Discuss how Stevenson presents duality in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay Example for Free

Discuss how Stevenson presents dichotomy in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde EssayIn this essay I will show how Robert Louis Stevenson has presented duality in his novella Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.The novella is astir(predicate) a worthy gentleman, Dr Jekyll, and how, under the pressure of juicy society in Victorian England, experiments with potions to eventu ally come up with one that would turn him into Mr Hyde, a disreputable and deplorable man.Written in 1886, the novella was based around the pressure to be respectable that Robert Louis Stevenson himself matte up in high society of the Victorian era. It was also influenced by scandals of the time such as Deacon Brodie. Brodie, who suffered from gambling debts, was a cabinet maker for people in the higher class. To try and pay off his debts he would break into the cabinets that he had sold and steal the valuables inside. This fits into the story of Jekyll and Hyde since Jekyll is a seemly, respectable gentleman who turns into an ev il, lower class man, Hyde.There was also a growing knowingness of chemistry and psychology at the time the novella was indite. Sigmund Freud, a famous chemist and psychologist, convinced people that duality did exist in humans that in one person there could be both(prenominal) good and evil, such as in Jekyll and Hyde, who were the same person, with the help of a potion, but Jekyll was good and Hyde evil.Since the novella was written in 1886 it was targeted at Victorian people. When it was kickoff published it sold around 40,000 copies, mainly to the higher classes of Victorian England. They would progress to seen it as a worm on a horror book. The Victorians were into gothic books, except that they were al styles set in foreign countries and in the past. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde differs to these stories since it was set in London and in the wherefore present day. In 1888, Jack the Ripper surfaced in the newspapers. This would not only have boosted the sales of Stevensons novell a but would have been connected to it. Both the former and the latter(prenominal) ideas are because of the rumour that went around England at the time that Jack the Ripper was someone of hurrying class and respectable by day but commit frightening murders by night, like the duality of Jekyll and Hyde.Duality appears throughout the novella, including the characters. Mr Utterson is a lawyer and good friend of Henry Jekyll.of a rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile cold, scantyThis description of Mr Utterson, from the first page, portrays him to be a grumpy man, with sharp features on his face, who doesnt get on with any body and who would drink on his own. neverthelesssomehow loveable.This summons, again from the first page, shows the duality of the book since Utterson is described to be miserable and yet e rattlingbody loves him. This is enforced by the adjective lovable since this word implies that he is pretty easy to get on with and he isnt just liked by those who know and get on with him, instead he is loved. The quotes convey that no matter what someones demeanour they can still be kind and popular. This introduces the theme of duality for the reasons utter above.I let my brother go to the devil in his own way.Being a lawyer, Mr Utterson is supposed to help others in any way he can, however, this metaphor is telling the reader that no matter how much(prenominal) he could do for someone, Utterson doesnt really care intimately them. This portrays Robert Louis Stevensons idea of duality.least save his creditI shall be back before midnight, when we shall send for the police.This quote shows duality since Utterson himself said that he would let his brother go to the devil in his own way, yet here he is trying to save the reputation of one of his very good friends, Jekyll. To do this though, the good, honourable, respectable, law abiding lawyer does not send for the police as soon as he and Poole, Dr Jekylls butler, discover the dead body of a certain Mr Edward Hyde lying on Jekylls cabinet floor. Instead, he goes home for two hours to read the letters that both Dr Lanyon, another good friend of both Utterson and Jekyll, and Jekyll left for him to read on the disappearance or death of Henry Jekyll. It also shows duality in that Utterson is a lawyer, who should go to the police but doesnt.in case of disappearanceread the name Gabriel John Utterson.This quote shows duality because as Utterson finds, and reads, Jekylls Last Will and Testament, Utterson, to his own amazement, reads his name instead of Hydes. This shows duality since Utterson is down as the oddment good friend of Dr Henry Jekyll, who would become disreputable and a big scandal if any one were to find out what he did.Dr Lanyon is another character in the novella, and a good friend of Jekyll and Utterson.This was a hearty, rosy, dapper, red faced gentleman with a shock of hair prematurely white.This quote portrays Lanyon to be a friendly, hurrying class gentleman who has plenty to drink. However, subsequent on in the novella, Stevenson describes LanyonThe rosy man had grown pale his flesh had fallen away he was visibly balder and olderThis quote and the latter, reveals the duality between them since in the first quote he is described as world healthy and in the moment as being on his death bed. The reader would want to know what has happened in such a short time to make this change in Lanyon appear so suddenly because he saw Hyde mix the potion, take a drink, and turn to Jekyll in front of his very own eyes all of which is revea lead in the second to last chapter Dr Lanyons Narrative. To get the potions to Hyde however, Jekyll had to get Lanyon to steal for him. The very idea of Jekyll wanting another respectable gentleman breaking in and stealing the potions for him and Hyde would have been a very big scandal if Lanyon was caught, and Lanyon would go from respectable gentleman to disrespectable in a few hours.Stevensons nove lla is all well-nigh Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.the