Jekyll and Hyde 4

During my reading of the final chapter, I began to fully realize the background and reasons for the actions Jekyll took. The main thought I had was that Jekyll was seriously tempted and haunted by demons. Temptation is of the devil, and that was his main drive to further experimenting with the potion that turned him into Hyde. Not only was the temptation over-powering, but his desire for the knowledge of "what if" was driving him to drastic measures to test his boundaries and capabilities. Everyone suffers from temptations, but it's what we do about it that determines the outcome. We can choose to ignore it or indulge, but the difficulty brings people to lean towards giving in. It may be difficult to walk away from the things you want, but the reward is 100 times better than the temptation itself. Imagine if smokers had never tried a cigarette before. Imagine every single person that was tempted by smoking had simply walked away. The decrease in the amount of people dying from lung cancer would be astronomical. Families would never have lost a loved one, and citizens would never be suffering. Now imagine the same thing for alcoholics, and drug dealers. The world would be so different if we didn't give in to our temptations. It may be a difficult process, but if you overlook that and focus on the benefits? You would never think twice about saying "no". This is exactly what happened to Jekyll. He wanted to test his abilities, see what he was capable of. He wanted to know what would happen if he tried, and what would happen if it worked. The possibilities with having a double personality could be life-changing, and he just wanted a piece of it. But it's like eating cake. You just want a tiny sliver, but then it turns into a whole piece. That's fine, but now you've eaten the whole cake. Before you realize it, you're 400 pounds and still stuffing your face. Jekyll's experiment was successful, but it wasn't enough. He wanted the constant high of the victory, and it required a constant flow of drinking the potion. Before he realized it, temptation had completely taken over, and it literally killed him from the inside out. The desire for unnatural delight and knowledge can be strong, but the consequences are overpowering...I promise.

Jekyll and Hyde 3

In sorrowed despair, the tale be true,
that evil is living somewhere inside you.
Be that as it may, do not worry yet.
But when nightmares control you, you might need to fret.
For a tale is told, a tale about men,
Whom are becoming the demons that swarm through their head.
Through potions and science, and within a few months,
Jekyll found the way to being two people at once.
One half was himself, a doctor with pride.
But the other was a terrible, hate-worthy side.
The second took over, and wiped out the good.
Leaving Jekyll a malicious scoundrel if you would.
He had no control; he was fully possessed.
But the demons within him could not be confessed.
Now his efforts were in vain, and pointless from the start.
For you can not be granted privilege if you have a blackened heart.

Jekyll and Hyde 2

This novel has taken an unexpected turn within the last couple chapters. Hyde has practically fallen off the face of the Earth, never to be seen again, and the trio of friends - Lanyon, Jekyll, and Utterson - have all become sick in some sort of way. Jekyll and Lanyon are physically ill, yet Lanyon is in much worse condition. Utterson however seems to have more of an emotional sickness. Haunting thoughts and questions possess his mind, and worry for his friend has eaten away at his nerves. The murder case involving Mr. Hyde has kept everyone alert and on the edge of their seat, yet the news has faded into oblivion at the same time. Now, Jekyll is wallowing in solitude, hardly even allowing his dear friend Utterson to visit him in his current state. The door has been shut in Utterson's face countless times, and he has come to the point of almost hoping to be denied entrance. Lanyon, on the other hand, became even sicker and died in his sleep; making the trio of friends nothing more than a pair of bitter men, growing apart more and more each day. There is no doubt that Utterson truly cares for Dr. Jekyll, but one's patience and energy can only make it for so long.
In addition to the tension between the friends, Utterson inherited an envelope from Lanyon during the poor man's funeral. Within the envelope was another enclosure, sealed and marked as "not to be opened until the death or diappearance of Dr. Henry Jekyll." Utterson was curious, but would feel unloyal if he were to open it before stated, so he tucked it into a corner in his safe. More questions aroused to me from the text after reading these passages. Why is Jekyll being so sullen and withdrawn? What do all the letters given to Utterson mean? What did Utterson mean by "Henry Jekyll forge for a murderer!" on the last page of chapter 5? And when will we see Hyde again? These questions will hopefully soon be answered, but for now I am still trying to understand the general vast mysteries of this book.

Jekyll and Hyde 1

This novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson is both confusing and frustrating. It gives the image of both pure and contorted evil, yet it is unclear which is more prominent. Hyde is an irrational man, deformed by both physical appearance and emotional expression, it seems. He heartlessly tramples a young girl in the streets, and continues on as if he never even noticed her. This causes tension and anger from townfolk and the girl's family towards him. However, Dr. Jekyll seems to find some kind of characteristic in Hyde that keeps him interested in his company. Mr. Utterson on the other hand, the current main character of the story, has the opposite feelings toward Mr. Hyde. He finds distate and oppression toward the man, and wants Dr. Jekyll to have the same thought. As Mr. Utterson took note at Hyde's appearance, "Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timiduty and boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice; all these were points against him, but not all of these together could explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing and fear with which Mr. Utterson regarded him." (52)It is clearly stated that Mr. Utterson has a strong dislike toward the other man, yet he cannot quite conclude what caused such strong emotions.

Not only does the advanced vocab and irregular flow to the text confuse me, but the shadowed mystery and unanswered questions frustrates me during the reading. I do not understand things like; Why is the door so important? Why does Mr. Utterson want Dr. Jekyll to rid himself of Hyde? Why does Dr. Jekyll have a will that has to do with Mr. Hyde? Why does Mr. Utterson have the will? And other questions as well. Normally, an author would shed light on the subject soon after the question is considered, but Stevenson does not do this. He keeps us in suspense for too long, giving an irritated feel for the book. By the time he hints reasons for these things, I won't even remember what my question was. This might keep us reading, but it also makes me want to stop. Either way, Hyde and Utterson share an uneasy air of evil lurking in their veins. Hyde is more upfront with his behavior, while Mr. Utterson only shows small feelings and actions that might hint a relationship with hellish and Satanic ways. Words like fire, spirits, menace, and superstition have been used in sentences involving Mr. Utterson. These terms give a sort of demonic presence in the man, yet not enough to cause him to lash out or become violent. It simply eats away at him in his mind and in his sleep. Hyde on the other hand is more deformed in physical and emotional ways. He is not always in control of his actions and words, giving off a feeling of possession over him. However, we as humans are not always in control of our words and actions as well. What does this say about our overall spiritual life?