How does Stevenson explore the duality of human nature in the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? Essay

St eveson had a real strict upbringing from the start. In fact I would go to say he was all over stif lead with ideas and pointtually came to hate hypocrisy and rebelled. Since he had just lib partted himself from his Calvinist teachings I assume it was then he debated with the idea of good and slimy in every one(a). and then then creating the idea of duality in t eat uper-hearted nature. It was then a story was born.Mevery issues atomic number 18 raised by Robert Louis St razesons The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and at the magazine of 1885 these issues were impossible and scandalous. one of the particular issues that Stevenson uncovered was the idea that there atomic number 18 both sides to everyone and that these sides could be separated, good and hatred. As well as this Stevensons novella explores how some(prenominal) of these sides argon contained at bottom a soul. This book was written around the time of Charles Darwins theory of evolution and story fi ts perfectly with his theory. For compositors case, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are two different steps in evolution. Dr Jekyll is the very pink of proprieties, celebrated too. And Hyde is anthropoid bid. Darwins theory basically was set to prove that concourse are desc extirpateed from a similar species to apes. It would seem that these two sides are in concert in one body merely still one is scattered or even hidden. Stevensons imposing novella heightened a shimmer amongst Victorian upper middle course of instruction citizens because this idea was a herculean one for them to grasp. However as time went on this idea became less(prenominal) uncommon, for example in 1954 Lord of the Flies by William Golding was published. Golding viewd that if people were left-hand(a) stranded without democracy and order, there sense of hu human beingity and morals would disintegrate, so allowing primitive and even animalistic instincts to creep through.Dr Jekyll is the perfect point of refer ence to athletic supporter expose this duality of human nature he excessively helps the ref to expose Stevensons own curiosity on the subject. Jekylls longing to prove that you can effectively split the good from the evil led to him creating an evil alter ego Mr Hyde. Stevenson also shows in his novella that if you over endugle the evil side of a personality it mentally, emotionally and especially in this book, even physically can take over. For example through his transformations, the evil Mr Hyde becomes continuously affectionateer and subjugation of the good still present in Dr Jekyll bring forths. Dr Jekyll is always tempted by Hyde, because he can completely disconnect himself from the evil and therefore has no attachment or guilt, spring headlong into the sea of conversancy. As Mr Hyde Jekyll feels he can finally be free. I believe the reason Hyde becomes so strong is because for most of Dr Jekylls life he suppressed the evil for too long. Un corresponding Mr Enfield who is a well cognise man about town, he often gave into evil urges in all of a sudden and harmless bursts behind closed doors.However give care in any good novella the idea of good triumphing over evil comes into part, when Jekyll puts an end to his life and therefore Hydes too. However you still have to hypothesise if good actually did win because there was still evil attached and that is all Mr Hyde wanted to achieve. Stevenson was very clever in the naming of the character Hyde, this was obviously linked to the vocalize hide and how in the Victorian era evil was very often hidden away from prying eyes. Therefore this is why when anyone evinceing the novella would have been appalled upon reaching the end to find that Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde were in fact the same person. As well as Hyde adding secrecy and anticipation to the novella he creates the idea of the shocking, and maybe even sickening the reader.He is the pure image of human evil, filled with violence, crime and self -importance. It was not besides his actions that sickened people, if was his appearance. In fact Mr Hyde was often described as deformed, and perhaps that is what evil is a deformation from the good in all of us. Instantly people could feel a dislike to him, one gentleman in the novel quoted this I had taken a detest to my gentleman at get-go sight the desire to kill him. For person so goodish in society to even consider cleanup a man portrays the utter horror everyone felt towards Hydes appearance.The word loathing expresses an extreme extent of hatred and the fact that a person felt that for Mr Hyde upon looking at him is tragic. yet if then this links covert to him being deformed, in fact it is even stated that Mr Hyde donates a strong feeling of deformity in fact many harsh comments are made over Hyde, he is illustrated as hardly human, parboil and dwarfish and even referred to as a devil, if I ever read Satans signature upon a face and there are many more horrific des criptions of Hyde, but at the same Jekyll enjoys having him, he enjoys