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Monday, April 18, 2011

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Dear girls,

Hope you are enjoying your holidays!  Have you girls heard of the story, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?  This short story by Robert Louis Stevenson is one of my most favourite tales of all time and has a shared theme with Shakespeare's Macbeth.  For the first blog entry of Term Two, I want you to first of all conduct a short research session of Robert Louis Stevenson's story.  You will then need to write and post a short response (150 words min) comparing and contrasting The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with Macbeth.  In your response be sure to define which theme you think is common in both stories.  Spark notes has a good summary of Stevenson's story!


Cannot wait to hear your responses!

-Miss V-

P.S Reminder to avoid last names in your posts!!




23 comments:

  1. I had a little trouble deciphering the exact themes that both Macbeth and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but after consideration concluded that the theme of murder and guilt would be a suitable common theme in both stories. In William Shakespeare’s, Macbeth, the main character is consumed with his need to possess power, which in turn leads him to commit multiple murders. In a similar situation, Dr Jekyll, from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, is also consumed with a need to express a darker side of his personality and as a result commits multiple murders; clearly murder is a common and predominant theme in both stories. Guilt is also a key component of both stories, as Macbeth as well as Dr Jekyll, begin to feel guilt. Dr Jekyll’s guilt is displayed in this sentence; violently killed Sir Danvers Carew. Horrified, Jekyll tried more adamantly to stop the transformations. As a result of his guilt Dr Jekyll attempted to prevent himself from becoming the people sleighing monster that he continually morphed into. Similarly, Macbeth is overcome with guilt, when Banquo’s ghost appears at a formal dinner and Macbeth succumbs to paranoia, under the pressure of upholding his innocent front, this evidence is enough to convince me that the core themes shared by both Macbeth and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are murder and guilt.

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  2. The short story about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has a many prominent themes that are also shown in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. These themes include guilt, reputation and suicide.
    Reputation plays a major role in what happens in both stories especially in Macbeth as Macbeth has a reputation that he wishes to uphold. Macbeth portrays this as throughout the story he wishes to become King and then once he has been crowned King of Scotland his actions show that his desire is to rule the kingdom and to be remembered with an enhanced reputation. The theme of reputation in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is evident through the two characters of Utterson and Enfield; when both characters avoid gossip as they believe it is the number one reputation destroyer.

    Another consistent theme throughout both plays is the suicide of Dr Jekyll and Lady Macbeth to get away from their recent dark sides. My understanding of why Dr Jekyll commits suicide is because the recent discovery of the potion that turns him into Mr Hyde has run low and he no longer needs the potion to turn into Mr Hyde. Jekyll found himself ever more helpless and trapped as the transformations increased in regularity and necessitated even larger doses of the concoction in order to undo the transformations. He knew that he would soon become Hyde permanently, and he wondered if Hyde will face execution for his crimes. Due to the amount of knowledge that Jekyll/Hyde had and all the crimes he had committed he killed himself. This theme is also similar to Macbeth as Lady Macbeth killed herself from having too much knowledge about Duncan’s death. Lady Macbeth knew too much about how Duncan died and could not handle the factor it had on her life so she committed suicide so that she did not have to be a part/witness of Duncan’s death any longer.

    Guilt eventually overcame both characters when Dr Jekyll could not handle the reality of killing Sir Danvers Carew. Macbeth’s character was also overcome by guilt when Macbeth realized how many people he had killed and Banquo’s ghost returned to haunt Macbeth.

    This above three factors; guilt, reputation and suicide were common in both Macbeth and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and therefore indicates that Macbeth has a very similar meaning to The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

