1. Essay about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde This novel is more than just a traditional horror story as it has many hidden
and complex meanings and explanations, of what seem and would have normally before this
book, been simple events. Stevenson has very strong opinions and some are expressed in the
book. A traditional horror story would either be a super natural In this novel Stevenson's
characters, Jekyll and Hyde, are stereotypes of people who are 'good' and 'evil'. The good is the
friendly doctor (the caring profession) and the evil is the hunched, ugly murderer. These two
stereotypes combine to create the average man who has the capacity to be both 'good' and 'evil', and
they have both 'good' and 'evil' thoughts and emotions. All people...show more content...
This could be seen as a traditional aspect of the horror, a writer might use this to symbolize the
changing of Jekyll to Hyde Jekyll A respected chemist, we first meet Jekyll in the third chapter
"Dr.Jekyll was quite at ease" in which he is described as "a large, well made, smooth faced man
of fifty, with something of a slylish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness". This
is typical of the author's style through which, using few words, he can reveal the many layers of
a characters personality. Notice that the Doctor is smooth faced seeming to present an
inscrutable exterior and therefore and air of mystery. The phrase "a slyish cast" opens a crack in
the polished façade through which the reader begins to see his true nature. We are reminded
here of Poole's description later in the novel as he describes the Jekyll/Hyde double in the
laboratory as having a "mask upon his face". Once again the mask motif is used by the author to
underline his theme of duality. The symbol of the cellar door that Hyde disappears through is
important to note. Could this door be meant to represent the fictional path to evil? Throughout the
novel, it is important to examine what Utterson suspects of Jekyll. While Jekyll clearly is acting
strange, Mr. Utterson is blind to the fact that this is truly Dr. JekyllВ№s problem and instead blames
Mr. Hyde for blackmail. The question remains, blackmail for what?
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2. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
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.
...show more content...
He took the potion in the first place to become famous rather than to help others, making it a selfish
act.
Jekyll is tempted to do bad things and he uses Hyde to overcome his temptations. Jekyll gets his
satisfaction of doing bad deeds by becoming Hyde. Jekyll says "If each, I told myself, could be
housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable; the unjust might
go his way" (Page 105). He states that he wants to do bad things but knowing he cant and still live
the life he has, he uses Hyde as an escape from his temptations. Once Jekyll is able to control his
temptations but still do bad as Mr. Hyde he says "I felt younger, lighter, happier in the body" (Page
106) Mr. Hyde is Jekyll's way of escaping his sophisticated lifestyle and entering a totally separate
way of life. Jekyll then didn't feel any guilt for Hyde's actions.
In the end, Jekyll decides to let Hyde take over and he gives up. Hyde is able to take control over
Jekyll because Jekyll had originally taken the potion for selfish reasons. Jekyll knows that there is
a good chance Hyde will take over but he continues with his experiment knowing the risks. He
says, "To cast in my lot with Jekyll, was to die those appetites which I had long secretly indulged
and had of late begun to pamper. To cast it in with Hyde, was to die a thousand interests and
aspirations, and to become at a blow and forever,
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3. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published in 1886 as a 'shilling shocker' novella written by the young
novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. At that time there was a surfeit of cheap horror novellas.
Stevenson's novella was different because it explored the evil inside human kind. I will look into
Victorian attitudes and how these influenced Victorian life.
The cultural and historical context of the text is typical of the author but not his time because there
was a contradiction between
Science and religion and this novella scared people about possibilities of evil. Victorian values at this
time were very strict and those people who broke them were looked down on in the social order.
Jekyll was the perfect...show more content...
When he first enters the body of Hyde he feels
'younger and lighter in spirit'. He also feel like his evil side has been 'unleashed'. He says 'My
Devil had long been caged and he came out roaring' This shows that he feels unburdened and
unchained in spirit because he is 'tenfold more evil'.
In the final chapter, it talks about the lives of Jekyll as Hyde. It also talks about his views on
society. When Jekyll turns into Hyde he commits crimes and then turns back and practically forgets
his sins.
This shows that everyone had an evil side but they didn't have a way to unleash it.
