Mr Hyde Duality

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In the “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, the story presents us with an uncommon and complex development of two characters. Mr. Hyde embodies a distinctive personality relative to Dr. Jekyll as his concept of morality has been disengaged, killing with no remorse and sporting a physique of a repulsive creature. Despite Mr. Hyde’s immoral exploits, Dr. Jekyll still protects him by locking him up and failing to reveal to him to his closest friends. Stevenson’s decision to embody two distinct personalities in a singular character is to uncover the duality of human nature and society itself. In other words, this is the reason why Dr. Jekyll protects Mr. Hyde the way the he does is because society is constructed to appreciate both sides of…show more content…
As much as Dr. Jekyll is an ideal model of society, he does experience the duality not only in himself, but also in his surroundings. In his description of Mr. Hyde, Enfield begins by stating, “He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable.” (Stevenson 1680). Though Enfield struggles to describe the undeniably ugly nature of Mr. Hyde, it is clear that he shows hate towards him, indicating that it is not Hyde alone that spreads negativity, but there is a shred of this tendency in each person in society. This is embodied in Stevenson’s description of Utterson’s character as he indicates, “Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment.” (Stevenson 1677). We can also say that Jekyll protects Mr. Hyde because he is part of the society’s duality. There is always going to be bad in society but you need the bad to weigh out the good. You need both in society to function and that’s the way it is, which is why he continues to protect…show more content…
There is a court, lawyers and police officers. The presence of a criminal justice system indicates that the community appreciates the existence of elements that cross moral lines, such as Mr. Hyde. Again, going back to the idea that society needs both good and bad to function. There is also consistent use of extreme methods to achieve goals in the novel with feelings such as, “We told the man we could and we would make such a scandal out of this.” (Stevenson 1679). This ensures that Dr. Jekyll does not push himself to report Mr. Hyde, as he personally believes in the existence of such duality (good and evil). And the story states: “Between these two, I now felt I had to choose. My two natures had memory in common, but all other faculties were most unequally shared in the pleasures and adventures of Hyde,” (Stevenson 1714). Stevenson is clearly stating the coexistence of the two aspects of life, that he believes that while they may lie in separate realms, they are meant to be living amongst one another. Therefore, it is arguable that there is some kind of role for Mr. Hyde in society, hence Dr. Jekyll’s reluctance to give him up. Dr. Jekyll not only believes in such duality, but also wants to hide the evil side of him. In other words, Dr. Jekyll becomes obsessed with the good side and wanting to rid out of all his evil, it turns into all good vs. all evil and you cannot
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