The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Louis Stevenson In the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson makes the reader question the extent to which Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are in fact a single character. Until the end of the novel, the two personas seem nothing alike-the well-liked, respectable doctor and the hideous, depraved Hyde are almost opposite in type and personality. Stevenson uses this marked contrast to make his point: every human being contains opposite forces within him or her, an alter ego that hides behind one's polite facade. For us, the reader, to understand fully the characters of either Jekyll or Hyde, we must consider the two physical and mental …show more content…
He also has a positive presence of appearing to be a role model, idol or a saint in some way to lower class London. Another good account is set down by Enfield saying that Dr Henry Jekyll is "the very pink of proprieties" this Victorian phrase is used to say that Dr Henry Jekyll is very much the best in what he does and that he has peaked at the top of his game, you could say he is to good to be true. As the story goes on Dr Henry Jekyll becomes an addict of his own curiosity and inquisitiveness into science. A quote which proves this comment is "In the beginning the difficulty had been to throw off the body of Jekyll, it had of late transferred itself to the other side, that I was slowly loosing hold of my original and better self and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse." This quotation is saying that Dr Henry Jekyll was loosing control of him self and the ability to be two personas and was being possessed by his deformed, vile alter ego. Stevenson uses Mr Hyde to show the opposite persona of Dr Jekyll. Hyde represents a violent, deformed monster of which evil is the drive of his actions these actions make Hyde so recognisable in the book. The dominance of Hyde at first is a dormant force within
How does Stevenson portray the duality of man in the opening chapters of ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’?
Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” is physiognomy. We can see this in the
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish author. Written and published 1886, this novella reflects on the individual, and societal behavior during the Victorian era. During the Victorian era people, were supposed to behave like a normal person. Certain behaviors were highly restricted for example, showing evil. Instead, they were expected to give respect for everyone. People who acted out against the norm during this period were usually sent to asylums because such behaviors were unacceptable. People in this society did just that, they behaved as if they were perfectly normal. This does not mean that their bad side did not exist. Instead, they hid their
The Concept of Evil in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Stevenson The substance of the Bible and Greek myths - the premise of the evil that is in man - sometimes lurking deep in the psyche, sometimes controlling and consuming like a wild beast, is explored in Robert Louis Stevenson's (1850-94) short Victorian novel of 1886. Rarely does the mere title of a novel have the myth-making depth to grip the imagination and ensure its place in our language for generations to come. Today everyone knows what is meant by a 'Jekyll and Hyde character'. A handful of other novels with this quality perhaps come to mind; including 'Frankenstein'.
This story is also a way for Stevenson to have a go at hypocroisy and
In this essay I am going to look at Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll, the first
Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Stevenson uses the characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to expresses his beliefs about human duality by introducing them as two contrasting characters, instead of just one character. Using two completely different characters with different names and appearances gets his message of human duality across more effectively rather than using just one character that turns a different colour when its angry, for example.
in 1885. It is said that the idea for the novel came to Stevenson in a
Jekyll does deserve his final miserable fate because he commits several selfish deeds to the point where he brings his miserable fate upon himself. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson uses Jekyll to represent how man prioritizes by putting himself over others. Throughout the book, Jekyll’s two different sides are used to show that man is consistently selfish and will usually think of himself before others. Even though Jekyll has a good side and an evil side, both sides of him are selfish. Jekyll originally takes the potion for selfish reasons, Jekyll uses Hyde to conquer his own evil temptations, and in the end Jekyll gives into Hyde and completely gives up.
with him again. Also in the later Dr Jekyll wrote that he was going on
The key ideas in chapter 1 of ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr
French philosopher Michel Foucault once said “If repression has indeed been the fundamental link between power, knowledge, and sexuality since the classical age, it stands to reason that we will not be able to free ourselves from it except at a considerable cost,”. This quotation is saying that repression is the reason why people are not free to express themselves and explore new things. According to Foucault, the only way to be free involves consequences. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson discusses the consequences of repression through his characters Jekyll and Hyde. In this story, Jekyll attempts to live the suffocating expectations of Victorian society, but he ultimately creates an alter ego in order to deal with his suffering. This alter ego, Hyde, was created at a “considerable cost” to Jekyll.
This essay will focus on how Robert Louis Stevenson presents the nature of evil through his novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Using ideas such as duality, the technique used to highlight the two different sides of a character or scene, allegories, an extended metaphor which has an underlying moral significance, and hypocrisy; in this book the Victorians being against all things evil but regularly taking part in frown able deeds that would not be approved of in a ‘respectable’ society. This links in with the idea of secrecy among people and also that evil is present in everyone. The novel also has strong ties and is heavily influenced by religion. Stevenson, being brought up following strong
Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde