Both authors Stevenson and Shakespeare express the theme of weaknesses and flaw through their characters. As Hyde is depicted as the 'Id' or the evil side of Jekyll, his conscience is diminished as he doesn't have any guilty feeling towards the terrible crimes he commits, such as the murder of sir Danvers Carew, an upstanding citizen, which highlights the dichotomy between good and evil which further evidences Hyde's flawed morality.
As the chapter opens the setting of London is introduced, a contrasting place to where less people have been exposed to the conflicts of Hyde, highlighting his flawed character as now his lust for evil is no longer confined to the small country town in which he begun.
Hyde's rowed morality is greatly evidenced through his inability to contain his violent character, shown in "all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger" this highlights his all-consuming wrath and Hyde's point of no return in his delve into darkness, further eve dining this through the use of 'broke' shows his savagery in his premature actions. "Such an innocent and old-world kindness of disposition" emphasises Hyde's moral depravity in the killing of the innocent, similar to Macbeth’s moral dissolution when he vows "to give to the edge of his sword, his wife, his babes and all unfortunate souls".
In this chapter the moral dissent through the character of Hyde, mirrors that of Macbeth in Shakespeare's play, as both act as a vehicle to the downfall which has been foreshadowed. Similarly, Hyde acts as an external manifestation of Jekyll's 'Id' as the witches do for Macbeth. Also as seen in both the murders in which Hyde and Macbeth carry out have caused a ricochet of damage as they cause unnatural grievances from inanimate objects; for example in Macbeth in the aftermath of king Duncan's murder, there is chaos and unease as the "the owl that shrieked" creates a sense of complete despair, affecting all. Comparative to the murder of sir Danvers Carew, where the whole of "London aw as startled" by this shocking event, it states a benchmark in which we see Hyde’s continuous dissent, all evidencing his human weakness and his flawed morality.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson is a late-Victorian novel. It tells a story about a London lawyer Mr. Utterson investigates the unusual relation between his old friend Dr. Jekyll and the wicked murderer Edward Hyde. The message that author tries to convey throughout the novel is controversial and revealing. In fact, in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson makes effective use of imagery, characterization and several points of view to emphasize his contention that a dual nature exists in every human being and that both good and evil sides should be recognized and kept in balance.…
- 432 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Stevenson makes sure the reader knows what a disturbed character Hyde is. He does this by using some horrific phrases in which to describe Hyde’s appearance and actions.…
- 480 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is perhaps the purest example in English literature of the use of the double convention to represent the duality of human nature. That Dr. Jekyll represents the conventional and socially acceptable personality and Mr. Hyde the uninhibited and criminal self is the most obvious aspect of Stevenson’s story. The final chapter, which presents Jekyll’s full statement of the case, makes this theme explicit. In this chapter, Jekyll fully explains, though he does not use the Freudian terminology, that what he has achieved is a split between the id and the superego.…
- 473 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Consider the agitation he evokes in the even-minded residents of the London neighborhood. Consider the, literally, unspeakable vices he embarks on once free from the vestige of Henry Jekyll. Consider finally the magnitude of his ferocity that bursts forth upon the pate of poor Carew and ask yourselFreud: why is such extreme… evil present in Jekyll’s transform? I propose two interpretations. The first is this modern society of London creates a motivation to hide certain moral failings—Jekyll’s urges—of ourselves from public judgement rather than air them and perhaps come to terms with them through communal understanding. So Jekyll’s urges are stopped up, until released through Hyde in spectacular fashion. The second is that all our blundering with instruments and draughts—Jekyll creating his potion—is going against the natural order of things and uncovering monstrous things we were not meant to grapple with,…
- 1268 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Robert Louis Stevenson has been coined the title of a literary genius for his work, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Put shortly Jekyll and Hyde, is a story about a man investigating the secrets of a second man, who is in fact two different men living two different personas. Though the story is indeed short enough to read within a few passing hours, it is long enough to force the reader to question their own duality. Is man truly one? Or is each man composed of two separate halves, the good, and the evil? It is undeniable that the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is strange indeed. However, it is also a work of art filled with impossible sciences.…
- 983 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s timeless novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he uses setting and characterization to emphasize the idea that a person will act a way if they are expected to. In his novel, the character of Dr. Jekyll alludes to the mostly good people. Mr. Hyde, however, specifically shows the bad people in society. For these two characters, the constantly changing gothic setting of this novel and the different extremes between light and dark represent their characterizations.…
- 2140 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The doctor scoff down the strange concoction. Suddenly pangs of uneasiness and pain rush through the doctor body stringing him along. A change of deformity had occurred. The doctor was no longer his usual, genteel self. He was of a small stature and dwarfish and a frightening malice seen when in the creature presence. This is one of Henry Jekyll’s shocking discoveries. “Man is not truly one but two”( Stevenson) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde explores the theme of the the duality of man. As well as The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, It explores the dual nature of everything. “ Violent delights have violent ends” ( Shakespeare Ⅱ vi 9). Dr. Jekyll is indulgent with his evil side which creates a violent end for him. Because of this…
- 1153 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson leaves the reader to ponder whether not Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person or two different people. The book describes several commonalities and differences between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The differences and commonalities are not just found in the physical description of the characters but also in their personalities and their actions. It is my opinion that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are in fact one person with two separate personalities.…
