Theme Of Good And Evil In Jekyll And Hyde

Good and Evil in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

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.

Jekyll seems to be in control of his desires and temptations but as Hyde he can fulfil them and not feel guilty. Stevenson is stating that everybody has evil inside of the, wanting to get out and that everyone gets a thrill of letting it out sometimes.

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

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde does warn about the dangers of repression. Due to Dr. Jekyll repressing his inner most desires, he finally finds a way to release them that ends in his untimely death. The Victorian conventions of that time were very conservative while they held a strict moral and class code. It was unseemly that one did not hold themselves in the most dignified ways, especially for one in the higher class like Dr. Jekyll. This is why he spent his life’s work on finding a way to live a double life, so he could keep the advantages that he earned by being an upright citizen of his class. He spent his entire life earning those privileges, but the desire to free himself from his restraint proved unbearable. One can really see this when Jekyll

Within the same passage, Jekyll remarks that he became “conscious of a heady recklessness” and felt “more wicked, tenfold more wicked” (54). These subtle descriptions appear to be somewhat hidden as Dr. Jekyll’s euphoria overwhelming fills the page and, as a result, may fool the reader into believing that succumbing to certain desires is simply natural. However, Stevenson wittingly choses to add minute details to demonstrate that Jekyll is gradually, yet unknowingly, losing his “better half.” Through his joy, the author is able to reflect how humans can be unaware of the monstrous actions they are partaking in, bringing a sense of unease to the reader. By welcoming this monster, Stevenson is able to convey the notion that humans all have wicked desires hidden within. The moment one unleashes such desires out is the moment one loses their humanity.

The world as we know it is constantly moving and changing; events occur that can affect people’s lives even if they are thousands of miles away. Whether or not these happenings are good or evil can shape one’s mindset and outlook on the actions they take themselves. Both have distinct strengths and weaknesses; however, the real question one must ask is which side of the spectrum is more capable of influencing humanity. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a wealthy and well-respected doctor by the name of Henry Jekyll, who believes that man is not one but two separate people, constructs a potion which unearths his inner evil (Mr. Edward Hyde), and in the end is engulfed by the strength of his malevolent persona.

Jekyll understands that there's a battle of good and bad and this quote does a good job of representing that. It's normal to have negative thoughts and voices in your head, you just can't give in. Along with Jekyll acknowledging this duality, he also is intrigued by it. Jekyll states, “If each, I told myself, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable; the unjust might go his way, delivered from the aspirations and remorse of his more upright twin; and the just could walk steadfastly and securely on his upward path, doing the good things in which he found his pleasure, and no longer exposed to disgrace and penitence by the hands of this extraneous evil.” (Pg 90). If it were possible to physically separate ourselves from the evil side, then we would no longer have to experience the repercussions of the evil side’s doing. It’s way easier to be good when you don’t have the voice of evil in your head, so if it were possible to “be housed in separate identities” than people would do a lot more good. In the Cherokee story, the grandfather says “A fight is going on inside me… One is evil… The other is good.” The grandfather is very clearly explaining the same situation

Jekyll to feel remorseful for all the sins he commits as Mr. Hyde; however, he equivocates the chirpings of his conscience by claiming that it was not really Dr. Jekyll who was performing these malicious deeds. Dr. Jekyll, in his letter to Mr. Utterson, argues that, “It was Hyde, after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty. Jekyll was no worse; he woke again to his good qualities seemingly unimpaired; he would even make haste, where it was possible, to undo the evil done by Hyde. And thus his conscience slumbered” (111). Jekyll represses his conscience by justifying his crimes and believing in his own excuses.

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.

Would you rather spend your entire life being good and caring about others, or would you rather be evil and care less about others and only care about yourself? In the novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson in the Victorian Era, also known as the era of pure good, which many people tend to behave with manners to be accepted in societies, but Stevenson wrote this story to demonstrate how we're all evil in some way and was probably the best way to act. Freud’s theory of human psyche is that we all have inner evil and it's up to us to choose if we wanna be id or superego. As for myself, I choose Id because being careless and rebellious can lead you to get what you desire, despite the consequences. For example, you can be a rude and violent person and get away with it, commit a murder and get away with it, care less about what people think about you, and show your true feelings about certain things can make you feel free.

The constant battle between good and evil is a significant theme in the book. This is especially shown with Jekyll who decides to end the good side of him and be solely Mr. Hyde, his evil side. Although he attempts for the good side of him to take over, bad ultimately wins. This comes to show that human nature can be evil but can also be good. Because of this, people question which one is greater: good or evil.

What is evil? That is a question people get asked a lot. The meaning of evil is profoundly immoral and malevolent. So people may say evil is just another characteristic of a person. It doesn't happen to everyone but when it does they stand out from the crowd. How do people become evil, they might get it from books, TV, role models, and others or over time they get the urge to hurt people or do other evil things. In Jekyll and Hyde evil comes from Mr. Hyde turning into Dr. Jekyll. It won't be as bad but Hyde was being a very rude and evil Jekyll.

In other words, good and evil exist in relationship with each other, thus without one, the other ceases to exist. However, it seems as if Jekyll wants to suggest that good and evil are independent and can be separated. This interpretation of duality shows that Jekyll simply misinterprets the relationship between good and evil. Though Jekyll may seem to misunderstand the relationship between good and evil, the text shows that while he does, he intentionally ignores reality and creates for himself an ultimately futile fantasy. If Jekyll's understanding of the relationship between good and evil is one of independence, then being

In the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, analysts declare all fault falls onto the evilness Mr. Hyde professes throughout the novel, but is it possible that a sign from an insignificant character could have lifted the yearning of immoral thoughts happening in Mr. Hyde? The theme in the dark tale of Stevenson’s novella portrays the duality of evil and good of the main character. Although this is true, the supporting characters are as guilty as Mr. Hyde. Those closest to Dr. Jekyll had no hesitation of berating him after learning of his sinful ways. Dr. Jekyll, a man who is established to be well respected and born into a dominant social class, is responsible for some of the worst perpetuate