Jekyll and Hyde Response #4

Author's note: We finally finished the novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in class.  The last chapter was a statement from Henry Jekyll that finally showcased the truth to the reader of the letter.  In the letter, Jekyll implied that he sold his soul to Hyde and that there was no way out.  This is a literary analysis on how Hyde truly and completely enslaved Jekyll.

Everyday, something is thrown into our lives for us to struggle through and deal with and everyone deals with these things differently.  Some handle it maturely and happily while others handle it using destruction and ultimate fury.  In the novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, the main character, Henry Jekyll, deals with his obstacles using the latter.  Yet instead of handling it himself, he instead sells his soul to a deeper evil that lurks inside of him, showing that people are unpredictable and something, whether good or bad, enslaves us all.

As well as being enslaved, another statement also arises - although it is possible to be purely bad, it is not possible to be purely good.  Jekyll realized that "polar twins [inside of us are] continuously struggling" (105) because they enslave each other and make us realize that we all have an evil side.  While light can occasionally overcome the darkness within us, we have to make the choice to let it; and sometimes we are not strong enough to allow ourselves to contain that darkness because we have an unknown desire to unleash it.  "Whatever he had done, Edward Hyde would pass away like the stain of breath upon a mirror; and there in his stead, quietly at home... would be Henry Jekyll" (110).  Jekyll truly believes that anything that Hyde does does not carry over into Jekyll's world, which makes it okay in his mind to continue letting Hyde take over.  Yet at some point, Jekyll signs his soul over to Hyde, just as some people sign their souls to the devil - a deal that cannot be reversed.  After this deed, Hyde is able to take over without Jekyll knowing and do whatever he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it.  Hyde completely enslaves Jekyll by the end of the book; fills nearly every inch of him so that there is no good to spare.  What are we supposed to do when the evil overcomes the good so completely that we completely lose our original selves?  Only we can make the choice between bringing the good back into the light and shoving the darkness away or allowing the darkness to engulf us in our entirety.

Jekyll and Hyde Response #3

Author's note: Throughout the whole novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, symbolism has been used to show the contrast between the evil of Jekyll and the goodness of Hyde.  I wanted to utilize that information and attempt to write a poemish response about it.  I'm hoping this turns out well!(:

Midnight; the hour comes and goes, night after night
Evil lurks in the depths of this hour
There is no light to bounce into the corners
No quaint lamps lining the street could make the hour comforting.

The day brings good; no evil walks the streets in the shape of man
Only a man with pure and good intentions appears
But when the night rolls around, everything changes
Hostility, fear, and restlessness arise.

In rare cases, the light may break through the darkness
Shoving its way through because it knows its effects
It knows that everyone is scared of the dark; that it is ridding the world of its fear
Proving that light is the true hero.

Light contrives a sense of security and warmth
Sedulously protecting the world from either imaginary or real monsters
Wrapping its arms around humans whenever it can
The sweet embrace that you can always count on to be there.

But what happens when this loving embrace becomes paralyzed
When darkness becomes powerful enough to fully overcome the light
When suddenly light is weak, small, and hopeless
When we can no longer have this protection?

Evil overcomes the good
Hate destroys and conquers the love
People change as the light changes
With dark comes out the devil and with light comes out the angel.

In the end, the devil ends up overcoming the angel
The angel, weakened, gives up all hope of ever being fully good again
The devil reins, inflicts fear, and grows enough to be in almighty power
Finally, surrounded by hate, betrayal, and distrust, the angel dies, never to be forgotten or found again.

Jekyll and Hyde Response #2

Author's note: Halloa readers! We recently read chapters 5-7 of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in my english class.  The three chapters mentioned how different people in the story acted without Hyde's presence haunting them.  Here is a response that describes my take on Hyde's effect.

Certain people have different effects on us; some make us slap happy when we talk to them and others annoy us to a breaking point.  In the novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, the odious man in town, Mr. Hyde, automatically gives off a menacing vibe to anyone who talks to him.  He wreaks havoc in the city of London, killing people and trampling girls, and then flees to an unknown location.  No matter where Hyde is, his presence - or lack of presence - affects everyone else's personality and health, showing that in this story, he is the true force to be reckoned with.

Dr. Jekyll, loved in London by many, is affected the most by Mr. Hyde's appearances and disappearances.  While he says "[he is] quite done with [Hyde]" (52), he proves constantly that the very idea of Hyde enslaves him.  When Hyde disappears, "a new life [begins] for Dr. Jekyll.  He [comes] out of his seclusion, [renews] relations with his friends, [becomes] once more their familiar guest and entertainer" (56).  He revisits his past life; a life where he was truly happy, a life where he had no cares, a life where no evil presided.  That life is ideal for Jekyll, especially since Hyde taking over the nights had made him so mentally ill that he withdrew from his friends.  Yet soon after his period of happiness, "the doctor... had grown very silent, he did not read; it seemed as if he had something on his mind" (59).  The sudden change in Jekyll's attitude only signifies one thing - Hyde is back and once again enslaving Jekyll to him.  While Hyde is away, Jekyll is better than ever before, but when he comes back, Jekyll falls back into a dark place - one that he cannot escape as long as Hyde is around.  Exuding terror, Hyde makes life a living hell for Jekyll, but only Jekyll has the power to change it.  Whatever Jekyll chooses to do affects his own health and wellness.  The choice is his - a happy life or one of insanity.

Jekyll and Hyde Response #1

Author's Note: Currently, our class is reading the novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  This novella explores  the ideas of duality of man and the difference between good and evil.  The diction is heavily saturated and the symbolism is very prominent.  Here is my response on the first three chapters of the novel. 

     Evil can be seen differently through the eyes of everyone – to some people evil may be an abusive parent and to others it may just be the complete darkness when they are alone in a dark room.  It frightens us, sends shivers down our spines, and can envelop us if we let it.  A prominent form of evil known by everyone is Satan; the very creature that leads humans, if they allow, away from the love of God and into the arms of Hell.  In the novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll’s creepy doppelganger, Mr. Hyde, is the very depiction of Satan.  A creature that dwells in the night, Hyde inflicts fear upon anyone around him, revealing that the evil of his presence is undeniable and inescapable. 

     The “desire to kill him” (40) is inevitable; who wants to let the devil live and thrive near their home?  Yet after he tramples a young girl in the streets at three A.M., the crowd that gathers allows Hyde to walk away without punishment.  A man, walking the streets of London; a threat, with the nerve to walk away from its own destruction; a beast, a “man [who] seems hardly human” (52) who is ugly for some unknown reason.  Every character thus far in the novella notices that Hyde has devil-like qualities; “he [speaks] with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice” (52) and has a “displeasing smile” (52).  The air about him contains tension and fright, which holds his power; the same power of Satan to draw people into his beliefs rather than their own.  Hyde could easily utilize fear to nurture the insecure into his own grasp, just as the serpent seduced Eve into eating the forbidden fruit.  He will continue to wreak havoc in London as long as no one stops him; and though Jekyll states that “the moment [he] choose[s], [he] can be rid of Mr. Hyde” (58), it is his choice between letting evil run the streets or bottling it up and never again letting it out.