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  3. Upon reading Macbeth and the plot summary of The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, I believe the theme that is evident in both is the desire to have a better life. Dr Jekyll desired to separate his good side from his darker side to allow him to do dark things without being conscience of it. For Macbeth and Lady Macbeth it was a desire for Macbeth to become King.
    Although both of the book/play share this same theme they both have contrasting and similar aspects to each other. In both stories there are two main characters representing an evil and good side, that both desire the same thing. In The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Dr Jekyll represented the good side, whilst Mr Hyde represented the evil side, yet both characters desired to be free from the other. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth represents the evil side and Macbeth represents the good, in saying this Macbeth was quite vicious. These two characters both wanted Macbeth to gain Kingship. Murder is also evident in both stories, however in The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Mr Hyde spontaneously killed Sir Danvers Carew, where as Macbeth purposefully killed his many victims. With the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, Utterson suspects Mr Hyde as the culprit. Like Utterson, Macduff suspects Macbeth as the murderer of his wife and children. Both Lady Macbeth and Dr Jekyll commit suicide in an attempt to stop the ‘pain’. For Lady Macbeth the ‘pain’ was the stain of murder of her should that slowly drove her insane. For Dr Jekyll the ‘pain’ was becoming Mr Hyde and turning into the monster for forever. In both stories, the main characters didn’t have ‘enough’ to go on. Macbeth found it exceedingly hard to find hope and support to lead him through his final battle after Lady Macbeth had died. This slowly led him to give into Macduff and at that same moment give into death. For Dr Jeykyll he did not have enough of the key ingredient to make his potion that allows him to transform back into himself. As this potion slowly ran out it became obvious that no matter what Dr Jekyll did he would soon not exist. He had two choices: continue the way he was and someday never turn back in Dr Jekyll or he could commit suicide in an attempt to kill himself and bring Mr Hyde down with him.
    In conclusion, these two stories have both contrasting and similar elements to each other and share one main theme of the desire to have a better life.

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  4. I would have to agree with Naima, the main theme that can be seen in both the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Macbeth is a desire to have a better life.

    In the play, Macbeth represents good where as his wife, Lady Macbeth was the bad. This is easy to compare to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as they respectively were the good and the bad side of the person. Dr Jekyll says in his letter to Dr Utterson that he wanted to try and separate his different desires. The difference in Macbeth is that the good and bad sides were portrayed through two separate people.

    Dr Jekyll and Dr Lanyon were friends just as Macbeth and Banquo were. Both Macbeth and Dr Jekyll had a part in the death of both of their friends, the main part. However, Dr Jekyll had a sense of remorse towards his friends death whereas Macbeth did not care that he had killed his best friend and attempted to kill his son.

    Another similarity is the fact that Dr Utterson thinks that the murderer of the politician, Sir Danvers Carew, is Mr Hyde, just as Banquo believed that Macbeth was the person who killed the King of Scotland. The only difference is that Banquo ended up being killed by Macbeth where as Dr Utterson survived.

    A key element is also that both Dr Jekyll and Macbeth started going insane with hallucinations and haunting dreams becoming normal in their day to day lives. This in the end led to both men dying. However, they died very different deaths. Dr Jekyll committed suicide as he did not want Mr Hyde to have to face the consequences of his actions. Macbeth on the other hand decided that he was going to fight to the very end where he ended up getting killed by Macduff.

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  5. Comparing & Contrasting: Macbeth vs. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:

    Within both of the literary texts of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, there are shared themes and motifs present within each story. Both composed during eras where societies were primitive, these underlying themes and message where conveyed through folk tales and fables where supernatural aspects were enforced, as these ‘realities’ were unable to be comprehended. Also, these two texts have been cleverly constructed in a way, where each contains themes that are physiologically penetrating.

    A theme that was found to be present within both contexts was ‘keeping up appearances’ . This particular theme was prominent within both stories and is a key element in the plot. The reputation in which on withholds was a driving force for both of the main characters, Macbeth and Dr Jekyll/ Mr Hyde, to commit, in the eyes of society, morally despicable actions. Both characters are ‘drunk’ with the concept of a desired perception of themselves, and as a result, their actions completely disregard all morals, values, and sense of right and wrong!

    In addition to this, the theme of ‘Good vs. Evil’ is pronounced. The novel ‘ Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, which can be viewed as an allegory, the theme of GOOD VS EVIL is largely a main concept. This theme allows readers to understand how these two characteristics are present within everyone and the everyday struggle between the two sides of personalities. This novel poses a question to all readers though, which side reins power? As the character of Mr Hyde is seemingly the more prominent side, this could be telling the reader that evil is the strongest desire. However, as the character of Mr Hyde dies, this also may suggest evil only conjures weakness and failure. This physiological battle is very much present within the text of Macbeth, particularly Macbeth himself, and Lady Macbeth. In a bid to gain power, both individuals commit crimes which collide with what is considered ‘just’ or ‘good’. Murder, manipulation, deceit, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth incorporated all of these aspects into their actions, and although, he did achieve power within the hierarchy, both suffered great despair and low self worth emotionally. This outcome suggest that evil does not prevail as more powerful. Overall, this a a broad concept that can be linked to many aspects within both texts.

