Monsters From Within Coming to Life:
A comparison between the good (Dr. Jekyll) and the bad (Mr. Hyde) in the Victorian Era, and what they truly represent.
by:
Jenny Nguyen
A paper submitted to Mr. Matsalia in partial fulfillment of
Honors English II, Period 7
November 21, 2014
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson was published in 1886 around the time of the Victorian Era.The Victorian Era, the time between 1837 through 1901, was a time of significant economic and social changes, as well as a period of scientific breakthroughs, which the short novel embodies.The general overview of the story is that Dr. Jekyll is presented as an privileged and honorable man while Mr. Hyde is his otherwise …show more content…
Hyde is the embodiment of Jekyll 's otherwise hidden evil nature and scientific compromise. This idea of hidden evil springs from the later fall of the Victorian Era, which at first glance seems to represent everything valued in the Victorian society--Henry Jekyll--but later gives leeway to what seems to be the collapse of this period. The reason that Mr. Hyde is considered pure evil is because he is the incarnated "bad" side of Dr. Jekyll which he had repressed for many years until then. Dr. Jekyll uses his transformation potion in order to undertake and commit these heinous crimes, most famously the trampling of the little girl on the street and the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, a Member of Parliament. He brutally clobbers Sir Danvers Carew to death for absolutely no reason other than the fact that Sir Danvers appeared to be a good and kindly man — and pure evil detests pure goodness. Hyde represents the evil side of Jekyll, and since Jekyll does enjoy the degradations which Hyde commits, Hyde gradually begins to take the ascendancy over the good Dr. Jekyll. Because Hyde begins to take over Jekyll, in his final moments before being exposed, he committed suicide to rid the world of the pure evil he had …show more content…
The fall of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde is a parallel to the inevitable fall of the Victorian Era despite it 's accomplishments. The progression of pre-industrialization, with what seemed to be the start of great long-lasting achievements, to post-industrialization saw an increase of out-of-control moral disobedience and crime sprees. The short novel depicts a commonly used theme of good-vs-evil and the human being 's unavoidable suppressed evil. Although Dr. Jekyll is overall considered a good person, he is not necessarily pure because he does have a secret yearning to participate in these unlawful activities, hence giving "birth" to Mr. Hyde, the embodiment of all that is detestable and atrocious. Therefore in response, while the Victorian Era seemed as though it would have been a lasting, beneficial period filled with innovation and flourishing activities, it actually came to be a cascade of unfortunate series of events that came from the same Victorian "stem". Works
A comparison between the good (Dr. Jekyll) and the bad (Mr. Hyde) in the Victorian Era, and what they truly represent.
by:
Jenny Nguyen
A paper submitted to Mr. Matsalia in partial fulfillment of
Honors English II, Period 7
November 21, 2014
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson was published in 1886 around the time of the Victorian Era.The Victorian Era, the time between 1837 through 1901, was a time of significant economic and social changes, as well as a period of scientific breakthroughs, which the short novel embodies.The general overview of the story is that Dr. Jekyll is presented as an privileged and honorable man while Mr. Hyde is his otherwise …show more content…
Hyde is the embodiment of Jekyll 's otherwise hidden evil nature and scientific compromise. This idea of hidden evil springs from the later fall of the Victorian Era, which at first glance seems to represent everything valued in the Victorian society--Henry Jekyll--but later gives leeway to what seems to be the collapse of this period. The reason that Mr. Hyde is considered pure evil is because he is the incarnated "bad" side of Dr. Jekyll which he had repressed for many years until then. Dr. Jekyll uses his transformation potion in order to undertake and commit these heinous crimes, most famously the trampling of the little girl on the street and the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, a Member of Parliament. He brutally clobbers Sir Danvers Carew to death for absolutely no reason other than the fact that Sir Danvers appeared to be a good and kindly man — and pure evil detests pure goodness. Hyde represents the evil side of Jekyll, and since Jekyll does enjoy the degradations which Hyde commits, Hyde gradually begins to take the ascendancy over the good Dr. Jekyll. Because Hyde begins to take over Jekyll, in his final moments before being exposed, he committed suicide to rid the world of the pure evil he had …show more content…
The fall of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde is a parallel to the inevitable fall of the Victorian Era despite it 's accomplishments. The progression of pre-industrialization, with what seemed to be the start of great long-lasting achievements, to post-industrialization saw an increase of out-of-control moral disobedience and crime sprees. The short novel depicts a commonly used theme of good-vs-evil and the human being 's unavoidable suppressed evil. Although Dr. Jekyll is overall considered a good person, he is not necessarily pure because he does have a secret yearning to participate in these unlawful activities, hence giving "birth" to Mr. Hyde, the embodiment of all that is detestable and atrocious. Therefore in response, while the Victorian Era seemed as though it would have been a lasting, beneficial period filled with innovation and flourishing activities, it actually came to be a cascade of unfortunate series of events that came from the same Victorian "stem". Works