Author’s Note – Seeing as how the entire last chapter of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was about duality, I thought it would be a good topic to write about. I believed that the whole essence of duality according to Stevenson was that we all have a primal, bestial side that due to our roots as animals. However, society does not accept that, and in order to conform to society we must behave and act well. Jekyll’s struggle is not that he is afraid of Hyde, he is afraid of people finding out that he is Hyde.
I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two. This one sentence sums up the entirety of Stevenson’s message from this novel, that hidden beneath the barriers, lies and deceit in every human being there is an inner struggle being fought; good vs evil, right vs wrong, light vs dark. On the surface, Dr. Jekyll seems to be the epitome of a successful man, a large home, servants, and a close group of friends; a life anybody would desire. And yet, despite living a seemingly perfect life, Jekyll was going through the same struggles that we all go through, trying to make the right decisions in his life and be the model human being. However, the weight of the struggle that had been raging inside of him became too much to bear, and he cracked. The side of Jekyll that nobody had ever seen, the terrible maniacal side that he had spent years hiding came pouring out, unleashing its evil on the world.
Once Hyde had been released, Jekyll slowly began to lose his grip on his own identity, until he was unable to even control when he was himself, leading to his death. The temptation and power of this animalistic side combated the purity and social acceptance of the good side, feeding the flames of an everlasting struggle that burns not only in Jekyll, but all of us. It was the curse of mankind that in the agonized womb of consciousness, these polar twins should be continuously struggling.
I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two. This one sentence sums up the entirety of Stevenson’s message from this novel, that hidden beneath the barriers, lies and deceit in every human being there is an inner struggle being fought; good vs evil, right vs wrong, light vs dark. On the surface, Dr. Jekyll seems to be the epitome of a successful man, a large home, servants, and a close group of friends; a life anybody would desire. And yet, despite living a seemingly perfect life, Jekyll was going through the same struggles that we all go through, trying to make the right decisions in his life and be the model human being. However, the weight of the struggle that had been raging inside of him became too much to bear, and he cracked. The side of Jekyll that nobody had ever seen, the terrible maniacal side that he had spent years hiding came pouring out, unleashing its evil on the world.
Once Hyde had been released, Jekyll slowly began to lose his grip on his own identity, until he was unable to even control when he was himself, leading to his death. The temptation and power of this animalistic side combated the purity and social acceptance of the good side, feeding the flames of an everlasting struggle that burns not only in Jekyll, but all of us. It was the curse of mankind that in the agonized womb of consciousness, these polar twins should be continuously struggling.
Greg, I liked how you started and ended with two very powerful quotes, I felt like they pulled your whole piece together. I think you explained the duality of evil and good in the human mind very well, and I especially liked how you connected that back to all of us. I think it would've been interesting if you added an example or evidence of our primal selves showing through, like the story of Adam and Eve, or something along those lines, but it was great as it was.
ReplyDeleteGreg, I thought that that was a great piece and I completely agree with you. It makes obvious sense about all men having to sides, and you do a great job explaining how Stevenson is trying to show that. Great job.
ReplyDeleteThis is Great Greg. The idction throughout this piece that you demonstrated was amazing. You also had very stron quotes and conections. Nice job!
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