Exploring duality in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay

When Stevenson wrote the novella Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde he collectmed to have been make up ones mindd by various stems. The low goes all the modal value back to an ancient Greek philosopher Plato. His theory of dualism was imaged as two plys clashing with virtuoso some other. He believed that every hu domain being was a charioteer trying to keep them matchd and in control. cardinal horse being black representing the wolf demonic spatial relation this is the side being harder to control and contains voluntary drives. This expresses the dark side. Stevenson took this concept to another level and gave off the impression that in his novella the dark horse had been liberated taking over the white horse. The white horse portrayed intelligence, moral gumptions, and the angelic side of mankind. This side had less energy except responded to all the commands lay claimly. Jekyll evidently being a scientist had much characteristics of the higher(prenominal) horse (white), tho every one has a demonic side it is natural to have a bit of dark side to them. Hyde stood by the dark horse he was all defective and didnt take any consequences for his actions.Hydes charter was vey monstrous and beastly. This takes me onto the idea of Charles Darwin his concept to wave-particle duality was the idea of in that respect being a beast in a man. He believed that mankind originated from apes. He too believed that there was two parts to human nature. Stevenson took this to an extreme when he introduced the character Hyde. Although there isnt an exact description of Hydes appearance, Enfield did say in the first chapter He is not easy to describe, there is something maltreat with his appearance something displeasing, something down just detestable, and he must be deformed somewhere. This quote is the scoop out to show the beastliness of Hyde. His actions alike argon not very human exchangeable a skinny object lesson of this is when he tramples over a little girl. Steven son adapts Darwins idea to his novella.The third and final influence was the Victorian society at the time. In this society men were forced to conceal their mystery storys from their public lives. on that point was a lot of dissimulation in the Victorian times. People said one thing and did the other. Stevenson takes this idea this influence is proved in the first chapter when Enfield and Mr Utterson talk about Hyde. No sir I had a fineness was the reply I feel very strongly about putting questions it partakes too much of the ardour of the day of judgement. You start a question, and its alike(p) starting a stone, you sit quietly on top of the hill and away the stone goes, starting other and the family have to change their name.No sir, I make it a rule of mine the more it looks like Queer Street, the less I ask. This is stating the detail that people in the Victorian times stayed out of each other business as they didnt want people to ask about their personal lives. Men in th ose times got away with al near anything in Hydes case he got away with murder. People kept them selves to their selves, but they felt it was right to ask about other people. This shows dualism in a way that people were two faced as they kept secrets form each other.Before Jekyll become a scientist he was a very content man that loved lifetime and lived it to the fullest. Jekyll was born with everything given to him, he cherished to enjoy life but also wanted to have a status in the public eye he wanted both things. This explains the duality of life. Jekyll says in one of the chapters in concealed in on my own pleasures this sum that his pleasure and go fors were kept to him self. In order to achieve in life, he felt that he had to hide his faults from the world.The first information we are given about Dr Jekyll is form his old friend Dr Lanyon he mentions the origin why they do not see much of each other. Jekyll became too fanciful for me. And that Dr Jekyll was interested i n such unscientific balderdash This partly explains Jekyll genius as these comments would make the reader unmated to experience what Dr. Jekyll is up to. Later in the novella Jekyll makes his first appearance, he is described to be a large, comfortably made, debonaire-faced man of fiftybut every mark of capacity and kindness. To the reader he appears to be a kind man who you would not expect to do anything wrong.This is a sign of dualism in a way that Jekyll is given a false upfront of what he is really like. Jekyll also describes his character as a gaiety of disposition Stevenson deliberately made this quote vague, but it instantly shows the slyness in Dr Jekyll does not want to tell anyone about his personality or life and exactly the things he got up to. This was because in the Victorian times you couldnt talk about prostitutes this was classed as completely wrong, you would be discarded from the society. Jekyll wanted to explore the dualism in a man and so he did split his personality into good and evil. This is why he came up with the potion.When Jekyll first take the potion he describes his feelings in The strange depicted object of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Jekyll says at first The most racking pangs succeeded he was in great pain, but then promptly the feelings changed to the incredibly sweet I felt younger, lighter, happier in the body already he experiences freedom. Jekyll was able to see a new side to the world, the evil side He explains that these feelings delighted him like wine. Moreover, Jekyll desire from earlyish life is to separate the two selves that are apparent but equally present. Jekyll learns how to free Hyde. exclusively did try to control Hyde coming out, when Jekyll tries to cage Hyde for good, when he tried this Hyde didnt come out for a long time, but Hyde was itching to come out, in the end Hyde burst out stronger than ever and becomes the more dominant one.Hyde was the powerful one while Jekyll loses the control he could m aintain when he alone had actions. Jekyll becomes addict to Hyde there for more dosages were needed. Eventually it is clear that Dr Jekyll is no longer in conduct of the transformation. In hydrogen Jekyll full statement of the case he says I had not wakened where I seemed to be but in the little room in Soho where I was accustomed to sleep in the body of Edward Hyde Jekyll says he wasnt in control anymore. A proof of this is when he says yes I had gone to bed Henry Jekyll, I had awakened Edward HydeDr Jekyll is more accepted into the society as being a scientist, people look up to him and respects him. In Jekyll full statement of the case he says I found it hard to even up with my imperious desire to carry my