Actions or behavior of Mr. Hyde.
It is interesting that Robert Louis Stevenson uses images of hell and animals to describe Hyde. This would have made a strong impression on the Victorians. The first incident when we see Mr. Hyde is at the accident (when he knocked over a girl).
Robert Louis used the words ‘trampled’ to describe how Mr. Hyde acted as soon as he knocked over the girl. The word ‘trampled’ suggests that Mr. Hyde acted as though he wanted to hurt the girl. We as the audience suddenly realize Mr. Hydes violent nature. This violent nature takes us back to the picture of heaven and hell. We see that the people in hell are constantly ‘trampling’ and killing each other and this is compared with how Mr. Hyde reacted when he knocked over the girl. The Victorians could have thought that Mr. Hyde was pure evil and they could have likened him with the devil. We as the audience see Mr. Hyde as being hardly human and could have suggested.
Mr Hyde is also described as a Juggernaut by Robert. Louise Stevenson. We as the audience have a clear picture of why Mr. Hyde was described as one. It was because of how he trampled over the girl. Being described as a Juggernaut made the audience realize that that Mr. Hyde was pure evil. He trampled over the girl as though he actually wanted to hurt her.
The Victorians might have thought that being described as a Juggernaut meant that Mr. Hyde was a Hindu god of destruction. The Victorians could also have thought that Mr. Hyde was condemned to hell and it was all because of how he acted on the girl.
Under the Carew Murder, we see how Robert Louise Stevenson described Mr. Hyde. First he described Mr. Hyde as a mad man. He was described as one because he had cold bloodedly killed Sir Danver Carew. Being described as a mad man made us the audience, realise that Mr. Hyde had lost his mind. He had actually ‘clubbed’ the old man to death. This made us the audience go back to the picture of heaven and hell. In hell, we see that the creatures there are constantly killing each other by trampling and hitting each other. This picture is relates to how Mr. Hyde acted (both in the Carew murder and when he knocked over the girl.) This also makes us the audience realises Mr. Hydes violent nature.
Clubbing each other is also associated with animals, like the monkeys. In the Darwin controversy, we see that the animal side of ourselves is more aggressive than our human side. It also has a lot of power. Mr. Hyde had distinctively unleashed his animal side on the poor old man (Sir D.Carew ) and this lead to the death of the old man.
By releasing his animal side, the Victorians could have thought that this was the bad side of themselves, because they believed that a human had two sides of themselves, the good side and the bad side. The evil side of Mr. Hyde could have made the Victorians think that he wasn’t a heavenly figure but instead he belonged to hell. The Victorians were afraid of their bad side, that’s why they kept it hidden.
Dr. Jekyll had kept the animal side of himself for so long that, when it finally came out, he described it with the quote
‘My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring’. Before Henry Jekyll drank the potion which separated the two personalities of himself, he had long caged the bad side of himself. He didn’t want people to know that he had a bad side because he was normally associated with charities and other good things. His liked his bad side and he feared losing it. That’s when he decided to split his personalities so that he could enjoy doing the bad things that he used to do.
When he drank the potion, the bad side of himself, which was Mr. Hyde, came out. He was short and ugly and this was because he had been caged inside Henry Jekyll for a long time. R. L. S used the words caged and roaring. These two words are normally associated with animals. The word roaring meant that Mr. Hyde’s actions were uncontrollable and we see this in the Carew murder and when he trampled over a girl.
Being short and ugly could have made the Victorians think that God didn’t love Mr. Hyde that’s why he looked that way, but we as the audience know that Mr. Hyde looked this way because he had been caged inside Jekyll for a long time that when he came out, he was more dwarflike than his good side (Dr. Jekyll.)
Speech that Mr. hyde used.
As we read the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we see that Mr. Hyde seldom spoke. When he finally spoke, Robert Louis Stevenson described Mr. Hyde’s speech as hissing. We as the audience normally associate hissing with snakes and humans are afraid of snakes. The Victorians however associate snakes with evil. They would have thought that being described as a snake meant that Mr. Hyde was a devil and the Victorians described the devil as being the ultimate evil. The Victorians also learnt about snakes when they read about the Garden of Eden.
Robert Louis Stevenson also used the quote ‘Snarled aloud into a savage laugh’ when he was describing Mr. Hyde. Snarling again is also used to describe an animal especially a dog. We as the audience realise that R. L. S describing Mr. Hyde as being primitive or not the modern human and this was all because of how he expressed himself. R. L. S also used the word ‘savage’ and this meant that Mr. Hydes behavior was wild and untamed. Mr. Hyde also spoke with a husky whispering and somewhat broken voice. We as the audience immediately compare this behavior with a dogs, because dogs make husky sounds.
