The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde - 2147 Words

The Duality of Humanity Often in situations regarding conflict, a question of morals arises. Conflict is reduced to a battle of â€Å"good versus evil† in order to make a distinction between options and determine an outcome. However, good and evil are not entirely separate entities within humans; rather, actions fall on a scale between the two extremes making the morality of such actions difficult to judge. The ability to separate the opposing forces of good and evil within an individual is a topic discussed extensively by Scottish author and poet Robert Louis Stevenson in his fictional novel â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde†. Stevenson also discusses the effects that class, appearance, and public opinion can have on the morality†¦show more content†¦Jekyll is drawn to an experiment concerning human nature both by his own belief â€Å"that man is not truly one, but truly two† (104) and his desire to indulge once again in the wilder as pects of life without the judgement of society. Anxious to experience a pleasure not afforded to a man of his class and reputation, Jekyll sets about using science to prove his theory of an individual being both moral and immoral. Jekyll, through this experiment, allows himself to experience the pure evil he believes lies within each person without fear of facing consequences socially or monetarily for his actions. Despite the chaos and wickedness of his actions when left unchecked by a moral figure, Jekyll maintains his conscience to a degree that he is aware that he must be stopped. Jekyll is seen constantly conflicted by his decisions, at war with his decision to partake in his social experiment. Choosing to die rather than allow the destruction caused by said experiment to continue, Jekyll commits suicide as an act of heroism that conveniently also salvages his reputation(Singh and Chakrabarti). In order for Jekyll to stop Hyde’s unruly and destructive behavior, he must not only kill Hyde but himself as well in the process. Jekyll’s conscience maintains the idea that while good, and evil are equipotent, good conquers evil due to the ability of conscience to recognize times in which wrongdoing crosses an unspoken line and take necessary precautions