Ever heard of the term “Jekyll-and-Hyde”? Jekyll-and-Hyde is a term referring to having conflicting personalities or having both distinct good and bad personalities in one person. The central theme for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the idea of duality. Duality can be defined as the state of being in two or in two parts, and in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the two parts are good and evil, Dr. Jekyll representing good, and Mr. Hyde representing evil. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are perfect examples of duality. Throughout the novel, Jekyll is in a constant struggle to control his evil side and maintain the good of human nature, while Hyde is constantly struggling to take control over Jekyll and create the bad of human
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Jekyll is without a doubt the good in the story, but is also forced to live a double life. Jekyll himself, a respected doctor, representing his first life, and Hyde, a self-serving fiend, representing the second. (Hurd). “There was never a day when, if you said to me, ‘Jekyll, my life, my honor, my reason, depend on you.’ I would not have sacrificed my left hand to help you” (Stevenson 51). This passage shows the loyalty and trust of Dr. Jekyll to his friend, Lanyon. He basically says he would do anything and everything for him, if he just asks. He will give his life, to save his. Although Jekyll’s reputation is in danger, and Utterson would do anything to help save it, Jekyll will not give up his secrets and expose Hyde, even to save himself. (Grant). This shows the undeniable good of Dr. Jekyll, as he is willing to give up everything to rid himself of the evil within. Also as society is not capable or willing to deal with the bad, Mr. Hyde, so the good must suffer with it. (Grant). Jekyll has always been interested in human nature and science, but more specifically dichotomy, studying the effects of people’s behavior and actions, good and bad, and trying to experiment and understand them (D’Ammassa). Jekyll has a hard time fighting the impulses of good and bad, so he creates a drug that is capable of bringing out the evil side of himself and letting it take over for …show more content…
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it affects their persons directly. Good and evil is intertwined in every person, and in order to keep society peaceful, we must try to go with the better half of ourselves. (Grant). Both Hyde and Jekyll end up dead by the end of the novel because of the struggle of good and evil trying to have control over one individual. “It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man…” (Stevenson 60) This passage shows that Dr. Jekyll understood the duality of mankind, good and evil, and he went with the side he wanted morally. He sees that this duality has an effect everywhere on everyone, but especially on the individuals like him. “... that man is not truly one, but truly two.” (Stevenson 60). This passage shows that every man and woman cannot be classified as good, or bad. Every person has both in them, but it is up to them to decide which side to show more of. Dr. Jekyll is represented as choosing the good side, while Hyde is the representation of choosing the evil side, and these two sides are in a struggle to control a body that can only support one side. Evil wants to take over the user, and will do anything to do it. (Oates). In the end, the real enemy of the story is not Hyde though. The appearance of good and having to maintain it brought Jekyll to his death. There is a lot of social pressure directed towards individuals in society to keep a good
Jekyll is without a doubt the good in the story, but is also forced to live a double life. Jekyll himself, a respected doctor, representing his first life, and Hyde, a self-serving fiend, representing the second. (Hurd). “There was never a day when, if you said to me, ‘Jekyll, my life, my honor, my reason, depend on you.’ I would not have sacrificed my left hand to help you” (Stevenson 51). This passage shows the loyalty and trust of Dr. Jekyll to his friend, Lanyon. He basically says he would do anything and everything for him, if he just asks. He will give his life, to save his. Although Jekyll’s reputation is in danger, and Utterson would do anything to help save it, Jekyll will not give up his secrets and expose Hyde, even to save himself. (Grant). This shows the undeniable good of Dr. Jekyll, as he is willing to give up everything to rid himself of the evil within. Also as society is not capable or willing to deal with the bad, Mr. Hyde, so the good must suffer with it. (Grant). Jekyll has always been interested in human nature and science, but more specifically dichotomy, studying the effects of people’s behavior and actions, good and bad, and trying to experiment and understand them (D’Ammassa). Jekyll has a hard time fighting the impulses of good and bad, so he creates a drug that is capable of bringing out the evil side of himself and letting it take over for …show more content…
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it affects their persons directly. Good and evil is intertwined in every person, and in order to keep society peaceful, we must try to go with the better half of ourselves. (Grant). Both Hyde and Jekyll end up dead by the end of the novel because of the struggle of good and evil trying to have control over one individual. “It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man…” (Stevenson 60) This passage shows that Dr. Jekyll understood the duality of mankind, good and evil, and he went with the side he wanted morally. He sees that this duality has an effect everywhere on everyone, but especially on the individuals like him. “... that man is not truly one, but truly two.” (Stevenson 60). This passage shows that every man and woman cannot be classified as good, or bad. Every person has both in them, but it is up to them to decide which side to show more of. Dr. Jekyll is represented as choosing the good side, while Hyde is the representation of choosing the evil side, and these two sides are in a struggle to control a body that can only support one side. Evil wants to take over the user, and will do anything to do it. (Oates). In the end, the real enemy of the story is not Hyde though. The appearance of good and having to maintain it brought Jekyll to his death. There is a lot of social pressure directed towards individuals in society to keep a good