Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Symbolism
Emily Henderson
4th hour
2.3.15
Literary Aspect
Symbolism in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Is it truly possible to separate the good and evil in man? In Robert Stevenson’s classic tale, he discusses the harmful possibilities of separating good and evil. Stevenson uses well thought out characters and overwhelming silence to breakdown the ideas of pride, evil, destruction of innocence, and terror in his novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll is a well-respected man in his community but he allows pride to be his downfall in the novel (69). Instead of seeking help and accountability through close friends, he hides his secret transformations as if he is ashamed of his experiment (64). While Mr. Utterson and others were weary of his experiment, he pressed on in the research as he was much too proud of his work to quit (11). A while later during his experiment, Dr. Jekyll allows himself to think about how much better of a person he is compared to Mr. Hyde, which acts as a catalyst to transform Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde without the consumption of the potion (78). It was not the potion that destroyed Dr. Hyde physically and mentally as well as decided his fate, but rather his pride. For even he “had grown pale; his flesh had fallen away; he was visibly balder and older (35).” When speaking about evil, it’s natural to think about Mr. Hyde. He is quite literally the epitome of evil as “evil was written broadly and plainly on [his] face (68).” Hyde “trampled calmly over the child 's body and left her screaming on the ground (4).” He then proceeded to buy his way out of a punishment by writing out a check for 100 pounds to the poor girl’s family (5). Hyde, nearly a year later, beats Sir Danver Carew to death with his cane (23-4). Under the influence and effects of the potion, Hyde hurt an innocent, little girl and murdered a well-liked, respectable man. The little girl who was around the age of nine was trampled without a
4th hour
2.3.15
Literary Aspect
Symbolism in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Is it truly possible to separate the good and evil in man? In Robert Stevenson’s classic tale, he discusses the harmful possibilities of separating good and evil. Stevenson uses well thought out characters and overwhelming silence to breakdown the ideas of pride, evil, destruction of innocence, and terror in his novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll is a well-respected man in his community but he allows pride to be his downfall in the novel (69). Instead of seeking help and accountability through close friends, he hides his secret transformations as if he is ashamed of his experiment (64). While Mr. Utterson and others were weary of his experiment, he pressed on in the research as he was much too proud of his work to quit (11). A while later during his experiment, Dr. Jekyll allows himself to think about how much better of a person he is compared to Mr. Hyde, which acts as a catalyst to transform Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde without the consumption of the potion (78). It was not the potion that destroyed Dr. Hyde physically and mentally as well as decided his fate, but rather his pride. For even he “had grown pale; his flesh had fallen away; he was visibly balder and older (35).” When speaking about evil, it’s natural to think about Mr. Hyde. He is quite literally the epitome of evil as “evil was written broadly and plainly on [his] face (68).” Hyde “trampled calmly over the child 's body and left her screaming on the ground (4).” He then proceeded to buy his way out of a punishment by writing out a check for 100 pounds to the poor girl’s family (5). Hyde, nearly a year later, beats Sir Danver Carew to death with his cane (23-4). Under the influence and effects of the potion, Hyde hurt an innocent, little girl and murdered a well-liked, respectable man. The little girl who was around the age of nine was trampled without a
Cited: Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York, New York: Bantam Dell, 2004/. Print