In contrast the setting of ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ is set in Victorian London. Stevenson uses clear descriptions of misty nights and a ‘night under the face of the fogged city moon’, which give an impression of evil and mystery to the story long before it has truly begun.
Many people in Victorian times believed in the theory of physiognomy, however, Golding also makes some symbolic use of appearances. In ‘Lord of the Flies’ Jack and Ralph first met when the conch is blown. Jack leading the choir is described as ‘tall, thin and bony: his hair was red’ ‘His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness’ this gives the idea that Jack looks evil. His red hair and black overalls can be associated with the colour of the devil and the colour of death / destructions.
The use of physiognomy in ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ is very obvious, especially in the descriptions of Hyde. Many different characters give across description of Hyde as ‘ a little man who was stumping along’ and to further demonstrate Hyde as an evil character, he is often described using reference to animals, as in the line ‘Hyde shrank back with a hissing intake of breath’.
As both books are based around a central theme, similarly they both consist of lots of symbolism, both religious and otherwise.
As said before, in ‘Lord of the Flies’, the island could be said to symbolise the Garden of Eden. In addition to the setting, the characters in this book could also be related to biblical characters. As Jack becomes friends with Ralph and both boys take control of the remaining boys, the reader’s attitude towards Jack changes and he is seen as a good person. Jack and Ralph started by working together as a joint force until their paths separated, leaving Jack to become more savage and barbaric in his role of chief hunter. This idea could be said to have biblical references as Christians believe the devil (Lucifer), was one of Gods angels before he broke away, and began to rule over his own group of people.
The character of Simon could be linked with the life story of Jesus Christ. Both characters are described as trying to deliver the truth and were both killed because of this. In Simons case this is shown in the lines ‘ Simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill’ ‘ There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws’.
The Lord of the Flies symbolises the Devil and pure evil. It promotes evil among the boy and uses the voices of many characters in the lines ‘poor misguided child’, ‘they think you’re batty’ and ‘we shall do you’ to push the idea of evil further.
To support the Christian iconography throughout the book, Golding used biblical references and symbolism. In ‘Lord of the Flies’ the lines ‘their voices had been the song of angels’ and ‘demonic figures’ all contain biblical style words therefore emphasising the links between the setting and characters in the book and their counterparts in the bible.
Separate from Christian iconography, Golding uses allegory connected to the Second World War throughout the book. Due to the time the book was written (soon after the World War 2) all people were exploring issues about good and evil. Many people had lost confidence in the idea of a clear line between good and evil, and the characters in ‘Lord of the Flies’ symbolise this feeling.
Jack could be said to portray Hitler, Ralph is Winston Churchill and the choir are followers of Hitler i.e. The Nazi’s. Using these links it makes the reader realise that however brutal and uncivilised the boys seem, their actions can also be related to modern times.
Still further symbolism is used in ‘Lord of the Flies’ where certain elements are repeated throughout the story. It is therefore obvious that this element is used to symbolise an important idea.
The signal fire on the mountain is a very major aspect in ‘Lord of the Flies’. The fire symbolises rescue and the desire to be saved. When the fire runs low, (such as when Jack allowed the fire to go out), the desire for rescue is reduced.
In Christian Iconography the island symbolises the Garden of Eden, but it may also symbolise isolation and the two sides of mankind. The side of the island, which is ruled over by Jack, symbolises the evil tendency, which is inside all people, and the side of the island ruled over by Ralph represents the good nature of mankind.
The parachutist is another major element in the novel. At the end of chapter 5 Ralph calls out for ‘a sign or something’. His request is answered by the arrival of a deceased parachutist on to the island. The parachutist is the adult that the boys have been waiting for, but as he is dead he cannot even help them. This symbolises the idea that adults cannot always help.
The arrival of the parachutist is also ironic, as it soon believed to be the beast; therefore the arrival of an adult brings increased fear to the island. This links to the idea of the war where while law and order in the adult world decreases, childish chaos grows.
In contrast, ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ does not use much biblical reference, although very much like Adam & Eve who ate the forbidden fruit to gain knowledge, Lanyon’s desire for knowledge used his hardship resulting in his death, ‘that I must die and yet I shall die incredulous’.
Stevenson also did not introduce much allegory although the themes portrayed in the novel can be related to modern times. The obvious parallel to issues nowadays is the use of drugs. Stevenson uses the drugs to all Dr Jekyll to change into Mr Hyde, and his dependency on Hyde may be compared to a drug addiction. The line ‘I could stop whenever I want’ is used in Jekyll's defence but in reality (like many addicts) they are not in control.
The elements of symbolism in ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ also seem to be much smaller than in ‘Lord of the Flies’. The home and laboratory of Dr Jekyll are on opposite sides of the spectrum. His home is seen as respectable and upright. This is shown in the lines ‘the hall, when they entered it, was brightly lighted up; the fire was built high’’. His laboratory in comparison is described to be rundown and filthy. Both Dr Jekyll's home and laboratory are joined together, but look like very separate buildings. This represents the characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, who stemmed from the same person but have completely different appearances.
The windows to Dr Jekyll's laboratory are enclosed with iron bars. These bars mean Jekyll is literally and symbolically imprisoned. The iron bars literally enclose the windows and the Victorian community confine Dr Jekyll to only revealing his ‘respectable’ side.
The narration and style is quite different in both books. In ‘Lord of the Flies’ the book is completely written in 3rd person. This gives the reader a ‘godlike’ position as they can overlook all events, which occur yet he also seems to allow the reader to focus in on one character thoughts and then pan out to show the actual incident. This is shown very well when Jack and his followers are hunting down Ralph. Ralph cannot comprehend the meaning behind the ‘stick sharpened at both ends’, while the reader understands its significance
Unlike ‘Lord of the Flies’, ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ contains both the 1st and 3rd person, which gives both an overview of events and more in-depth personal thoughts into the main story. The two types are narration are shown in the overall narration of the story which is in 3rd person, and in Lanyon and Jekyll’s letters, where the type of narration turns to 1st person, ‘I saw what I saw, I heard what I heard’. The use of two types of narration could be related to their being two characters who were at one time connected (Jekyll and Hyde).
Both books have major relevance in contemporary times, and can be linked to recent events.
Similar to ‘Lord of the Flies’ and the actions of the boys, in the news lately stories have been published about young boys brutally murdering others. A prime example is the Jamie Bulgar case where two young boys murdered a two year old.
‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, can be related to scientific endeavours, such as cloning and genetic engineering, as they have yet unknown consequences, just as Dr Jekyll did not understand how the drugs he took would affect him.
Also hypocrisy is a part of contemporary life. Many people behave in one way while in public but another elsewhere. This is also brought out in the novel as Dr Jekyll was forced by civilisation to act differently in public and this caused him to experiment with drugs, (therefore separating his two sides making it easy to act respectively at all times.
‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ and ‘ Lord of the flies’ have similar themes although written in two largely different times. They also relate closely to current themes suggesting that some ideas are consistent over time. The themes of good and evil and the relation to ‘original sin’ are demonstrated within both novels suggesting that each individual has the opportunity to be both good and evil. This is best in ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ as the same person splits his personalities, which allows it to be both good and fully evil at different times. In ‘Lord of the Flies’ this is shown in a different way, by using children as the main characters. In this way, it uses the reader’s preconception that children are innocent and are not born evil, but can become so.
