The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

How does Stevenson portray the duality of man in the opening chapters of ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’?

In ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, Robert Louis Stevenson presents duality as one of the key themes throughout the novel. This is reflected predominantly through the main characters of Dr Jekyll and his evil side, Mr Hyde. Stevenson also mirrors the theme of a dual nature in the settings he creates, by choosing London as the surroundings and in the descriptions of Dr Jekyll's house and the difference between his and Hyde’s rooms. The use of duality is also shown in Stevenson’s use of the themes of light and dark and religious opposites such as good and evil.

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

Everyone has to deal with some sort of temptations in their lives. Usually temptations are negative, but they may differ depending on the person. Some people may not like to admit this but everyone has a dark side and sometimes it shows. A person needs to let out some darkness at some points in their lives because nobody should bottle their emotions up. One man’s dark temptations are looked at in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. In this novel, it starts out introducing Mr.Utterson who is a lawyer. He is walking with his cousin Mr. Enfield and they find a door which leads them to a house. Mr. Enfield starts telling a story and that is how Mr.Hyde and Dr.Jekyll are introduced. “ All at once, I saw two figures: one a little man who was stumping along eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of maybe eight or ten who was running as hard as she was able down a cross street. Well, sir, the two ran into one another naturally enough at a corner; and then came the horrible part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground” (Stevenson 9). Mr. Utterson becomes curious as to who the person was and after doing some investigating he discovers that Dr.Jekyll is Mr.Hyde. Dr.Jekyll wanted a way to let out the bad that he had inside of him, but he didn 't want anyone to see him differently. He decided to make a potion, and when he drank the potion he would turn into Mr.Hyde.

In the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, readers are shown the contrast between one’s personal desires and public desires or one’s good side and evil side. These are the things that help stimulate the psychological development of a person and are what keeps us humans balanced, personality wise. However, when one denies the significance of this by repressing them, things can definitely go wrong. Readers can apply this knowledge into one of the major characters, Dr. Henry Jekyll, who finds the need to repress his darker side due to fear of crossing social expectations. Upon doing so, Jekyll slowly becomes selfish, and full of pride. Also, the purpose of the potion he creates to help him transform into his evil doppelganger , Mr. Hyde, ultimately fails when he finds himself having to repress Hyde as well. Lastly, Jekyll’s repression also leads to the unfortunate end of the book, the disappearance both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Therefore, through Dr. Jekyll’s character, Stevenson proves that repressing emotions or desires does not make them fade away; they will eventually come up again stronger than before and can dominate a person completely.

Reinterpretations have played a major role in all forms of entertainment. They provide another, unique perspective on something old, something you may have read or seen. They make it possible to relive, or re-experience something that you cherished, or they can enable you to love something you hated. Reinterpretations have a lot of artistic power, as can be seen in a review of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, compared to The Incredible Hulk, directed by Louis Leterrier. The value of reinterpretations can be explored through the use of these two texts by looking at the theme of duplicity in man, and analysing the characters Bruce Banner and Dr Jekyll.

During the latter portion of the nineteenth century, Robert Louis Stevenson published his novella, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The fin de siècle saw the rise of different thoughts and ideas surrounding science and society. These concepts and interpretations sparked the discourse surrounding the theory of degeneration; which was the concern that civilization would fall to a lower state of being. This chapter will be reading multiplex personality as a manifestation of this broader cultural fear. Stevenson’s story played upon the changes society was facing during this time and the interest in scientific explanations for mental illness. He creates the character of Dr Jekyll, a scientist who invents a potion to unlock his inner,

As Robert Grudin said in _______, “there is an almost tragic duality between outer and inner worlds, between the rush of experience and the immobility of awareness”. Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, brilliantly exemplifies the philosophical phenomenon that is the duality of human nature through the 2 main characters that coexist interdependently together, Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. According to Webster’s dictionary, the duplicity of human beings is based on the contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action; the quality or state of being twofold. Stevenson’s novel touches upon a variety of factors and concerns, one of which being the duplicity of man. The subject is articulated through the exploration of comparing and contrasting opposites; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s physical attributes, their mentalities/personalities, and finally, the manner by which their environmental surroundings aid in contrasting their characterizations.

This novel can be interpreted in many different ways; from the duality of human nature to the loss of control of many things, such as loss of judgment and moral control which plays a huge role in this novel. Dr. Jekyll has the power to have two personalities because of this concoction, and he is fully capable of control his evil side but I don’t believe he wants to completely at first. Yes there is a clear difference between the two characters Dr. Jekyll obviously has a better demeanor and doesn’t commit horrid acts when he is playing this person; however, they are one person. (NCBI) This novel is interesting in the fact the main character transformation is clearly depicted Dr. Jekyll is described as this tall handsome, middle-aged, successful man while Mr. Hyde is described as short, fat, angry man who no one liked. Jekyll and Hyde communicate by writing letters or notes to one another which helps predict what is going to happen next when the next

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 dual character combination of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of the most well-known in literature and is arguably the most blatant example of duality Stevenson uses to try and get the theme of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde across. The dual personalities Dr. Jekyll possesses are stark examples of the animalistic and civilized sides of man that inherently resides in all men. The virtuous Dr. Jekyll serves as a portrayal of the more rational, human side of man. When Mr. Utterson attends Dr. Jekyll’s dinner party he paints a picture of a quintessential Victorian man when describing Jekyll’s appearance, “well

In the fantastique that is Robert Louis Stevenson’s, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson writes of an idea where among human nature is a quality of duality in which the “good” and the “bad” coincide and “man is not truly one, but truly two.” (Stevenson 62) The main protagonist of the piece a Dr. Henry Jekyll embodies this idea with his scientific ambitions of dichotomizing these two aspects of human nature in order to purify himself. His fate in this way is a direct result of his desires to release himself of the evils that once influenced him as a child. As Mr. Hyde Jekyll’s so called troglodytic counterpart emerges, ironically he slowly begins to take control of the doctor's moral compass.

The plot of Robert Louis Stevenson’s legendary novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is relatively well known. A scientist, Dr. Henry Jekyll, tries to separate his inner good from evil and ends up with an alter ego, Edward Hyde. While Hyde, he commits numerous atrocities, including trampling a child and beating Sir Danvers Carew to death with a walking stick. The story is mostly written from the point of view of Mr. Gabriel Utterson, a lawyer who is friends with Jekyll and eventually pieces together the mystery of his dual nature. Scholars have written countless articles on the duality of man in the novella, but few focus on the implications of the crimes that Jekyll commits as Hyde. In ending the saga of Mr. Hyde with Dr. Jekyll’s suicide, it is evident that Stevenson intended for readers to come to their own conclusions as to Jekyll’s guilt, as well as how he should be held accountable. This is complicated by the fact that, by committing suicide, Dr. Jekyll could be considered mentally ill by law. The legal system in Victorian England arguably treated the mentally ill unfairly, so in having Dr. Jekyll commit suicide, Stevenson could show this unfair treatment to the public. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson couples the character of Dr. Jekyll with his legal and medical knowledge to suggest that the unjust way the Victorian legal system and dealt with the mentally ill needed to be reformed.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) is a scientific horror story that uses science as a solution to the protagonist’s utopian project of isolating the good from the evil. Dr. Henry Jekyll visualizes the potential for a better, near perfect world. The Victorian period in which he lives is one dictated by the ideals of progress, however, reality presents him with a world nowhere near what a utopian society would be like. In the novel, the protagonist goes through a battle between his two opposing identities of good and evil. The internal struggle between these two personalities serve as the ultimate determination on whether or not a utopia can ever be reached.

In 1886 Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a best selling novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It told the terrifying story of the power of addiction and the monsters that lurk within all of humanity. In this story many readers are intrigued by the psychological depth that Stevenson puts into the duo of Dr. Jekyll and his alternate personality Mr. Hyde, and even today the names of this alternating couple have become a kind of parable for any “devil in disguise”. The theme of dualisms main role is proven in this story as the theme when Jekyll undergoes radical changes in his emotional state and personality and assumes the character of Hyde. Through these changes, Stevenson portrays the duality of human nature and moral standard, and as Henry Jekyll