having a vicarious existence.Eventually everything takes a turn for the worst and Dr Jekyll learns that something has to change, Jekyll solves this when Hydes evil becomes strong enough to commit a crime of singular fero city, Hyde was so evil he was capable of murder. And then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his foot, brandishing the cane, and carrying on (as the maid described it) like a madman. Madman is the word that strikes me first and puts a clear image in my head of not just the Scrooge like character from sooner but now a man of pure sin and hatred. The speech like brandishing and stamping exposes the madness and brutality of Hyde. You are also revealed to his short indurate from the phrase all of a sudden which portrays the fact that the murder was believably unprovoked. His murder of Mr Carew was in no way calculated or even intelligent, it was just pure, unst ructured evil.The novella is not only consisting of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. There are other characters these characters are almost apply as tools to further endorse Stevensons point about human nature and the duality within it. One of these characters as a mentioned earlier is Mr Enfield. He is a man of status, a man of grace and decorum and he also comes crossways as an approachable person. Another character is Mr Utterson he is a very good example of a two-baser sided character. Cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse standward in sentiment, lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow loveable. He is first described with very negative adjectives, for example cold, but then by twisting it to loveable shows the two different sides to his character. little characters are just as interesting as the more mentionable ones, for example Hydes maid. She is described as evil face smoothed by hypocrisy but her manners were excellent.You clearly notice the word evil, which creates a hars h impression of her right from the start. However by the end of the excoriate you begin to understand that she is full of poise and good manners, which is normally the first thing you notice in a person, not how evil they look. provided Stevenson once again does things differently and makes the idea of evil the most authorized thing in the sentence. Another good example of a double sided character is the officer. The fact that his eye lighted up with professional ambition shows a very childish attitude of being selfish and only hoping for personal gain. Stevenson is very clever because he demonstrates that every character has a dominant side, but it is sometimes not evident.Characters are not the only tool that Stevenson uses to explore deeper into the duality of human nature. For example, London itself is described as a place of two halves. Good and evil, light and dark and in fact how those things blend into each other. Soho is one of the evil parts of London, and where Hyde l ives when he is not Dr Jekyll. This area is often described as in the common horror clich, with darkness and stupor. some city in a nightmare. The city is referred to as a nightmare, which shows how shielded the life of an upper class Victorian was and how they would never venture into the darker side of society but sometimes darkness has to be faced to overcome it.Throughout the novella the fog and darkness is used, effectively to hide the secrets. Not only the environment is used but even Jekylls home shows the duality, there is the front door, which the respectable Dr Jekyll uses. However as well as this there is a back door, which Mr Hyde often skulks through and stays in the laboratory, a little like Frankensteins laboratory, which is yet another horror clich. The back door is also hidden to the public eye and is one that is chosen to be ignored, like the ways the Victorians dismiss anything that could disrupt a reputation or status.To begin with Jekyll is not overcome with d oubt or guilt or even much emotion, no matter how atrocious. He distances himself and pretends that nothing is wrong, much like in Lord of the Flies when Ralph and Piggy refuse to take certificate of indebtedness for their part Simons death. But as time goes on Dr Jekyll begins to realise the horror of what is going and on, as well as becoming weaker, while Hyde becomes stronger and somehow it still takes a while for Jekyll to try and let Hyde go. This poses the suspicion did Jekyll have a deeper more devious yearning for Hyde other than scientific truth? Dr Jekyll admits to in his final confession which is the last chapter in the book.The contentedness is clear and could be depicted by anyone therefore this would have been shocking to a Victorian. Everyone does have the potential to be good or evil. But it is up to a person what is done with evil in us all, however the extremes of a personality may not be as bold as in this novella. The story does make you think, if anyone is ca pable of evil, what am I capable of? If my life is a constant battle surrounded by the good and evil in me, then how do I cognise if I myself have the strength to conquer the evil within? And I think it is these questions that Stevenson wanted people to ponder.