    In conclusion, I believe that both of these themes play a large role in both literary texts and the physiological and emotional impact it has on the reader. In addition to this, I believe it poses many questions to us as individuals. Let me leave you with one that links both concepts...

    Would you rather uphold a powerful reputation built on deceit, manipulation and evil doings, or do good deed, despite what ranking you might have?

    After all, based on my research, good seems to prevail over evil.

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  6. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has a number of themes that are quite similar to Macbeth. The similar themes are murder, guilt and suicide.

    In Shakespeares play Macbeth, Macbeth is told that he will be King of Scotland. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plot to seize the throne. Macbeth then murders the King and frames the Kings chamberlains for the tragedy. Throughout the play Macbeth evolves from a loyal war general to a brutal tyrant where murder is the key to solving his problems.

    In The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll invents a potion that allows him to part from his evil side in the form of the murderous Mr Hyde so he could have a clear conscience. Mr Hyde chooses random civillian to murder unlike Macbeth who murdered for a purpose.

    Guilt is evident when Macbeth is haunted by Banquos ghost and when he becomes aware of the multitude of deaths he ordered. Guilt is also evident when Dr Jekyll is shocked and terrified at the death of Sir Danvers Carew.

    In both Macbeth and The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, one of the main characters feel so much guilt and/or pain that suicide is the only way out.

    Lady Macbeth who at the beginning of the play is the manipulative one in the partnership, feels terrible guilt and loss about the murder of King Duncan. Her guilt and pain slowly drive her insane to the point where she takes her life.

    Dr Jekyll fears that the evil human form of him will take over. At this Dr Jekyll decides to take his life and possibly Mr Hydes as well other than to become the evil Mr Hyde permanently.

    Both the play and the story show good and evil of one person. The evil side of these characters are triggered by certain happenings. Macbeth is a good man until he meets the witches and hears their prophecy which triggers his bloodthirsty desire to kill the King turning him into an evil tyrant. Dr Jekylls potion triggers him to expose his evil side in the form of Mr Hyde. If Macbeth did not stop to meet the witches or Dr Jekyll did not take the potion, both of the characters would have stayed good.
    One of the messages Macbeth and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde reveal that there is good and evil in all of us and it is up to the individual to reveal their good side or their evil side.

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  7. After reading the play of Macbeth and the summary of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, I believe that they both in a way share a similar theme. Dr Jekyll/ Mr Hyde continuously battled with himself over his transformation of good and evil, when he was Mr Hyde he committed murder over Sir Danvers Carew. Macbeth similarly fought over the same thing, and with Lady Macbeth’s strong manipulation and his greed of becoming King, Macbeth turned from good to evil and murdered King Duncan. However I think both these characters did feel a sign of guilt and regret after the murder, such as when Macbeth said “Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou couldst,”, and Dr Jekyll knowing that his other evil side Mr Hyde have murdered someone, he tried harder to stop himself transforming into Mr Hyde. In the end Macbeth becomes entirely evil when he was King of Cawdor, he instructed his guards to kill his best friend Banquo and Macduff’s family, and in the end he was killed by Macduff. In the same way for Dr Jekyll, he was transformed permanently into Mr Hyde which represented him as evil, yet knowing that he would be caught sooner or later he committed suicide in his laboratory. Macbeth and Mr Hyde both died a different way but in the end it was their evil self that resulted in their deaths. In conclusion Macbeth and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde have plenty of similarities.

    cyas on wednesday :)

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  8. Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii M 0.0 almost midnight~April 25, 2011 at 6:42 AM

    Firstly, I must compliment Emma for being the first to do this *claps*.

    After a lot of procrastinating and a lot of reading (thumbs up to sparknote's 'short' summary), the theme I have concluded that both Macbeth and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde shares IS: "Controlling inner desires to have more".

    After reading other posts, few people say that Macbeth represents good and Lady Macbeth represents bad, I have to disagree.

    Like Dr. Jekyll, Macbeth is torn between Good and Evil.It is that ego that leads to the insanity and conclusion of the two stories/play- suicide.The ego's purpose is to offer choices and comparison, and in Macbeth's case: King.
    I still don't really understand the novel's case with all the random killing, but from what I have read, Dr. Jekyll has a second half within himself- Mr. Hyde which represents a demon within a person. Therefore, seeing reality with 2 pairs of eyes, and what may seem wrong to one half may seem right to the other.
    In the play, we see Macbeth ponder a lot whether to go forward with the killings. I have concluded an inner weaker soul or personality is within him, but his desire or 'ambition' (with the help of Lady Macbeth) blinds him to see righteousness.

