Character Analysis of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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Summary

In Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the character of Dr. Jekyll, also known as Mr. Hyde, is depicted as a complex individual. Dr. Jekyll is a man who is passionate about distinguishing between good and evil, which leads him to create his alter ego, Mr. Hyde. Despite initially enjoying being Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll eventually loses control of his creation, leading to his downfall. Dr. Jekyll is also a very prideful man, which ultimately leads to his demise. Mr. Hyde, in contrast, is a disgraceful and evil individual who is described as hideous and generally abhorrent. Mr. Utterson, a loyal and trustworthy character, is portrayed as the polar opposite of Mr. Hyde. Stevenson masterfully portrays the personalities and traits of his characters through their actions, not their words.

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Stevenson portrays Dry. Jelly as a good man with a passion to delineate the line between good and evil, this is the main reason for the potion and becoming Mr.. Hyde. Throughout the story, It Is clear that he actually enjoys being Mr.. Hyde. However, he eventually loses control of his own creation and is no longer able to control It. Jelly Is also a very prideful man and eventually that becomes a trait that will cost him his life. Atone point he sit on a bench comparing his, “Active goodwill with the lazy cruelty of other men. “.

Thoughts like this eventually turn him into Hyde without having to drink his potion. Therefore rendering him incapable of separating his inner good from his Inner evil. The reader should hold Mr.. Hyde in stark contrast to Dry. Jelly for the simple reason that they are Just that, two sides to the same coin. While Dry. Jelly is esteemed and prideful, Hyde is disgraceful and has no shame at all. The reader can see a description of Hyde In the first five pages: “The man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground “.

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After doing this he is immediately attained by a small mob and Is then forced to pay them the agreed sum of 100 pounds for his release. He is flawed in his physical appearance almost as much as in his psyche and actions. Hyde, “pale and dwarfish, giving an impression of deformity, and topped with a displeasing smile. ” He is also described ranked with the whole of mankind as purely evil. As the story develops, Hade’s evil becomes more and more apparent , for example, he brutally beats an old defenseless man to death in cold blood and is singularly described as hideous and generally Alfred.

Contrasted again from Hyde is the “dreary yet lovable” Mr.. Uttermost, He Is loyal to everyone he knows, as he takes daily walks with his relative, Enfield. He is also a very determined man, once finding out about the fiendish Hyde, he resolves that he will find him. As Uttermost says in the book, “If he be Mr.. Hyde, ‘he had thought, then I shall be Mr.. Seek”. Prior to their menus, Uttermost had stayed up late many nights before finally meeting the mysterious Hyde. His greatest trait however, Is his trustworthiness. After his good friend Dry.

Lyon dies, Uttermost receives a letter from Lyon that contains another letter on whose envelope Is written, “Not to be opened until the death or disappearance of Dry. Henry Jelly”. He resists the urge t Off home safe until the eventual death of Dry. Jelly. Stevenson eloquently portrays the personalities and traits of all his characters in Dry. Jelly and Mr.. Hyde. He does this through gradual character development and by exemplifying each of their traits. Dry. Jelly, Mr.. Hyde, and Mr.. Uttermost through their actions and not through their words.

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