Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

Although some argue that Good vs. Evil is not the best fitting theme because if one side of a person is evil, the whole is evil. Certainly, this may be true, but Dr.Jekyll was always trying to right Mr. Hyde’s wrongs. Throughout the book, Dr.Jekyll does all he can to be in control of his dark side. He tries to cover his mistakes up and fight the urge to transform into Hyde. He fights for his good side to win.

Jekyll talks about the years before the creation of the potion that transforms him into Hyde. He summarises his finding of the dual nature, human beings are half good and half evil. Jekyll’s goal in his experiments is to separate two opposite elements, creating a person with only good characteristics and a being of only evil. He does this because he wants to free his good side from dark urges. He fails this experiment, in fact he only manages to create a whole evil person ‘Mr Hyde’. In the letter, Jekyll says ‘I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man . . . if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both.’ The events of the novel inform the reader that the dark side (Hyde) is much stronger than the rest of Jekyll, this is why Hyde is able to take over Jekyll. This letter is really important for the reader so that the whole novel is understood. A lot of horror is created and it is all quiet in the reader's mind. The reader feels horrified by the way in which Jekyll seems to love and care for Hyde. Jekyll’s words make the reader angry that a man who was so good could enjoy becoming so

Just as the emotions between a parent and toddler can change any second from loving to embarrassed and angry, the two main characters in Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, struggle through a family-like relationship. Throughout the novel, the relationship between Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde changes from a close, family-like relationship to one of hatred toward the end of the book. Changes in the relationship between Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde can be seen in: observations by Mr. Utterson, Dr. Jekyll’s state of mind before and after the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, and Dr. Jekyll’s confession.

In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Mr. Hyde is the most obvious villain as he was created to be pure evil, but the character of Dr. Jekyll also has villainous aspects. Mr. Hyde is often shown to have little to no self-control as seen when he physically violates two people. This is seen when

The story of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde is a prime example of good versus evil as a man struggles with an experience that goes bad. Dr. Henry Jekyll is a man of science and he develops a potions that causes him to have two separate and distinct personalities. As time passes, Dr. Jekyll discovers that he is losing his ability to control the sinister side of his personality, Mr. Hyde. The effects of this scientific experiments will dramatically change his life and the lives of his friends.

In this book, there exist a battle between good and evil in the main characters where we are bound to ask ourselves what is superior between good and evil? Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are easily seen as an allegory of the evil and good that exists in men. The book depicts the struggle with two sides of the human personality. Since Mr. Hyde seems to be taking over Dr. Jekyll, one could claim that evil is stronger than good. Nevertheless, Mr. Hyde ends up dead at the end of the story, which strongly shows the weakness and the failure of evil, so we have to ask ourselves whether good can be separated from evil. “Great people are involved in bad things this is the fact of life, yet this does not make them evil” (Stevenson pp 28-75).

In the novel evil is portrayed by Mr. Hyde and as the novel progresses evil begins to gain more power over good, Mr. Hyde begins to take over Dr. Jekyll and becomes more dominant. Jekyll is beginning to lose control and his evil side is taking over:

     In the end, Jekyll decides to let Hyde take over and he gives up. Hyde is able to take control over Jekyll because Jekyll had originally taken the potion for selfish reasons. Jekyll knows that there is a good chance Hyde will take over but he continues with his experiment knowing the risks. He says, “To cast in my lot with Jekyll, was to die those appetites which I had long secretly indulged and had of late begun to pamper. To cast it in with Hyde, was to die a thousand interests and aspirations, and to become at a blow and forever,

The main theme in this story is good vs. evil. This is shown through the main character that has two very different personalities; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jekyll is either all good, Jekyll, or all evil, Hyde, but either way he feels that he isn’t his complete self as either Jekyll or Hyde, “[…] both sides of me were in dead earnest; I was no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame than when I labored, in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and suffering.” (Stevenson 57). Jekyll is constantly at war with his other personality, Hyde; he can switch between the personalities on his own free

Edward Hyde and Henry Jekyll are completely startling persona yet they are a similar person. In addition, Jekyll can not control the high so Mr. Hyde overpowers Jekyll's body. Accordingly, there was no choice of picking no more. As jekyll is saying his last words, it gives the attention of an end “Henry jekyll to an end.” (Stevenson 130).

Everyone loves the classic age-old battle of good vs. evil. Just watching until the very end to find out that good eventually prevails is arguably the most satisfying thing about the rivalry and why filmmakers as well as authors take on the theme so often. However, good vs. evil is also something that human beings simply cannot escape. As long as there is good in the world, there will be evil; also, as long as evil exists, there will be some good to stop it. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, he presents the reader with many different themes throughout. The main theme in Jekyll and Hyde is good vs. evil and the battle between the two. The second theme is repression and how repression affects the characters throughout the novel. Stevenson focuses on the battle between good and evil and the tendency to repress the true self in his classic work in order to emphasize that all people have within themselves these same struggles.

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.

Throughout the novella there is a constant power struggle between Jekyll and Hyde, which Hyde eventually wins but Jekyll finishes by taking his and his counterpart's life. In the beginning Jekyll is in full control, all he has to do is drink the potion and "Edward Hyde would pass away like a stain of breath upon a mirror". Also another important discovery to know was that in the beginning there was only pain turning into Hyde but as committed more atrocities, Jekyll became more consumed by evil, finding it hard to become himself again. Jekyll soon comes upon the theory that Hyde is smaller in person because Jekyll's evil side has been "less exercised", but as Hyde commits more wrongs his stature becomes stronger. Two weeks before the murder of Sir Danvers, Jekyll is in bed in Sohowhen he falls back to

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde influence each other, Stevenson focuses on individual’s perspective. By illuminating on individual’s conflict and perspective, it makes reader to sympathize Dr. Jekyll’s dilemma. Because of social status, he can’t be free, but when people recognize Mr. Hyde as Dr. Jekyll, it will influence to his social status. Additionally, Victorian era time period affects to author’s perspective in the book a lot. It is unique for everyone to overcome internal conflicts, and the author portrayed it in extreme method. Stevenson ultimately claims that in reality, everyone has

However, a horror story is not the only spectacular setting for duality; J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series illustrates the connection between a young wizard boy and a villainous dark wizard. Voldemort, the evil wizard, attempted to kill a magical infant, Harry Potter, but this resulted in he, himself being destroyed, and part of his soul was connected to Harry’s. “We all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on, that’s who we really are” (Order). Here, Harry’s godfather flawlessly conveys the duality through which all characters display themselves. “I guessed, 15 years ago, when I saw the scar on your forehead, what it might mean. I guessed that it might be the sign of a connection forged between you and Voldemort” (Order). In this quote Dumbledore explains how Harry has part of Voldemort inside him, and the duality of the young wizard is confirmed. Duality expressed through characters can be used to show the evil competing with the desire of man to be good.