unsex gave one of his pleasant dinnersThis shows how Jekyll is popular among the upper class, among his friends, and rich enough to hold dinners. The adverb pleasant conveys to the audience that everyone Jekyll invited got on with each other and it reinforces the idea that Jekyll is rich since he can hold dinners and provide nice food.sat Dr Jekyll, looking deadly sick.This quote describes Jekyll sitting in his large cabinet room, later on the death of sir Danvers Carew. It reveals how Jekyll is quality remorse for knowing, or as the reader later finds out, for being Mr Hyde who was identified as the murderer of Carew. It portrays how Jekyll regrets his actions and wishes, to get away from the pressures of high society lifespan in Victorian England.8th of January Utterson had dined at the gear upsOn the 12th, and again on the 14th, the door was shut against the lawyer.This reference conveys to the audience the duality in the novel la, since four days after Utterson had seen Jekyll, and dined with him and Dr Lanyon, he was being denied entry to Jekylls house. This shows the duality since Jekyll was so ill that he couldnt stand up to greet Utterson when Utterson went to see him, before being fine and healthy enough to hold a dinner subtracty and then not allowing anyone into his house to see him all of a sudden without anybody knowing why.born in 18__ to a large fortuneThis quote portrays how Henry Jekyll recognises how he was born into a rich family. The adjectives large and fortune suggests he was born into a exceedingly respected family, something that was of high importance in Victorian England. It shows how he didnt have to work hard for the position in society that he was in, only upkeep up his appearances with others of his class.worst of my faults was a certain gaiety of disposition, such as made the happiness of some(prenominal)This reference shows that Jekyll felt money wasnt everything. He felt t hat where it made most men content, it didnt make him happy. It conveys to the reader how he wants to be happy, although where he is in life and society wasnt making his wishes come true. We learn later in the novella how this wish brings him to start mixing formulas that would eventually turn him into Mr Hyde.found it hard to reconcile with my imperious desire to carry my head highThe quote above portrays how, although Jekyll wants to be happy, he believes the only way would be one that was irreputable. However, he does not wish to lose his place in the upper class of society and he does not wish to lose his friends, both of which would happen if he did what he desired to do to become happier. This therefore is what led Jekyll to create the potion, as well as the written version of events, for Utterson to read, in Henry Jekylls full statement of the case where Dr Jekyll writes his version, and the truth of what happened in the last months of his life. because it came about that I c oncealed my pleasuresThis reveals how Jekyll had been hiding secrets since before creating the mixture that would turn him to Hyde, hiding what it was that was making him happy. The verb concealed tells the reader that Jekyll was being very careful about his pleasures. It conveys the importance of nobody finding out about Jekylls secret more than if Stevenson had written the verb hid instead.already committed to a profound duplicity of life.This conveys one of the themes in the novella, the theme of duplicity, and how it is not only in the settings and the characters but that the characters knew about it. We know this because of the adjective duplicity portraying to the reader how Jekyll has two lives, however divers(prenominal) they are. unwholesome sense of shame.This quote reveals how although Jekyll wanted to be happy, he is ashamed of how his life has turned out. The alliteration of the s sound in sense and shame enforces the idea, in the readers mind, that he is ashamed of b eing Mr Hyde, of what he has done and is still doing as Mr Hyde and that both of these irreputable things are making him happy.not truly one, but truly two.This does not reveal duality within the story, rather in the themes of the novella. It indicates the views of Dr Jekyll that in one man, there is both good and evil, one of the themes. Jekyll describes how good and evil are different parts of the soul, and that good conquers evil in a raging war within the soul, and that is what makes a man good.flushed as I was with hope and triumph, to infer in my new shapeAs this quote conveys, Stevenson has written about how someone can be addicted to drugs. It shows that even someone of high acme can become addicted, in this case Dr Jekyll. Jekyll is addicted to how he can do what he wants as Mr Hyde, without losing any of his own stature, rather than do the respectable things he would have to do as himself to be happy. It reveals duality in the position that a respectable gentleman such as Jekyll can be addicted to the painful pangs and nausea the mixture makes him spirit, whilst turning into Hyde.Edward Hyde is often portrayed animal-like.like a monkey jumped up from among the chemicals.This quote makes the reader imagine a monkey like creature jumping up upon hearing Poole, Jekylls butler, coming towards Jekylls cabinet. It creates the picture of Hyde being small, dumpy, and hairy and as having very long arms, whilst showing duality since Hyde is a man not a monkey.The other snarled aloud into a savage laughIn this quote the adjective snarled gives the fancy of Hyde as a savage beast, again being portrayed as some sort of animal. It also conveys how Hyde is an evil person, since someone who is portrayed as being a savage cannot be any good, and this would have been the view of people in Victorian England. Stevenson has used language to paint a picture of what Hyde tycoon look like in the readers mind.so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running.Th is reference, again, allows the reader to imagine what Hyde looks like. It conveys how the other characters react to Hyde, that they all feel an air of deformity whenever they see him or speak to him, and that he looks so ugly, so mean that they feel uneasy around