    I have heard/known of cases where a person has two images (or several), and when the main character has been 'hurt', another personality/character comes out to protect them. For example, kills people that have hurt the main character. I'm not sure if that's related to the novel, but when reading about that novel, that thought came into mind.

    Furthermore, after committing a murder, both characters commit more crimes to cover the previous.

    It is simply human nature to go out of boundaries to get what is craved for, but one incorrect inhumane step will lead to big consequences. I believe that is one of the biggest themes in the play and novel.

    Similarities between the play and the novel: killing of innocence, altered ego, suicide and human nature.

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  9. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a similar story to Macbeth in which they both share many similar themes. Two themes that I found were similar between both stories were guilt and murder.
    Guilt is shown in Macbeth when the ghost of Banquo is haunting Macbeth one night at a dinner with some important guests. Another scene where guilt is evident in this play is when Lady Macbeth commits suicide because she feels guilty because of all the deaths Macbeth caused when she started convincing Macbeth to kill King Duncan in order to become king, which made Macbeth continue on a killing spree by killing his best friend Banquo and Macduff’s wife and son. Guilt is shown in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde when Dr Jekyll is surprised at hearing the news of Sir Danvers Carew.
    Murder is shown in Macbeth when Macbeth orders his men to kill Banquo and Macduff’s family while murder was shown in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll when Hyde beats to death Sir Danvers Carew.
    As Macbeth and Dr Jekyll both died different ways, it was their evil self that caused the deaths. (As stated by Rachel)

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  10. I had trouble understanding and interpreting what exactly The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Macbeth had in common with each other apart from the murders that had taken place in both of these stories. It is obvious that the theme to these two different stories is murder, as both Macbeth and Mr Hyde were men who I believe portrayed signs of insanity as they were driven to murder several people. In Macbeth, Macbeth himself was driven to murder several people for the desire for power and authority. However, no real reason was given for why Macbeth should have killed King Duncan, which is why I believe he was partly insane to start with. As well as this, there is a similar situation in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as Mr Hyde also commits several murders as well. It is clear that the main theme for this is murder as this is what these stories were based on. They each showed some kind of guilt and sorrow towards the end as they had finally come to terms with what they had done and it resulted in a devastating ending.

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  11. Throughout fictional and non-fictional history; themes have often focused on uncontrollable desires for more. Whether it be more power, more physical items or desire for love. Many characters have taken their desire for more to an unnatural level. Two examples of these are the Shakespearean play ‘Macbeth’ and a novelette titled ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’.

    The famous play of Macbeth focus on a desire for power from the title character Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth. The pair find out that Macbeth will soon become King of Scotland, and they do whatever it takes to ‘make it happen’. To ensure this happens, the two devise a plan to kill all who could get in their way. They have no concern as to what consequences their actions would have. As Macbeth desire for power consumes him his wife also becomes riddled with guilt for what she convinced her husband to do. She eventually decides that the only way out is to end her life. Macbeth is eventually murdered by a knight who is part of the army against him.

    Whilst reading ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ I picked up on similarities on the two tales. Dr Jekyll was a law abiding citizen, until he felt his dark side sneaking up on him. His dark side was a person he created called Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll starts the changes voluntarily, but when he does transform Mr Hyde does some terrible things. He murders two people whilst being Mr Hyde and even worse, has no control over it. Dr Jekyll realises that he is losing control over the transformations and writes a letter explaining the situation. In the end Mr Hyde kills himself to escape retribution from his actions.

    Both Macbeth and Dr Jekyll had desires. Both were selfish desires and both hurt others. Macbeth was obviously on a much larger scale, whereas Dr Jekyll only hurt himself and the people he murdered.

