...Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Duality of Human Nature Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde centers upon a conception of humanity as dual in nature, although the theme does not emerge fully until the last chapter, when the complete story of the Jekyll-Hyde relationship is revealed. Therefore, we confront the theory of a dual human nature explicitly only after having witnessed all of the events of the novel, including Hyde’s crimes and his ultimate eclipsing of Jekyll. The text not only posits the duality of human nature as its central theme but forces us to ponder the properties of this duality and to consider each of the novel’s episodes as we weigh various theories. Jekyll asserts that “man is not truly one, but truly two,” and he imagines the human soul as the battleground for an “angel” and a “fiend,” each struggling for mastery. But his potion, which he hoped would separate and purify each element, succeeds only in bringing the dark side into being—Hyde emerges, but he has no angelic counterpart. Once unleashed, Hyde slowly takes over, until Jekyll ceases to exist. If man is half angel and half fiend, one wonders what happens to the “angel” at the end of the novel. Perhaps the angel gives way permanently to Jekyll’s devil. Or perhaps Jekyll is simply mistaken: man is not “truly two” but is first and foremost the primitive creature embodied in Hyde, brought under tentative control by civilization, law, and conscience. According...
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...Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Duality of Human Nature Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde centers upon a conception of humanity as dual in nature, although the theme does not emerge fully until the last chapter, when the complete story of the Jekyll-Hyde relationship is revealed. Therefore, we confront the theory of a dual human nature explicitly only after having witnessed all of the events of the novel, including Hyde’s crimes and his ultimate eclipsing of Jekyll. The text not only posits the duality of human nature as its central theme but forces us to ponder the properties of this duality and to consider each of the novel’s episodes as we weigh various theories. Jekyll asserts that “man is not truly one, but truly two,” and he imagines the human soul as the battleground for an “angel” and a “fiend,” each struggling for mastery. But his potion, which he hoped would separate and purify each element, succeeds only in bringing the dark side into being—Hyde emerges, but he has no angelic counterpart. Once unleashed, Hyde slowly takes over, until Jekyll ceases to exist. If man is half angel and half fiend, one wonders what happens to the “angel” at the end of the novel. Perhaps the angel gives way permanently to Jekyll’s devil. Or perhaps Jekyll is simply mistaken: man is not “truly two” but is first and foremost the primitive creature embodied in Hyde, brought under tentative control by civilization, law, and conscience. According...
Words: 4255 - Pages: 18
...Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Duality of Human Nature Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde centers upon a conception of humanity as dual in nature, although the theme does not emerge fully until the last chapter, when the complete story of the Jekyll-Hyde relationship is revealed. Therefore, we confront the theory of a dual human nature explicitly only after having witnessed all of the events of the novel, including Hyde’s crimes and his ultimate eclipsing of Jekyll. The text not only posits the duality of human nature as its central theme but forces us to ponder the properties of this duality and to consider each of the novel’s episodes as we weigh various theories. Jekyll asserts that “man is not truly one, but truly two,” and he imagines the human soul as the battleground for an “angel” and a “fiend,” each struggling for mastery. But his potion, which he hoped would separate and purify each element, succeeds only in bringing the dark side into being—Hyde emerges, but he has no angelic counterpart. Once unleashed, Hyde slowly takes over, until Jekyll ceases to exist. If man is half angel and half fiend, one wonders what happens to the “angel” at the end of the novel. Perhaps the angel gives way permanently to Jekyll’s devil. Or perhaps Jekyll is simply mistaken: man is not “truly two” but is first and foremost the primitive creature embodied in Hyde, brought under tentative control by civilization, law, and conscience. According...
Words: 4255 - Pages: 18
...The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) By Robert L. Stevenson Dr Lanyon’s Narrative COMPREHENSION 1. What was suspicious about the visitor’s behaviour before he entered the house? 2. What emotional state was the visitor in? 3. How did Lanyon react when the visitor touched his arm? 4. Does Lanyon give the visitor what he wants immediately? What eventually convinces him to show his guest the drawer? 5. When the visitor removes the sheet from the drawer, how does he react to the contents? 6. Dr Lanyon’s guest offers him the choice of leaving without witnessing what is about to happen or staying and witnessing a prodigy. Which does Lanyon choose to do and why? 7. What happens to the visitor when he drinks the potion? 8. What is Lanyon’s reaction to the scene he has just witnessed? ANALYSIS 9. At what time does the episode take place? What associations do you make with this particular time? What kind of atmosphere does this time setting create? 10. Find words and expressions in the text which express Lanyon’s repulsion for his visitor. Is his repulsion psychological or physical or both? Give examples. 11. Identify the statement in which Lanyon suggests that his revulsion for the visitor represents something more than personal dislike. 12. Line 3 and 13-18 provide some vague descriptive details of the visitor but for the most part the reader is invited...
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...Critical Analysis: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde As we grow older and learn more about the world and ourselves, there is something inside us that has not fully understood the sole purpose of its creation. Something so very common, yet, so misunderstood--identity. In Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we see that not only is an older man struggling with his identity, but that it was also decades ago when this story was written, suggesting that an identity crises is nothing new and that we all go through it at some point in life. “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” ― Oscar Wilde. I found this quote relevant to this particular story and that the two go hand...
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...How has your study of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and an appropriation of your own choosing enhanced your understanding of how and why cultural values are maintained and changed? “The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, follows the duplicitous notion of a single body containing both the erudite Dr. Jekyll and the depraved Mr. Hyde. Stevenson’s novella imagines an inextricable link between civilization and savagery, and the palpable influence of cultural value and standard. Set within the height of the Victorian era circa 1886, this duality of human nature is examined by a specific Eurocentric interpretation, narrated by the mild-mannered lawyer Mr Utterson. Steven Moore’s filmic appropriation of the original novella is the BBC television series “Jekyll”, which encapsulates the similar split personality of Dr Tom Jackman and his alter ego ‘Mr Hyde’, within today’s current context. Through analysis of both the novella and the first episode of the film adaptation, a clear similarity between both protagonist’s circumstances is observed. However, the effects societal interpretation has on this controversy is varied in such a way, which distorts the very nature of duplicity, and thus the definition of the classic trope of Jekyll and Hyde. Social respectability and the desire to pursue pleasure both offer the fantasy solution of having a second self to carry the burden of one’s vices. Dr Jekyll explores the circumstance of an educated, Victorian...
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...Strange Case and The Murders: Dividing Human Minds Alexis Osorio DeVry University There can be no up without down, no dark without bright, and no wrong without right; the same idea can be applied to the human mind. There is some sort of duality in the human mind and has been a recurring theme of discussion in many stories. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Strange Case) (Stevenson, 1886) brings the topic of human duality to the forefront by observing it from a third person point of view. Edgar Allan Poe brings up human duality too from a first person point of view in his work The Murders in the Rue Morgue (The Murders)(1841). Strange Case is about an internal struggle that is externalized, while The Murders shows no struggle between the characters. The former about the concept of self-control, while the latter on mental capacity. Although both stories show it in very different ways, the underlying theme is the same, the duality of the human mind is true and apparent but cannot be separated. It may help to demonstrate the nature of human duality with another concept that is physical but not human, the wave-particle duality. This concept is derived from the nature of light, or electromagnetism. Classically, people, especially scientist, used to believe that waves and particles were two separate entities but after an experiment (the double-slit experiment) found that light behaves as both at the same time. This concept shook science from the very foundation upon...
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