Friday, February 13, 2015

What does Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde imply about the duality of Human Nature

In my opinion, Stevenson's story is telling us that the
average human being has two sides -- one side that is good and one that is evil.  The
story is telling us that these sides coexist within each human being.  Finally, I think
that the story is telling us that the evil side is the stronger and is likely to defeat
the good side over time.


In the story, Jekyll can easily
become Hyde, but he has a harder and harder time changing back into Jekyll, for
example.  This shows the power of the evil side.  He is also unable to resist turning
himself into Hyde -- once again, the evil is stronger than the good.  In a way, the evil
is even more attractive to the person -- Hyde feels younger and more free than
Jekyll.


Overall, then, I feel that Stevenson is arguing
that human beings are part good and part evil but that it is easy for the evil to
win.

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