- 839 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The concept of duality in Jekyll and Hyde is interesting because Jekyll is Hyde, the good is the evil, and Jekyll knows that inside him is something terrible and, although he tries to control it, he knows that the evil in him will come out and he will be left in the passenger seat, watching. This is further shown in the way that Stevenson presents Hyde; Hyde is smaller than Jekyll, he is broad and hairy and rather short and Jekyll’s clothes do not fit him. This suggests that the evil side of Jekyll is smaller than his good side and can be controlled. The relationship between Jekyll and Hyde is also interesting; Stevenson relates it to the relationship between a father and a son. He writes ‘Jekyll has more of a father’s interest; and Hyde more than a son’s indifference’. This is a strange notion because Jekyll knows that Hyde is evil and yet he still has a close relationship, this is possibly because in Hyde Jekyll sees some of himself, all of his desires and urges that he has suppressed to fit in with middle class life in London, he realises that he is Hyde, and that to destroy Hyde he must first destroy himself, and I think he decides that he can live with Jekyll and is very distressed when his drugs work less and less effectively and he realises that in time they will stop working all together and he will lose what is his good side and become what he fears the most, the…
- 611 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In Robert Stevenson’s book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde duality is a reoccurring theme. Stevenson shows his duality through the plot, setting, and character’s dialogue throughout the novel. William Shakespeare shares the theme of duality in his play Romeo and Juliet. The duality of society and the duality of good and evil are a couple of the dualities revealed.…
- 855 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
Sexism is the root of many evils. Sexism encourages women to take jobs that often do not make men question how powerful they are. Women who back down from challenges that men set are this powerful in a workplace are what drives sexism. When women decide to live up to the challenge they are faced with harassment, lower pay wages, and gendered discrimination. When men are this powerful in a workplace they take that power and exert it at home. This leads to the evil of domestic violence and even rape. Julia Alvarez addresses the couple of societal evils, sexism and domestic violence.…
- 313 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Not everyone is perfect. We all have weaknesses and character flaws. Some people drink too much; others smoking or spending too much money. Many people lead a seemingly moral and righteous life, but have secret, dark thoughts or desires. Mr. Hyde has all these flaws and he flaunted them openly. Actually, when you examine his character on a deeper level, the “respectable” Dr. Jekyll is actually and deeply flawed and immoral character. Mr. Hyde is just another part of him, his immoral subconscious, who, because he is given free reign, does the immoral things that Dr. Jekyll couldn’t do because of his reputation. The greatest flaw that Dr. Jekyll has starts with the incident in his laboratory. He experiments with chemicals and discovers another side of himself. Stevenson characterizes Dr. Jekyll as a desperate man dependent on his symbolic drug to escape the moral confines of Victorian society.…
- 876 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
Stevenson says,”Yes, I had gone to bed Henry Jekyll, I had awakened Edward Hyde. How was this to be explained? I asked myself; and then, with another bound of terror-how was it to be remedied?” (Stevenson 72). Jekyll could not control his transformation and was worried he would transform at a bad time and it created stress within him and his only thought was wondering how these transformations could be kept under control. Stevensons also said, “The powers of Hyde seemed to have grown with the sickliness of Jekyll. And certainly the hate that now divided them was equal on each side” (Stevenson 81). Jekyll and Hyde hated each other. Hyde was growing stronger and taking over Jekyll. Although Jekyll tried to stop it, instead he let it consume him. The creative author also writes, “The hatred of Hyde for Jekyll was of a different order. His terror of the gallows drove him continually to commit temporary suicide” (Stevenson 82). This quote is talking about Jekyll in the novel and how he gained stress and anxiety from not being able to control his transformations caused him to commit suicide to stop the stress and tension. When an old friend of Jekyll's named Lanyon found out that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person, he became so overwhelmed with stress that he died of shock. Lanyon in Stevenson's novel said, “My life has shaken to its roots; sleep has left me;the deadliest terror sits by me at all hours of the day and night; and I feel that my days are numbered, and that I must die, and yet I shall die incredulous” (Stevenson 63). The shock and tension from finding out new news after knowing Jekyll for so long was too much to take in and Lanyon later died in the novel. In the end of the novel Jekyll and Lanyon both die of overwhelming stress that overtakes them and controls…
- 1493 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
To truly appreciate the greatness of the short psychological thriller and science fiction novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one must approach this 19th century novel with new eyes, unfettered by the recent film versions of the tale, and of the common cultural knowledge of what transpires over the novel's last few pages. Even people who have never read the book or seen a film version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde know what happens' at the climax and know' the truth or spoiler ending, that the two protagonists or adversaries are the same man, both warring for one body. Even people whom have watched Looney Toon cartoons and seen other parodies of Stevenson have become aware of the novel's cultural significanceto say someone has a Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde personality means they are of a divided self, one good and one bad half both in character.…
- 985 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Jekyll also says that Hyde is “less developed, much less exercised and much less exhausted”. Hyde was weaker than Jekyll but later on he develops and starts to take over the control. “At that time my virtue slumbered; my evil, kept awake by ambition, was alert and swift to seize the occasion” hyde was doing more and more evil things and Jekyll felt so ashamed that he couldn’t cope with this anymore. Other people disliked or hated Hyde even more that some of them wanted to kill him “Every time he looked at my prisoner, I saw the sawbones turned sick and white with desire to kill him”. People wanted to kill him because he shows what they hated the most, evil. They have seen no good in him at all. It caused them to feel like that because sins like gambling or drinking were very unacceptable in their society and nobody wanted others to found out about this. But Hyde could not show any good. That provoked people the most to want to get rid of him. As Mr Enfield said “It wasn’t like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut” people’s impression on Hyde looked like that since they first saw him.”Well we screwed him up to hundred pounds” Enfield blackmailed Hyde when he trampled over little girl. He said if Hyde will not give a hundred pounds to the girl’s familly he will tell local people about that…
- 1139 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays