In the novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, the central theme of the novel is Good vs. Evil. This central theme of Good vs. Evil may be the reason why the novel is so popular to this day. The society of today can relate to this theme. Though some people may have a hard time admitting it, we all have a darker side within ourselves. As a society we do attempt to isolate the good from the evil. What makes today’s society different from Dr. Jekyll?…
Though this time was prosperous for certain individuals, the majority of lower classes faced a number of problems. In a comparison between maps of Manchester in 1750 and 1850 made in document 1, we see that the size of the city grew exponentially during the industrial revolution. Robert Southey, and English Romantic poet, commented on the condition of the city after visiting Manchester in 1807, “A place more destitute than Manchester is not easy to conceive. In size and population it is the second city in the kingdom. Imagine this multitude crowded together in narrow streets, the houses all built of brick and blackened with smoke” (Doc. 2). Southey continues by describing the monotonous work and “the everlasting din of machinery” being the control of the city. As an English Romantic poet, Robert Southey could have been slightly biased, but still fairly reliable, due to the fact that he wouldn’t have fabricated what he saw completely, but as a poet he could have exaggerated the details of the situation to reflect them more dramatically. In Report on the Sanitary Conditions of the Laboring Population of Great Britain, public health reformer Edwin Chadwick concisely reports, “Diseases caused or aggravated by atmospheric impurities produced by decomposing animal and vegetable substances, by damp and filth, and close and overcrowded dwellings, prevail among the laboring classes” (Doc. 6). Here, the conditions of the city are directly described as…
To be mysterious is difficult or impossible to understand, explain, or identify. Robert Louis Stevenson uses a mysterious mood In the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In order for the book to display this mood in his writing he uses imagery, diction, and details. Stevenson thought the theme up for this book in a nightmare and it certainly is one. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde could be described as mysterious, dark, dreary, and scary.…
In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, there are many pieces to the “puzzle” when reading and analyzing the text. The most peculiar section of the story was the ending. In the end, the audience found out that Dr. Jekyll uses a drug that helps him in a way, but does more harm than good. The drug transforms Dr. Jekyll into a creature named Mr. Hyde. Although in the beginning of the book, the author makes it seem like they are two different individuals, once the reader gets more towards the end, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde become more, and more alike.…
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll has an aching curiosity to discover the vulgar and divergent side to life that he’s never been able to experience before. With prolonged amounts of time spent pondering about the measures needed to be taken to attain what he wants, Henry Jekyll creates a plan and gathers quantities of chemicals and salts that he believes will transform him into a different being; a sinister being that could commit the sins that he had always been disciplined to avoid but inwardly always wanted to do himself. After consuming his concoction of chemicals, Dr. Jekyll alters into what we soon become very well accustomed to, Mr. Hyde. With a new evil being to escape into, Jekyll experiences things he couldn’t before, but is also guilty for the crimes that Hyde commits as well. Jekyll and Hyde, although the same person in principle, are two very different people with altered personalities, looks, motives, and actions.…
Curiosity can drive a person to accomplish tasks that normally he or she would not do. Curiosity can drive whoever to accomplish his or her goals. In the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Mr. Utterson is driven by curiosity to find out the truth about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Towards the end of the book he becomes a detective to try and discover that Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll are one person. In the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Mr. Utterson discovers objects and obtains clues, which drives his curiosity to find out the truth behind the supposedly two men.…
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.…
Jean-Paul Sartre writes, in his essay, "Existentialism", that an individual's responsibility extends not only to him or herself, but also to all of humanity. He believes that we must take this into account for every decision we make. This extra accountability can cause distress for an individual because of the pressure that it brings. In Lorraine Hansberry's play, Les Blancs, Tshembe is faced with an important decision that will not only affect his own life, but the lives of his whole nation. Although none of Tshembe's decisions are without struggle, and irresolution, he reacts to the controversy before him by making choices in accordance with Sartre's definition of "good faith," despite the anguish it causes him.…
In Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he uses an allegory to reflect the two sides of humans: the good and the evil. Every human has a good and evil side that reside inside them; some show it and some stick to only acting on one for their whole life.…
According to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, it has always existed an evil-self within humans which we try to suppress in order to have control over our lives but, what would happen if you had an identity crisis and both your good and evil sides were fighting to overpower your mind and body? That is exactly what happens to Dr. Jekyll, a distinguished London physician whose experiments on the dual nature of mankind lead him to free his darkest instincts and become a murderer, Mr. Hyde. How does a respectable doctor transforms himself into a cold blood killer? After knowing that it was based on a true story, how did people react to such a frightening event? Could it happen to any of us too? The duality present throughout Robert Louis Stevenson's…
Repressed desires will be satisfied in some way shape or form. An outlet will be found, and deeper darker forces will arise. Dr. Jekyll’s deeper darker forces come forth after years of his persona not acceptable in the eyes of others being repressed because of the pain that desires cause. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the repression of Dr. Jekyll’s alter ego eats away at him; for the repression of this other being can no longer be caged. Through the repression and absolution of his deepest desires, Dr. Jekyll’s desire for unattainable perfection in the eyes of his peers, dissection of good and evil within himself, and acceptance into society without worry of his darker side being found out…
Good and evil has always been in this Earth. In the victorian era people were judged by how they acted either good or evil. In Robert Louis Stevenson's mystery novella, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde physical descriptions are used to reflect the good and evil in Jekyll and Hyde. The author uses Dr. Jekyll to represent good in this story.…
Between 1831 and 1841 Manchester’s population grew by 71 %, causing it to be described as the ‘shock city’ of its time (Briggs, 1990). Industrialisation drove large numbers of people from the countryside into the city, hopeful perspectives for better incomes and with that better lives were giving people all the reasons necessary to take this drastic step. With increasing numbers of inhabitants and decreasing space, life in the cities changed for many families and individuals. Although the city provided a wide spectrum of opportunities to the broader public in respect to employment, ways of life, environment and connections people made with each other as well as with the space and things they were surrounded by and had to deal or engage with on a day to day basis ( Steve…
I have faced many dilemmas in my life. Some of which were set in front of me by someone else and I did not want to chose either option. Most of my dilemmas are not very difficult, some are just if I should go somewhere or not or do something or other. Some have been with letting my friends copy off my homework, and yes, I do choose to let them do so because they would do the same for me. Mr. Utterson could have pressured Dr. Jekyl for Jekyll to let him meet Mr. Hyde so that he could see and know how Hyde treats Jekyll. When Dr. Jekyll says "...You do not understand my position..." Mr. Utterson could have asked Dr. Jekyll to explain his position so that Utterson could understand and proceed with helping Dr. Jekyll.…
The first intensive writing class I took was Freshman year, English nine. I was introduced to many different styles such as research papers, persuasive papers, annotated bibliographies, lab reports and literature analysis. In the beginning, it was all new and it took me a couple papers to really grasp the concepts. Even now, those types of papers are still being recycled and perfected. Which leads to my strengths and weaknesses of these papers.…