The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

Some of my favorite characters in literature are the villains. Each villain I’ve come across are unique in their own ways but are all critical to the story and the plot. There wouldn’t be, “the boy who lived,” without Lord Voldemort or A Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde without Hyde himself. Mr. Hyde is a true villain and is critical to A Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde without this alter ego all this book would be about is a Doctor that follows societies rules on how to behave but secretly craves to be bad. Not to say that wouldn’t interesting to read but it would change the whole meaning of the book.

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,

From its inception, the Gothic novel has prominently featured states of entrapment or imprisonment, but has seen a transition from entrapment as a state inflicted by others to a state constructed by the self within a society. The prisons are no longer Gothic dungeons controlled by powerful figures, but have shifted into a state of mind, and thus, the possibility of liberation from entrapment has become destabilised. Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde deals with several layers of entrapment – the physical, psychological and existential – but, unlike earlier Gothic novels, problematizes the possibility of escape as the entrapment has shifted to an internalized force. Henry Jekyll, is imprisoned by the

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.

There are several traits that can be used to describe a hero: immense strength (physically and/or mentally), loyalty, honesty, dependability, etc. A hero is somebody who is a role model to many, so it makes sense that traits like the ones above are commonly looked for. When comic books were first introduced, in the early part of the twentieth century, they were not very popular. However, when World War II began, people began reading and enjoying comic books because of the different stories they told. Wonder Woman is a very well-known superhero. Her true name is Diana, with Wonder Woman being her alter-ego. In the book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll, who is the main character, has an evil

There is a battle of two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority, and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth. Which wolf wins? The one you feed. - Old Cherokee Proverb. This quote explains that within us all, there is the battle good and evil. It explains the duality of the human condition, and that we all have the potential to be very good, but also extremely evil, a concept that Robert Louis Stevenson dabbles in throughout the course of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This concept, also illustrates the theme of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde perfectly, as the theme is good vs evil, or more specifically the dual nature of humans, and how good and evil exists within ourselves. That good vs evil can be an internal struggle, as well as a physical battle. Some argue that the theme of Jekyll and Hyde could be Friendship, Lies and Deceit, or Sacrifice, however it is evident that the theme is good versus evil for several reasons.

Gothic Literature Mini Assignment Compare and contrast the way the writers use plot, character and setting to increase tension and atmosphere in the opening chapter of ‘Varney the Vampire’ and ‘Dracula’. Both ‘Varney the Vampire’ and ‘Dracula’ create a tense and suspenseful atmosphere in their opening chapters as the typically gothic language (“solemn tones”, “air thick and heavy”) and imagery immediately incites in the reader a sense of foreboding and unease. This is particularly true of a modern audience familiar with the conventions of the genre; the old castles adorned with “curious carvings” and the dank, dark settings of musty “antique chambers” in ‘Varney the Vampire’ are highly suggestive of imminent encounters

It is taken for granted that monsters are scary. Everyone knows that vampires are blood thirsty creatures, and that zombies will stop at nearly nothing. But how do these fictional creatures invoke fear in people? Did monsters just become synonymous to terrifying, or is there a hidden interpretation to their existence? In the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Hyde is without a doubt a monster. His appearance is strange, his behavior erratic, and his morals nonexistent. The respectable Dr. Jekyll morphs into Mr. Hyde by consuming an odd potion. In the form of Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll fulfills the dark needs that he has. Yet, that is not really the reason that he appears to be scary to other people. Throughout the book many people describe Hyde as being deformed and creepy in a way that cannot be put into words. Although Mr. Hyde is the evil that resides within Dr. Jekyll, he is also a monster that represents the fears of the Fin-de-Siécle. Through his devolutionary appearance and criminal behavior, he represents the fears that people of that time held. Therefore, he provides insight into the fears of the society, which in turn creates a direct window into the time period.

During the Victorian Era there was a great race to use science to alleviate the suffering of the ill, specifically for those patients who were suffering from ailments of the mind. While some of the methods used to diagnose and treat such afflictions would be considered barbaric in nature by today’s standards, they were considered cutting edge medical science during the time of the Victorian Era. It was also considered standard practice to conduct experiments in the name of science to seek treatments for mental as well as physical illnesses, but sometimes the outcome was worse than the initial problem. In the Scottish novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, science is heavily relied upon by the main characters as a means of diagnosis and treatment for what is revealed to be the unusual illness of Henry Jekyll. Additionally, the question of where morality fits into science is also applied to the strange events surrounding Dr. Jekyll and his mysterious companion. The question that will be examined in this paper deals with the nature of the hopes and fears Victorian society places into science where it concerns the treatment of illness and whether or not the acts of Edward Hyde constitute someone who is truly mentally ill, or if they are mere representations of the darker side of human nature.

The dark never sleeps at night When night comes, dark comes. Throughout Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, dark actions have been committed repeatedly at night. All the evil incidents that have happened in the novel, namely, the night Mr. Enfield met Mr. Hyde for the first time when he was trampling over a girl, the night of Carew’s murder incident, the night that shocked Mr. Lanyon to his further death, and the last might of Dr. Jekyll’s life, all was done by Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde does not sleep at night.

During the story of “The Strange Case Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, the author presents his knowledge of the duality of man, Stevenson uses this clear contrast to make his point, “every human being contains opposite forces within him or her, an alter ego that hides behind one 's polite fascia”. Where Dr. Jekyll and Hyde contain a dark, scary side inside them, where evil is detained in waiting to surface, but they hide it away, they pretend it does not exist, and they keep it undercontrol. He presents this idea by using two characters, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who are actually the same person. One of these characters signifies the normal side of a person characterized by Dr. Jekyll, who is a classic higher class individual, and the other, Mr. Hyde, a deformed man, shows the purest of evil, but the truth cannot be denied that as Dr. Jekyll said “man is not truly one, but truly two.”

The Victorian era was a period of great change in England in terms of social, political, and even scientific advancement. The country became highly regarded around the world, whereby London was the center of excellence and was characterized by its citizen’s high moral standards. The pressure on Englishmen to maintain a respectable persona among others was so tremendous that often reputations were damaged at the slightest deviation from social norms. Similarly to the façade of England’s perfection, Robert Louis Stevenson reveals the result of the social expectations on Victorians’ personalities in his novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Stevenson uses the motif of the double to make a commentary on the conflict between

Robert Louis Stevenson’s masterpiece, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde centers around duality of humanity in nature, right vs. wrong, joy vs. despair, good vs. evil. This novella invites the reader in through techniques like flash-backs, foreshadowing and suspense. Within every person there is nature of two equal parts, whether it be obvious or not, it varies from person to person. Dualism derives from the Latin word duo, meaning two. Simply put, dualism can be understood as the existence of two different, often opposite principles. “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” centers upon the conception of humanity as dual in nature.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde elucidates the contextual values of Victorian society, such as a surge for scientific experimentation, self-analysis, liberalism, conformation through concealment and the exposure of man’s dualistic nature; all of which are reflected using traditional English grammar and conventions. Although it may seem paradoxical for Stevenson to instil and reflect the values of liberalism and conservatism within his one novella, this binary instalment reiterates the conflicting inner-workings of man and society. Sigmund Freud’s theory of ‘The Uncanny’ enlightens these very notions as he states, “The Uncanny is in some way a species of the familiar… It applies to everything that was intended to remain a secret, hidden