The last chapter also emphasises the Victorian views and their desires. It tells us that although the
'Victorian Dream' was a perfectly balanced society, the reality was different.
Throughout the book we notice a contrast between Jekyll and Hyde. The tall upright Jekyll is a big
contrast to the evil, small, ugly and cold–hearted Hyde. Hyde is judged religiously by the 'stars
looking down on him' this is a metaphor for the whole society looking down on him. At this time the
religious beliefs were still strong and although science was coming through and more people were
turning towards science and believing less and less of the church's teachings, the religious
population was still the majority.
Hyde represented the scientific community whereas the
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4. Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde Essay
English Essay (Prompt 3) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, created by famous writer R. L. Stevenson, can
be considered one of the most famous 19th century novella in the whole world. The author used
quite a lot of diversified skills to create an ambience of suspense and mystery. The perspective of
narrative used from Mr. Utterson is one of them. First of all, the usage of the perspective of Mr.
Utterson draws out the 'suspense' element because he is not actually omniscient. The readers can
only decipher partial information via the narrative given and try to guess what the truths are.
Therefore, this creates a feeling of uncertainty: 'We get the story this way because it draws out the
suspense, the mystery, and the shocking nature that was sort of requisite for shilling shockers back
in the day. If we just had the story from Jekyll's point of view, there wouldn't have been such a
dramatic ending, where we, the readers, get to say: "Ohhh." (http://www.shmoop.com 2016)'. That
was an explanation from an online article, but such examples could also be found in the book. For
instance, in the chapter 'Carew murder case', when the inspector gives Utterson the stick Hyde used
to drub Carew, it went like: 'Mr. Utterson knew the stick at once. "That's Henry Jekyll's stick!"
(Stevenson, 1993, p.18). This suggests that Mr. Hyde must have a strangely close relationship with
Jekyll, which shocks the readers and make the case more whirling. For another, in the Last Night,
after hearing the
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5. Jekyll And Hyde Essay
The contrast between Jekyll's more modern, sophisticated makeup and Hyde's animalistic appearance
is significant in interpreting the meaning behind the Jekyll and Hyde character. Those who argue
that Hyde represents a devolved version of humanity use Hyde's appearance to justify their stance.
Author and professor Anne Stiles points out that Stevenson uses words such as 'ape–like',
''troglodytic', and 'hardly human' to describe Hyde. A troglodyte, from the Greek word meaning
'cave dweller' is used to describe a person who is reclusive, hermit–like, and ignorant. Stiles goes so
far as to say "from a late–nineteenth–century perspective, Jekyll represents the pinnacle of evolution,
while Hyde approaches its nadir...racially, Hyde is an ape–like...show more content...
If Hyde has been described as Hyde "savage, uncivilized, and given to passion...poorly evolved"
(Shubh), then perhaps he represents the true, original nature of man, repressed by society, norms,
and conscience. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde suggests that this restrained, amoral
side of human nature, once given a chance to escape, cannot be controlled. Even in this 'height of
western civilization', Victorian England, this tempting evil can overcome even the most virtuous
of men. Jekyll is neither good nor bad, but a man whose deeply repressed urges motivated him to
separate, but not remove, the evil parts of his nature. There is a misinterpretation that Hyde is an
unwanted byproduct of trying to create pure good, that Jekyll is not in control as Hyde, and that
Jekyll doesn't enjoy being Hyde. In fact, Jekyll loves being Hyde, he revels in the freedom that he
brings him (Stevenson 54), but the problems with his dual personality starts when he has to face
the consequences of his actions. Jekyll has a difficult time balancing Hyde's debaucheries and
Jekyll's rational, refined side. However, Jekyll realizes too late that he has indulged in Hyde too
much and has let him grow out of control. At the beginning of the novel, Hyde was the "smaller,
slighter, and younger than Henry Jekyll" (Stevenson 57). His more youthful appearance represents
how young and free Jekyll feels as Hyde, but also symbolizes how little his personality was seen
before Jekyll drank his potion. Early in the novel, Hyde is easily controlled, Jekyll can use his
potion to limit how often he transforms into Hyde (Stevenson 56). However, as he starts to morph
back and forth, it starts to take more and more potion to control the switches until
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