Doctor Jekyll & Mr Hyde

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde Coursework

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was written by R.L.S and set in 19th century London. In this book we understand the conflict between the good character Dr Jekyll and the completely evil character Mr Hyde, who compete and fight for control of their shared body. R.L.S came from a time where scientist were unsure whether this could actually happen, but the idea of good and evil extremes are still relevant.
The central themes of the novel are violence, human nature and degeneration. Violence is shown throughout the novel, in chapter 4 this is shown when sir Danvers Carew is murdered. This is a ferocious and startling attack. “Mr Hyde broke out of all bounds, and clubbed him to earth and the next moment, with ape like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot. This shows the audience that Mr Hyde is the violent and uncontrollable animal, which is the opposite to Dr Jekyll.
The theme human nature is shown when the good Dr Jekyll and the evil Mr Hyde clash for control of their shared body, this is shown in chapter 4 when Dr Jekyll looses control and Mr Hyde is let loose. “Broke out of all bounds, with an ape like fury” R.L.S is comparing Mr Hyde to an ape or animal, which means he has left his humanity behind.
Degeneration is shown throughout the novel, like Mr Hyde’s state of mind he has killed someone, Mr Carew for that he cannot be forgiven and cannot go back to being a good person his personality and mind has degenerated.
Chapter 4 uses symbolism, as the beautiful Sir Danvers Carew is murdered horrifically by the evil person Mr Hyde. The murder is considered even worse as Mr Carew was a beautiful, kind and happy man. “Aware of an aged and beautiful gentlemen with white hair drawing near along the lane” this Chapter is also symbolic as it shows the lengths Mr Hyde is willing to go, and the amount of violence he is willing to use. And this chapter sets all the wheels in motion by showing the plot, “brandishing the cane, and carrying on like a madman” Mr Hyde has left humanity behind and can now never return to the civilised world.
In this novel, I understand the Victorian context, about how London would have looked. London would have had areas the were poor and rich, the two classes were socially split and would not have interacted on a social level, the classes of the people could have been recognised by the quality of the building they lived in and there appearance. “A dingy street, a gin palace…a low French eating-house, a shop for the retail of penny numbers and two penny salads…ragged children…” Stevenson reflected the poverty in the area through his description of these places. Stevenson contrasted the worlds of Jekyll and Hyde and wanted to show the difference between the two classes “This was the home of Henry Jekyll’s favourite; of a man who was heir to a quarter of a million sterling”. Victorian gentlemen were expected to behave with a great class and politeness they would have dresses smartly and could be easily recognised. Which is a contrast against Dr Jekyll who is smartly dressed and Mr Hyde who is all ways dresses scruffy and looks dirty.
London was very polluted during the time the novel was wrote so the city would have had a dark clouds hanging over it, this adds to the effect of thing being dark and violent and adds to part of the gothic theme.
Jekyll and Hyde demonstrates the continual fight of good and evil that exists in human nature and in the end both Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde die, but overall good wins as evil is vanquished.

By Stanley James