Essays

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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The prompt was to connect the theme of the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to the violence showcased throughout it.

Decisions

People can be consumed by negativity throughout society. These emotions within us can build through time and finally erupt, expressing themselves as a violent act. It's just a matter of time before the good inside of us is blocked out by our inner darkness. If evil is left untamed it can escalate to the point of no return; to the point where the only thing that we feel we can do, is to destroy the darkness.

Through life, our actions can change quickly and sometimes unexpectedly, and become worse. Robert Louis Stevenson's novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde follows a lawyer named Mr. Utterson and his struggle to bring to light the connection between his friend Dr. Jekyll and the eerie Mr. Hyde. Going back and forth between Jekyll and Hyde, and others throughout London, he uncovers the unbelievable truth behind Jekyll and Hyde's relationship; they are the same person. This novella shows what happens when we are overcome by evil.

Aspects of our lives can change when we let our malevolent sides have control. Mr. Utterson initially sees the name 'Hyde' in Dr. Jekyll's will, however, Utterson's first encounters Hyde's actions through a story that recounts Hyde's encounter with a young child. Utterson is told, "and then came the horrible part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the child's body."(3) This not only shows Hyde, evil, disregarding a child, but humanity itself. Villainous parts in us can manifest by us hurting others, although there is one more step he can take.

When cynical emotions materialize they can be acted out in multiple ways and they get more and more awful every step to go, but the most sinful act is a murder; Hyde takes this last step. Months after the first incident, he strikes again. This time, he assaults a well-known man with a cane "in a great flame of anger"(17). Hyde inevitably beats the man to death. Hyde escalates to the point of taking a life; he mutilates and destroys a part of humanity, which sadly you might expect from as Jekyll describes Hyde as "in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil."(53) However, once we let the blackness in, it's difficult to eliminate.

Most of the time the darkest parts of us presents itself in small acts, but once it starts to grow it changes us into our worst self. Dr. Jekyll went from a charitable man into the murderous Mr. Hyde, and to stop further bloodshed, Jekyll completes his first violent act as himself; he takes his own life to not only stop Hyde, "to cut him off by suicide,"(64) but to free himself from the torment from his other half, "I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end."(65) Jekyll ended further violent acts that would potentially come from Hyde with suicide as his last resort. The monstrous evil inside can grow and impact the world around us, and we can end it with other forms of violence, yes, but there is another way.

Negativity and the darkness that dwells within us can become overwhelming. Once we lose control it can spread like a disease and we lash out at things, and people, around us. Dr. Jekyll played with his dark side, Hyde, and he lost control. Hyde ended up hurting and killing people. To 'fix' what he had done Jekyll kills himself stopping both his heart and Hyde's, destroying his evil half. Jekyll ended violence with violence which is sadly what we do today. We begin with small fights about minimalistic ideals and our differences which can start an all-out war. When we let the darkness inside us steer, what we then cause we can't take back. How we affect the world depends on what side we choose to be, good or bad. We have both, but which one do we want others to remember us by, for killing and harming each other; or by helping humanity stay alive. Sometimes we don't have a choice to be good or bad, but in our society today, violence, anger, and fear trumps all.

3-15-16