Later on in the story, Robert Louise Stevenson Described Mr. Hyde as crying out like a rat and again we see that he was being compared with an animal. As we read on, we see that Dr. Jekyll’s butler, described Mr. Hyde as wearing a mask and when he came into the room, he described Mr. Hyde as weeping like a woman. We as the audience realize that Mr. Hyde wasn’t acting like a man and weeping is a sign of weakness. However, the Victorians could have viewed women as the weaker species when comparing them to a man and the Victorians also viewed women as the second grade people. Men, in the Victorian times, were highly respected and they had a lot more power than females. The Victorians also viewed weeping as a sign of weakness.
When Poole was talking about how Mr. Hyde had reacted when he came into the room, he described Mr. Hyde as a lost soul. He had seen this because, most of the time, Dr. Jekyll seemed to keep himself locked in his room and shutting himself from the rest of the world. He seemed lonely and depressed most of the time. This loneliness immediately draws our attention to the picture of heaven and hell. We see that the people in hell are constantly pleading with their hands in the air, begging for mercy. They might have been thinking that if they pleaded hard enough, God will bring them to heaven. God however is just looking and he isn’t giving them any response to their pleadings. So the people in hell feel lost because they think that they don’t deserve to be in hell.
The Victorians however, could have thought that being described as a lost soul meant that you were condemned to hell like in the picture of heaven and hell. Even if the people in hell pleaded everday, they still deserve to be in hell forever.
Body language
Now, as we move on to the kind of body language that Mr. Hyde used, we see that Robert Louis Stevenson described Mr. Hyde as acting with a kind of black sneering coolness. He behaved in this way when he trampled over the little girl. When he was described like this, Robert Louis Stevenson wanted to show us, the audience, that Mr. Hyde wasn’t ashamed of himself. The behavior that Mr. Hyde used on this occasion takes us back to the picture of heaven and hell. In hell, we see that the people aren’t ashamed of what they are doing for example, they know that it’s a sin to kill but the are constantly killing each other in the presence of god. That is why God has condemned them to hell, even if they pleaded; they still deserved to stay in hell. Robert Louis
Stevenson also described Mr. Hyde as carrying the whole matter of like Satan and again, we see that Mr. Hyde was being given an image of being evil and evil people belonged to hell. The Victorians however, could have thought that being described as Satan meant that Mr. Hyde was the ultimate evil and he truly belonged in hell. The way he trampled over the girl truly shows the evil that Mr. Hyde was capable of. So indeed, he was the ultimate evil.
Robert Louis Stevenson describes how Mr. Hyde reacted when Mr. Utterson touched him on the shoulder. He described Mr. Hyde as shrinking back with a hissing intake of breath. This shrinking back and hissing is normally associated with snakes and we as humans are afraid of snakes. So the behavior that Mr. Hyde used at that moment scared Mr. Utterson.
Later on, we see how Mr. Hyde behaved when he was greeted by an old man; Robert Luois Stevenson described Mr. Hyde as stamping on the ground like a mad man. We as the readers can clearly say that Mr. Hyde had lost his mind but the Victorians could have said that this was the evil side of themselves. They believed that the human had two sides to themselves, the good side and the bad side. The Victorians were very afraid of their bad side, so they often disguised it so that they seemed perfect among others.
Later on in the story, we see that Poole described Mr. Hyde as a masked thing that leap up like a monkey. Again we see that Mr. Hydes body language is compared with an animals, the monkey.
HOW Mr. Hyde AFFECTS OTHERS
All the people who had met or seen Mr. Hyde had a negative attitude toward his behavior. First we look at the example of the Carew Murder. We as the audience read of how he cold bloodedly killed an old man. Immediately we feel sorry for the old man but hatred towards Mr. Hyde. We also have the idea that Mr. Hyde is not human. Animals are the only things that could have done such a thing because they don’t feel any compassion toward anything. This Murder also takes us back to what the Victorians could have thought. If they had seen Mr. Hyde killing that old man, they could have been terrified and could even call him the devil. Being called the devil could have meant that Mr. Hyde was the ultimate evil.
Again, this killing could have related to the Darwin Controversy. We see that in the Darwin theory, it states that the animal side of ourselves was far more aggressive than the human side. Mr. Hyde had distinctively unleashed his animal side, which was his aggressive side, on the poor old man. This, however, terrified the maid at the window, who was witnessing the whole murder. So even if the maid didn’t know what Mr. HYDE was like, this murder could have clearly sent a picture of how evil he really was to any-one.
After the accidents at the cross roads, we see that Mr. Uttterson was becoming more and more involved with Mr. Hyde. We see that when Mr. Hyde came out with a strange cheque from a flat that hadn’t been used in ages, Mr. Utterson became suspicious of Mr. Hyde. He also wanted to know why his old friend Dr. Jekyll had been locking himself in the room.
