Can someone give feedback/grade my essay as Hyde being a frightening outsider? thanks

unknown20001

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In Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Stevenson continuously presents Hyde as a violent beast, unable to conform to Victorian societal ideals, often displaying him as ‘hardly human’, supported by animalistic traits. This comes to light in the description of Hyde : “The other snarled aloud into a savage laugh”- snarled having connotations of a fierce animal. The use of symbolism presents Mr Hyde particularly as a frightening outsider, because ‘snarled’ separates him from humans - an outsider- and snarling would generally display feelings of annoyance and anger. At the time, the theories of Charles Darwin were relatively new, when in 1871, he published a book named ‘The Descent of Man’ where he links apes to humans. This would have raised concerns for victorians, as it would reject the Christian ideas of God, perhaps ridiculing the existence of God. As an atheist, Stevenson taps into these ideas in order to instil fear into the Victorian reader. Furthermore, him breaking into a ‘savage’ laugh further presents him as a frightening outsider. The juxtaposition of ‘savage’ and ‘laugh’ conveys Mr Hyde as evil and how different he is to others. His snarling aloud signifies his carelessness of how he presents himself to others and similarly, like an outsider, he ‘disappears’ into the house, almost like he doesn't want to be seen because he doesn't belong.

Throughout the novella, Mr Hyde is presented as a character who possesses odd but evil qualities. While we only see two times when his vicious crimes are witnessed by others, however neither of them set the idea that Mr Hyde is purely evil. Although he ‘trampled over the victim by foot, and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered’ - it is because Hyde was trapped in Jekyll's body, similar to solitary confinement, and isn't himself when he gets out. So is Hyde an evil character after all, or is society deeming such human acts as evil? The Gothic description and hyperbole links to the detective theme. Hyde only hurts others because Jekyll created him through science, which shows that you shouldn't play the role of God. The Christian readers would have liked this story as a moral story of Good vs Evil, however it also shows that Hyde isn't pure evil, like utterson says, and Jekyll isn't all good. While Hyde could be frightening in his demeanour and actions, he isn't really, which is the main reason that Stevenson doesn't show us what he does behind closed doors. The bones being ‘audibly shattered’ is hyperbole, showing Mr Hyde is capable of anything, and the bones symbolise Dr Jekyll's life shattering due to Mr Hyde taking over. Mr Hyde doesn't have any reason to kill Carew, but Jekyll does, so who really is the evil one here? This links to the theme of duality of nature and you can never know whether someone is good or bad. Although Stevenson aims to present Hyde as an outsider, it seems more that Jekyll is an outsider to his own body - to Hyde.

Mr Utterson ultimately jumps to conclusions when it comes to Hyde and Stevenson attempts to make him a reliable narrator, however at times he is completely unreliable. When he speaks about Hyde to Jekyll he says “ O my poor old Harry Jekyll, if ever I read Satan's signature upon a face , it is that of your new friend!” Utterson deems Hyde as satan, without knowing him yet, and uses the juxtaposition of ‘new friend’ to do so. Stevenson primarily writes for a christian audience, although he isn't christian himself, and by Utterson describing Hyde as Satan, it helps the christian readers at the time understand that because Hyde was so evil, violent and dishonourable, Utterson didn't remember his face. Therefore, the only way to describe him was as satan. However this further presents Utterson as unreliable, which questions whether Hyde matches up with his description and personality, as he was described by Utterson many times. The use of ‘new friend’ suggests that from the start, Utterson suspected something was going on between Hyde and Jekyll. ‘Satan's signature’ symbolises the fear and hatred towards Mr Hyde, concluding him as an outcast, similarly to the way Satan is hated and unwelcome.

At the end of the novella, Stevenson eventually presents Hyde as a frightening outsider, as well as a well respected insider, Dr Jekyll. Though Hyde could be an example of the lower class and how they were treated in Victorian London, he is also a reflection of the upper class. Throughout the novella, he is constantly referred to as a ‘gentleman’, and having well mannered qualities. When Mr Utteerson meets Hyde for the first time, he ‘answered coolly enough.’ When he tramples over the girl, he says ‘ no gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene’. Multiple times, the character of Hyde coincides with the behaviour of upper class members of Victorian society. This is because he is Jekyll, which links to the theme of duality, both Jekyll and Hyde reflect characteristics of each other. Stevenson describes good and evil as ‘polar twins’ rather than opposites. This suggests that wherever evil is, good is there too. Just like Hyde might be represented as a frightening outsider, Jekyll (deep within) feels like an outsider to Victorian society,unable to hold up all the expectations and reputations he has. Trying to create Hyde with science, he goes against christian teachings, and to christian readers, brings about his tragedy.