Through this crazy plot, readers learn that the only real monsters that exist are in people’s hearts. Even though Jekyll was living the life many aspire to live, he still desired to be bad and experience thrill. His heart sinks lower as he takes pleasure in the suffering of others, making him lose his humanity as he can no longer control when he transforms into Hyde. In Hyde’s case, although he was wearing a coat of humanity, even if it was ugly beyond description, he was twisting human nature and making Jekyll’s values lower and lower. But one cannot overlook Jekyll’s virtue because, in the end, he decided to kill himself for the better of society. In this sense, he did deserve the status he had while alive because even in the form of Hyde, he still had a conscience that prohibited him from committing more crimes.
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However, in plays and films, Jekyll always returns back to himself at his death scene. The change in the ending takes away the significance of the plot which leads to the resolution because the components of the plot were set up in a way that could only end with the death of Hyde. For the ending to show Jekyll dying, it is saying Jekyll cannot handle the situation, hence killing himself to end his misery. But that does not fit into the plot on the point that the story develops the thematic message that: duality exists in human nature. Jekyll said, “… man is not truly one, but truly two” (Stevenson, 101). For one to exist, one must die. And in the end, it is Hyde who dies. Despite the fact that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person, Jekyll’s name still lives on as the doctor who gives to charity and is respected by many more outside his field of work while Hyde dies a wanted criminal. The ending of the story draws a clear line between the two characters who share the same soul and distinguishes one as societal influence (Jekyll) and the other as human nature (Hyde). It is basically saying, that when we die, we are left with who we are originally. Jekyll is the role society made him to be while Hyde is what he was born with.
Overall, Stevenson’s story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has a complex plot with many complications that lead us to rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution that tells us good and evil are two sides of the same coin. Stevenson’s use of plot started the rave for crime stories with a mix of gothic influence, leading the way for modern horror stories where a person slowly turns into a monster after losing control of their current state.
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Explicatory Essay on Stevenson’s Story ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’.
(2023, November 27). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/explicatory-essay-on-stevensons-story-the-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde/
“Explicatory Essay on Stevenson’s Story ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’.” Edubirdie, 27 Nov. 2023, edubirdie.com/examples/explicatory-essay-on-stevensons-story-the-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde/
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Explicatory Essay on Stevenson’s Story ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ [Internet]. Edubirdie.
2023 Nov 27 [cited 2024 Apr 27].
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