him.All of the latter one-third quotes show duality since Hyde is portrayed as being a small and ugly man with the impression of being deformed somewhere on his body. He is also conveyed as a mean, evil person via the descriptive language used by Stevenson. This is in contrast to Jekyll, since Jekyll is a respected gentleman and doctor of chemistry, who is regularly invited to dinner parties hosted by other well respected people in society. He is also taller, thinner and older than Hyde.All of the characters who meet Hyde in the novella seem to act in the same way towards him. This conveys to the reader just how unlikeable Hyde is. This is important to the story because it shows how everybody thinks him an evil man. It he lps show the duality between Jekyll and Hyde.However, it isnt just the characters that show duality within Stevensons Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It is also revealed in the settings the weather and the buildings and also in the communicatory structure.The doorneither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained. Tramps slouchedThis quote portrays the quality of the door that Hyde uses to image Dr Jekylls house and grounds. This is in contrast to the front of Jekylls housewhich wore a great air of wealth and comfortThis portrays an image of what Jekylls house looks like from the front a grand house whose owner is wealthy and of a high social class.The latter quote also shows duality with Hydes house in Soho.showed him a aristocratic streetThis quote portrays what kind of area Hydes house is in. In the Victorian era, Soho was poverty stricken and full of prostitution, although there is no indication that Hyde was into prostitution and gambling (other than Jekyll turning into Hyde be cause doing respectable things did not make him happy). It shows the difference between Jekylls big, respectable house in a respectable of London and Hydes dingy flat on a polluted street in the centre of London.An ivory faced and silvery haired womanThis quote describes the Soho house landlady (or Hydes landlady). When the reader reads this they presume she is a nice friendly woman. HoweverShe had a smooth face, smoothed by hypocracyshows duality in contrast with the quote before. It shows how a nice old lady whitethorn look nice but in fact can be evil, someone who doesnt like herself. I say evil because later in the chapter The Carew move out Case she is excited and delighted by the idea of Hyde being in trouble with the police.Hydes house in Soho is, to Uttersons surprise, well furnished.furnished with luxury and good essayThis conveys duality with how the house looks on the outside. With Soho being a dodgy area in Victorian England, and the street being described as dingy, th e reader first imagines a poor, poverty filled room, not a luxury, well furnished house.London is also shown in a dual nature.down a by street in a crabby quarter of London. The street was small and what is called quiet.This quote shows duality in how although a street is in a busy area of London, off a busy main street it is actually very quiet (it would be expected to be busy if its off a main street).Stevenson has even included duality in the weather.cool and a little damp, and full with premature fall,still bright with sunset.This quote conveys duality to the reader since Jekylls motor hotel is described at the beginning of the quote that it is cold and looks as though it is around the time frame of dusk. However, the later half of the quote explains, it is in fact still sunny (nearing sunset) and so in theory Jekylls courtyard should be quite light.A fog rolled over the city early part of the night was cloudless.This reveals duality because it shows how the night was cloudle ss, until the fog came in. the adjective rolled gives the impression that the fog came swiftly, rather than slowly.About nine in the morning number of degrees and hues of twilight dark like the back end of eveningThis quote conveys to the reader that whatever time of day it is in Soho, it still looks like its dark, like it is night. This quote shows the duality of the weather by giving the time of day and describing what it looked like. The fog described is more likely to be smog from the factories, since the novella is set in the Victorian times. However, it does cast an eerie effect on the image conjured in the readers mind, would have made them think something sinister was about to happen.There are many locked doors in Stevensons novella. This symbolises how secretive the story is, Utterson hypothetically being stopped solving the mystery of Jekyll and Hyde, by doors not able to be opened until another naval division of the mystery is found, and the actual looked doors that Jeky ll shuts himself up behind.The narrative structure also shows duality since in the first seven chapters the narrative is third person.resumed the lawyer.This shows the third person narrative structure of The Last Night. However, the last two chapters are written in first person, Dr Lanyons Narrative is written by Lanyon from his point of view and tells of what he knows about Jekyll and Hyde, and explains the cause of his death. The last chapter is also in first person, however this is from the perspective of Dr Jekyll himself, who explains everything that had happened.I rose from my placeThese show duality because the first seven chapters, although written in third person, are all about Utterson and what he does to try and unravel the mystery between Jekyll and Hyde. They also show Uttersons thoughts and feelings.The chapters are all ordered to follow what happens to Utterson and the titles are all to do with what happens within the chapter itself (and give a clue to what the chapte r is about). The last two are in the order they are because that way Lanyon doesnt repeat what the reader knows from reading Jekylls chapter, if they were the other way around.In this essay I have shown how Robert Louis Stevenson has presented the theme of duality in his novella Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I have achieved this by analysing the language of the text that describes the characters, weather, buildings and the narrative structure.