Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” represents more than just a story about a science experiment gone wrong. Instead, the story conveys many parts of the human psyche, particularly the inherent duality of all human beings. This essay will delve into a symbol that evolved throughout the book: the potion, the profound effects it had on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and how it represented the theme of duality. The potion created by Doctor Jekyll allowed him to transform into Edward Hyde. At the beginning of the experimentation process, Jekyll states in his confession that he was hesitant about testing his experiment because he knew that he risked death. He shares, however, that the “temptation of a discovery so singular …show more content…
Both are capable of bringing immense happiness but, even more so, immense regret and ruin to one's life. This is because addictions cause people to have less control over their thoughts, leading them to become accustomed to thinking and acting impulsively based on primitive urges. Ultimately, most addicts state how they wish they never started because now they can’t stop. Furthermore, the more potent the drug, even after taking month-to-year-long hiatuses like Jekyll did, the harder it is for addicts to resist the urge to relapse. Dr. Jekyll becomes like a heroin addict, unable to resist his urges, ruining his life, and eventually losing it. The ethical implications of Jekyll's experiment are explored throughout the story. By creating a potion that transforms himself into a monster, Jekyll was able to go out at night, act impulsively and evilly, and release his anger without remorse. Unlike Jekyll, who possessed both good and evil, Hyde was purely evil. As a doctor who decides to create a potion to unleash a purely evil monster that wreaks havoc on society by murdering civilians, readers must question Jekyll’s