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In the 1886 classic, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, author Robert Louis Stevenson creates a mysterious tale of good versus evil and the dual nature of man. It is for the reader to decide if good or evil prevails in the end.
In this argumentation, evil prevails. Jekyll asserts, Man is not truly one, but truly two, in other words every man has the ability to be good or evil. But Dr. Jekyll's potion, which he hoped would separate the two good and evil elements, succeeds only in bringing the dark side. If man is half good and half evil, one wonders what happens to the good at the end of the novel. The good has been taken over by evil.
This idea of evil prevailing is supported throughout the book but especially by four quotes, which have been pulled out of the story. These quotes are taken directly from the book and all support the following ideas; Dr. Jekyll felt that he was part of Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll liked being the notorious Mr. Hyde until it was too late, evil had been taking over Dr.
Jekyll from the start of his experimentation until the tragic end where evil won its victory, and last but not least, evil killed Dr. Jekyll when it took completely over. Dr. Jekyll recognizes that Mr. Hyde is a part of himself.
In Dr. Jekyll's letter to Mr. Utterson he described Mr. Hyde, ... were the expression, and bore the stamp, of lower elements in my soul. Dr.
Jekyll also explains, It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both; and from an early date... I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements. These aspects are important to recognize because they show that Dr. Jekyll was well aware of Mr.
Hyde being a part of him, and he did know Mr. Hyde was of evil nature, which, would lead to the dark side taking over. If Dr. Jekyll knew the consequences, why would he continue forth? Also if Dr. Jekyll knew that Mr.
Hyde was part of his soul than when suicide was committed it wouldnt matter if Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde killed themselves because both contained Hyde. Both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde contained evil, so either way, evil led to the death of Dr.
Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll liked being Mr. Hyde. It seems as though Dr.
Jekyll was fascinated and liked the feeling of immense freedom when being Mr. Hyde. He admits, "the thought, in that moment, braced and delighted me like wine... it seemed natural and human... it seemed more express and single, than the imperfect and divided countenance I had been hitherto accustomed to call mine... Edward Hyde...
was pure evil. " Of course, this opinion was only valid before evil took over. Dr. Jekyll liked the experiencing the other half until about the point where Mr. Hyde kills Sir Danvers. Dr.
Jekyll even goes so far as to say that he is glad Hyde killed such a well-known person (Danvers), for now that Hyde is being hunted, it will be much less tempting to become him. This idea comes to fact when Dr. Jekyll says, It was not only a crime, it had been a tragic folly. I think I was glad. I think I was glad to have my better impulses thus buttressed and guarded by the terrors of the scaffold.
Also, if Dr. Jekyll agreed that Mr. Hyde was part of his soul, and he knew Hyde was evil, why did he continue changing into Mr. Hyde until the point it was too late?
Dr. Jekyll liked being Mr. Hyde because of the thrill and excitement. This idea that Dr. Jekyll liked being Mr. Hyde just adds to the fact that if he would continue being Mr.
Hyde evil will eventually come and finish you off. For example, let us pretend there is a criminal who would continuously kill people. Once he got to a certain point, nothing really can stop him until authorities take charge and sentence him to death. Because at that point evil has taken over so much, there is no going back. Once in the body and mind of Hyde, the good side of Dr. Jekyll's soul has no power.
Dr. Jekyll had a choice to stop at the beginning but he didnt, so evil finishes his life. Evil had been taking over Dr. Jekyll from the start of his experimentation until the tragic end where evil won its victory. It seems as though, ever since Mr. Hyde emerges, he slowly took over, until Dr.
Jekyll ceased to exist. Dr. Jekyll admits, "I was slowly losing hold of my original and better self, and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse. " Dr. Jekyll was well aware of Mr. Hyde taking over especially after the murder, so Dr. Jekyll tried to stop changing into Mr.
Hyde. But soon after, Mr. Hyde would come upon him without even taking the potion. Dr. Jekyll eventually has no control over Mr. Hyde and could only stay Dr.
Jekyll if he took another potion. Also, as soon as Dr. Jekyll created Edward Hyde, he started on a journey of moral downfall. He lost contact with his good side, then his friends. The more Henry Jekyll played Mr. Hyde the more he was cut off from their good influence.
Soon enough, becoming Mr. Hyde wasnt a choice. This means that evil started as something small, until it becomes the dominator and destroys all the good in a person. Mr. Hyde killed Dr. Jekyll when evil took completely over.
To understand this you need to interpret this you need to understand that Mr. Hyde was a symbol of pure evil. Remember that it is was Dr. Jekyll who had said, All human beings... are commingled out of good and evil. " Dr. Jekyll had tried to separate the two, which he did.
Dr. Jekyll was a respectable member of his community symbolizing good. Edward Hyde is a destructive and tortured man constantly on the brink of violence symbolizing evil. Here is a very significant example that Mr. Utterson comes up with about Mr. Hyde's evil soul.
After Utterson learns of Hyde's trampling the girl, he has a nightmare, in which he sees Hyde as a "juggernaut" gliding stealthily through the streets, crushing a child at every street corner. A juggernaut is an unstoppable force, and Utterson's fear that Hyde is a juggernaut suggests that he represents pure evil. Consequently, Mr. Hyde burns all Dr. Jekyll's papers, pictures, and writes blasphemies in his book, to get back at him.
Dr. Jekyll becomes sick and depressed. Mr. Hyde fears that Dr.
Jekyll might kill him by committing suicide. Dr. Jekyll knows that Hyde, too, has been crushed, because he (Hyde) knows that everyone is waiting for his capture. Dr. Jekyll wonders if Hyde will let himself be caught and hung by the police or if he will kill himself first. Remember, Jekyll succeeds only in separating out Hyde, his evil half, while he himself remains a mix of good and evil.
The evil in Hyde is so much stronger than the good left in Dr. Jekyll, which once set free, evil wins all. As mentioned before, Dr. Jekyll knew that Mr.
Hyde was part of his soul so when suicide was committed, it wouldnt matter if Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde killed themselves because both contained Hyde. Both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde contained evil, and Dr.
Jekyll ultimately learned he couldnt destroy Hyde without also destroying himself. In conclusion, Mr. Hyde may have committed suicide to kill Dr. Jekyll or so that the law wouldnt capture him, or Dr. Jekyll committed suicide knowing he had to kill Mr. Hyde or out of shame, depression, and guilt.
Either way, evil led to the death of Dr. Jekyll because evil was in the soul of both men. In the mystery, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it is for the reader to decide if good or evil prevails in the end. In this argumentation, evil prevails.
This idea of evil prevailing is supported throughout the book and all support the following ideas; Dr. Jekyll felt that he was part of Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll liked being the notorious Mr.
Hyde until it was too late, evil had been taking over Dr. Jekyll from the start of his experimentation until the tragic end where evil won its victory, and evil killed Jekyll when it took completely over. Dr. Jekyll succeeds only in separating out Mr. Hyde, his evil half, while he himself remains a mix of good and evil. Evil takes over both Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde until the tragic death where the last signs of good morals are taken away.
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