Mr. Hyde had greatly affected Mr. Utterson. Mr. Uttersons Sunday behavior had changed ever since Mr. Hyde appeared. For example, on a Sunday, he usually sat down at dinner without relish and when the meal was over, he would sit down close to the fire and when the clock struck twelve, he would go to bed. But on this Sunday night instead of doing what he usually did, Mr. Utterson took up a candle and went into his business room. He then took out Dr. Jekyll’s will and read it. He was greatly disturbed by the will because it stated that all his possessions where to the hands of his friend Mr. Hyde. Mr. Utterson was a good friend of Dr. Jekyll and he didn’t want to see all his possessions going to some-one he didn’t know.
The other reason why Mr. Utterson was becoming more and more involved was that, ever since Hyde appeared, Mr. Uttersons friend, Dr. Jekyll became very ill. So the appearance of Mr. Hyde made Mr. UTTERSON want to know who he really was, and why was his friend locking himself up in his room. He was worried because the will stated that if Dr. Jekyll was to disappear for more than three months; his properties will go to Mr. Hyde. He knew that if Mr. Hyde knew about this will, he could become impatient and kill Dr. Jekyll. So Mr. Utterson feared for his friends’ life. Already we see how Mr. Hyde had affected Mr. Utterson.
The appearance of Mr. Hyde also affected Dr. Lanyon.
Dr. Lanyon was an old friend of Dr. Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll had written some instructions for Dr. Lanyon to carry out. They stated that he should go to his house and open the door of his cabinet and draw out all the contents that were there as they stood. He would then carry them back to Cavendish Square. At mid- night a man would come in the name of Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon was to go with him in the consulting room alone. There, the short man dressed in fashionable clothes that were too big for him. Dr. Lanyon was unsure of who he was. This man then asked for the things that Dr. Lanyon had collected from his house. At this moment, Dr Lanyon was afraid of this man and he even had his weapon ready. Once this man was given the mixtures, he mixed them and then drank them.
The man cried and his face became black. His features seemed to melt and alter and all this was in Dr. Lanyons eyes. He was shocked to see the man transforming into his old friend Dr. Jekyll. This left him sickened and he knew that he would never recover from the shock. He knew that his days were numbered and it was all because of Mr. Hyde. He described Mr. Hyde as the creature that had crept into his house, was the murderer of Sir Danver Carew and was hunted for in every corner of the land. Knowing the truth about his old friend Dr. Jekyll was the cause of Dr. Lanyons death. So already we see how Mr. Hyde affected Dr. Lanyon. ( he caused his death)
The appearance of Mr. Hyde
Robert Louise Stevenson used Christian ideas, the theory of evolution and his own images to describe Hydes appearance. The first picture that the reader gets from Mr. Utterson , who says that Mr. Hyde was pale, dwarfish and gave the impression of deformity, made us think of the genetic defect which would have been part of evolution going wrong. But however, the Victorians could have thought that the man could have sinned or done something wrong and this would have suggested something evil about him.
The evil appearance of Mr. Hyde could have taken us the audience, back to the picture of heaven and hell. We see some characteristics of Mr. Hyde’s appearance when we look at hell. We see that the people are short and dwarfy and they are also deformed. ( Mr. hyde was also described as this.) So that’s why the Victorians believed that being deformed meant that you had sinned. It was because sin was associated with hell and the people in hell were deformed.
When Robert Louise Stevenson wrote about the accident at the cross roads, he described Mr. Hyde as a Juggernaut. We as the audience know that a juggernaut is a Hindu god of destruction which destroys everything in its path. It’s also unstoppable. The Victorians however could have thought that being described as a juggernaut meant the Mr. Hyde was not a Christian and instead he belonged to hell.
Mr. Utterson also described Mr. Hyde as sub human. This meant that didn’t look human at all. It was all because of his skin and his stature. He also showed characteristics of an animal because he often snarled and hissed a lot. These characteristics relate to the picture of heaven and hell. The people in hell seem to be sub human because they have both human and animal parts. I am not saying that Mr. Hyde had animal parts but he behaved like an animal in a human body. The Victorians could also have suggested that Mr. Hyde belonged to hell.
As we read on the story, we see that Stevenson described Mr. Hyde as having Satan’s signature written on his face. This could have suggested that Mr. Hyde wasn’t a person to trust, especially in terms of appearance.
Mr. Hyde was also described by Poole as a masked monkey. Again, Mr. Hyde is compared with an animal but this time it’s a monkey. This takes us back to the Darwin controversy. It states that humans have two sides to themselves, the animal side and the human side. The animal side is more aggrieve than the human side. Animals especially monkeys are also cheeky. So when Mr. Hyde jumped in Poole presents, he seemed to look like a monkey. So that is how we came to compare him with an animal.
Under the evolution theory, we also see an ape and a Victorian. The Victorian seems to be afraid of the ape because it seems to be a lot stronger than him. The ape however seems to be well dressed and this shows that humans are able to disguise their animal side. The Victorians were