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Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Research Paper

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The Effects Of One's Desires Throughout one's life, the struggle to battle one's internal desires is constant. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, a prestigious doctor and scientist named Henry Jekyll deals with this himself after he attempts to explore his desire to unleash an evil side of his personality. Jekyll tries to experiment to separate his suppressed evil personality from his everyday good one so he can partake in immoral activities without consequence, and for a moment, it works. However, as time goes on, Jekyll starts to lose control of his wicked side of himself, and it ultimately ends up consuming him entirely. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson highlights that the deadliest …show more content…

Jekyll's abrupt change in personality emphasizes the battle between the conflicting sides within him. While happily conversing with his friends and visitors, Utterson and Enfield, Dr. Jekyll's face was described as having quickly shifted from bearing a smile to having “an expression of such abject terror and despair” that “froze the very blood” of his guests. This description highlights the evil that resides within him that is slowly winning the fight to be fully seen and unleashed. Jekyll's constant fight to keep his two opposing personalities at bay shows the human struggle to not give in to one's impulses. Throughout the story, the idea of overcoming one's urges is further exemplified through Dr. Jekyll's thoughts and feelings as he begins to succumb to his alter ego and loses his morality. Jekyll's feelings are first acknowledged when he starts to grasp and acknowledge that he is losing himself. After transforming into Hyde, Jekyll reflects on his life and realizes that after “nine-tenths a life of effort, virtue, and control,” he unleashed an evil side of himself that “had been much less exercised and much less …show more content…

Jekyll's quick acceptance of his alter ego supports the idea that one can easily be overcome by their impulses. The idea of one being overwhelmed by their urges was also demonstrated through Jekyll's description of the unleashing of Hyde. When describing his experience during his transformation, Jekyll says that his "virtue slumbered” and that his evil, “kept awake by ambition, was alert and swift to seize the occasion". His effortless switch from being moral to an immoral person shows the duality of man and how the enticement of one's internal desires can affect their behavior. Seeing Jekyll's willingness to embrace and acknowledge his darker side further emphasizes the idea that people's suppressed urges can inevitably resurface during moments of weakness. In closing, the internal battle between one's morality and hidden unethical behavior and desires is a constant battle that all people struggle with. Stevenson further proves this throughout the novel by showcasing the mental and physical toll taken on Jekyll due to his challenges involving temptations and struggle with his overall sense of

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