminal tendencies and depraved behaviour normally attributed to the lower classes could also infect the middle and upper classes.” Maxwell continues expressing how the lower classes are associated with felonies but in this novella it “infects” Mr. Jekyll, a member of the upper class. Utterson avoids telling the cops that Dr. Jekyll is a close friend of Hyde after the murder of Sir Danvers Carew. Instead of maintaining his friend’s reputation and protecting his public image, Utterson talks to Jekyll directly. As a result of this, the relationship of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is kept a secret. There is great importance on outside appearances; so in order to protect themselves and Mr. Jekyll, they must keep themselves quiet. Not only can they ruin their reputations, for they can also ruin how they think and how they act.
In pursuing his scientific experiments and validating his work, Jekyll claims, "man is not truly one, but truly two." So, in Jekyll's view, every soul contains elements of both good and evil, but one is always dominant. In Jekyll's case, his good side is dominant, but he knows there is evil inside of him, but at the end of the book his evil side becomes stronger and unstoppable. However, as a respectable member of society and an honorable Victorian gentleman, Jekyll cannot fulfill his evil desires. Thus, he works to develop a way to separate the two parts of his soul and free his evil characteristics. Unfortunately, rather than separating these forces of good and evil, Jekyll's potion only allows his purely evil side to gain strength. Jekyll is in fact a combination of good and evil, but Hyde is only pure evil, so there is never a way to strengthen or separate Jekyll's pure goodness. Without counterbalancing his evil identity, Jekyll allows Hyde to grow increasingly strong, and eventually take over entirely, perhaps entirely destroying all the pure goodness Jekyll ever had.
One of the most vital concepts incorporated into The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the representation and depiction of the duality of mankind. Jekyll works to find a solution which will separate him into his reckless, immoral persona and his respectable, Victorian self. After consumption, this potion causes him to completely transform into a man who is known as Hyde. As Hyde, he can express himself in immoral, evil ways. This not only includes moral and immoral wants but rational and irrational wants. Not only does this transformation enable him to keep his good reputation even while he does horrid, unacceptable things, but it allows him to do things which he most likely would not even