head high, and wear a more than commonly grave smiler before the public. This is telling us that Jekyll is giving off the impression that he is good at his profession almost being bigheaded.Hyde is the complete opposite his actions do not have consequences Hydes demeanor i s very ape like, just like his appearance (this goes back to Darwins theory.)The other characters cannot describe his outside(a) shell as it is too hideous to describe. Hydes character is extremely cruel and evil. For example when he just tramples over the child in the first chapter, this shows the lack of respect for others. It also shows he is amoral.Stevenson utilise this marked contrast to make his point in dualism every human being contains opposite forces at heart them, theres always a contrary person behind a facade. This shows dualism in a whole different level. Stevenson used an aptonym for Hyde as his character hides in another character. The style of Stevensons makeup is sometimes complicated as some of the sentences are longer than modern readers would normally read. Also the diction is dated, and a lot of the members in the novel are no longer used.The most interlacing parts of the story are in Jekylls confession at the end. Sometimes Stevenson uses metaphors su ch as when Mr Enfield describes where he first met Mr Hyde as some place at the end of the world. He uses a lot of similes to show how inhuman Hyde really is, for example like some damned Juggernaut and like Satan. Alliteration highlights the unpleasantness of Mr Hyde he is described as downright detestable and hardly human. Onomatopoeia emphasises the animal qualities of Mr Hyde by describing the sounds he makes as hissing, snarled and husky.Throughout the novella the theme of hypocrisy is very large. Almost every character is a hypocrite take for example the guard man. When the police man affirmd that the victim of the murder was a famous MP. You can tell from the police man face that his professional ambition meant a lot, as this would better his career and maybe lead to an early retirement. Jekyll is the ultimate hypocrite in the novella although he lives part of his life as someone else he cannot accept the natural evil inner him so he separates them. Hydes accommodate keep er is another character that shows hypocrisy. She displays odious joys when she hears that her employer, Mr Hyde is in trouble with the police. She is described as having a face that is worn smooth with hypocrisy.Stevenson often uses the weather to reflect the evil within the surroundings. For example some scenes are described as foggy, which creates a sense of eeriness and mystery. Also wind is used to make the environment seem like it is full of violence and menace. Changes in the weather, for instance when Poole and Utterson are getting ready to break into Jekylls laboratory, also create a dark and evil atmosphere as when the wind caused the clouds to cover the moon. The house itself shows secret and hypocrisy as well. In contrast the door of Dr. Jekyll home wore a great air of wealth and comfort, whilst the inside of the house is described as warmed by a bright, open fire, and render with costly cabinets of oak. The good friend of Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Utterson, often spoke of it as the pleasantest room in London.This gives a totally different impression to that of Mr Hydes home. The description of Mr Hydes door would make it appear that the house was abandoned by the state of it. But as you enter the house there is a sense of elegance, luxury and good taste. You would expect it to be empty and unclean. A Victorian reader would not fit in these two people together as they both live in different environments. They would only realise the association between them when Mr Hyde presents a cheque to the childs family, bearing Dr. Jekyll name. This would make the reader curious of how these two know each other. However later on the reader is surprised to see that the inside of Mr Hydes house contains good wines, good pictures, silver plates, elegant table linen and thick carpets. These are items you would expect to see in Dr. Jekyll house.The dualism in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is almost similar to the modern days. Jekyll as a scientist had a super ego. He was very int elligent to come up with a potion that split a mans personality, but when the character Hyde occurs, he is the complete opposite. As humans we want a balanced ego, we want desires to be fulfilled but not all desires are good. So this makes a dynamic equilibrium. This was the theory of Freud. Jekyll is predominate by superego but Hyde being the id is trying to push his way in, which he does succeed in the end. In my opinion I think that Jekyll has a balanced ego as in the end he wanted to destroy both good and evil. I think this shows he is being considerate as he could have carried on being Hyde if he wanted to. There comes an end to all things the most gigantic measure is filled at last and this brief condescension to my evil finally destruct the balance of my soul. I think this is Jekyll thinking in terms of his super ego as I think this quote shows that he wants to get rid of Hyde as the emphasis is on the word finally.The dualism in the story is significant to the disk, with out duality in the book it would have a different perspective on the whole. Stevensons main aim was to put his point across about duality. Stevenson reveals that the duality of human nature runs deeper than good and evil to rational versus and reputation versus true nature. Stevenson also uses different narrators to the book to give an alternative view on Hyde and Jekyll. No single account could explain to the reader the views of characters associated with Jekyll and Hyde. For example without the support of his friend Utterson, Jekyll would not be as strongOverall I think that this novella is very complex, but has an excellent understanding to it. I think Stevenson put the theme of duality init in an interesting way and related it very well to the Victorian society at the time. Stevenson also comments on the constant war and balance between the two characters. There comes an end to all things the most capacious measure is filled at last and this brief condescension to my evil finall y destroyed the balance of my soul. In almost all stories the good always wins in the end as Jekyll rightly committed suicide as there was no other way out. However it also could be seen as the evil getting the best of the good side as Hyde took over Jekylls life and Jekyll producing the potion in the first place. I think that the story relates to this day and age in a way that people are hypocrites and have two sides to them, it gives a strong message to what could happen in the outcome.