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  12. I am in agreement with most of the above comments. Both Dr Jekyll and Macbeth are driven by their ambitions. Macbeth was forced to murder King Duncan so as to obtain his royal status. Dr Jekyll longed to free himself from his good side.Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are in some ways one person, like Jekyll and Hyde representing good and evil. Lady Macbeth is the temptation which is unsuccessfully resisted by Macbeth.In the same way Hyde is the evil inserting undesirable thoughts into Dr. Jekyll's head. Both Macbeth and Jekyll murder to fulfill their own ambitions.It is a selfish desire that controls a person and in both cases it takes over the victim's mind.Hyde was unable to hide any longer in Jekyll's form and he was too immature and selfish to confess his crimes or repent in any way. Like this, Lady Macbeth too committed suicide, succumbing to the guilt that surround her thoughts. Both Shakespeare and Stevenson dwell on the principles of good and evil. Sinister thoughts provoke and tempt the mind to perform deeds that when conscious one would not.Insanity is a key element here, where evil, like a parasite, grows on one's mind so much so that their original state of mind is no longer existent.Both stories tell of the triumphant prevailing of good over evil. It shows that the pressures of sin and temptation, if refuted, can be ignored. Justice will prevail,the truth will appear and good will always triumph over evil

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  13. I lacked in knowledge when finding similar themes in both The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and The story of Macbeth; however on saying this I have concluded that themes evident in both stories are murder and guilt. Both characters convey similar feelings upon, during and after the murder they commit. They are driven by ambition to seek higher power and obtain social status. Macbeth was forced to kill King Duncan in order to obtain his royal status. It is the same case with Mr Jekyll, he wished himself to be free from the life containing happiness and truth. After the murders in both stories, the characters begin to feel guilt and regret as their dreams turn into reality. Similarities between all four characters, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Jekyll and Hyde begin to appear as the stories unravel. All characters at some point in both stories represent good and evil. Temptation gets the best of all of the characters and all personalities being to change dramatically. In conclusion, murder and guilt are common themes evident in both stories as well as the similarities of personality traits of each character.

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  14. Upon comparing the two stories of doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde with Macbeth I believe that there are a number of similarities with the two stories.

    Firstly, there is the desire for a better life. In Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde, he explores the possibilities of having two personalities. Doctor Jekyll is not happy with just being himself. He starts behaving in a peculiar manner after he commits the first murder. This is also evident in Macbeth as we see a change of character with Lady Macbeth at first, when she is trying to persuade Macbeth to kill King Duncan. She was manipulative, sly and secretive.

    Secondly, the other comparison with the two stories would have to be murder. Doctor Jekyll murders Sir Carew and Macbeth kills King Duncan.
    Thirdly, there is a common theme of guilt in the two tales. Doctor Jekyll appears remorseful and guilty after committing the first murder of Sir Carew and tries in vain to concoct a potion to undo his evil. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth eventually start to feel guilty. Macbeth who has all the power decides to ‘cover up’ his murder by killing even more people who he thinks are suspicious. Lady Macbeth is guilt – ridden to but she is able to cover it up very well, except in her dreams.

    On another point, the themes of good and evil are evident. Macbeth representing good at first is the same as Mr Hyde. Doctor Jekyll’s wickedness corresponds to Lady Macbeths.

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  15. Hello! Okay well… to have to point out the one exact core theme of ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ would be very difficult, seeming that the story is basically littered with subliminal messages and themes and important issues all neatly sewed up into one very tricky and complex piece of literature. Nonetheless I have come to a VERY important conclusion! After reading the story and many of the SPARKNOTES notes, I believe one of the core themes highlighted in the short novel of ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, which also correlates to the themes of Macbeth is perhaps the theme of ‘Good versus Evil’. In other words the main characters, Macbeth and Dr Jekyll/ Mr Hyde instigated in a battle of good versus evil within themselves. When carefully analysed, both characters were seemingly ‘normal’ and ‘good-willed’ people, however each possessed a very dark desire, and inevitably ‘transformed’ into a changed character in order to obtain it. Dr Jekyll needed to release himself from his ‘good’ side and desired to be freed from his moral conscience, and in order to obtain this desire, Jekyll transformed into Hyde, a creature free of conscience through the use of a potion. However in the case of Macbeth, he desired greatly to become king however could not have had enough will and strength to have killed Duncan without the degrading words of ‘encouragement’ from his wife, Lady Macbeth. In this case, Lady Macbeth acted like the potion Jekyll used; she was in some way the thing that released the other darker and evil side of Macbeth.
    Both characters found it enjoyable to experience their ‘evil’ side, and took pleasure in the moral freedom it provided. Macbeth began to murder people more frequently to protect his secret and throne and thoroughly enjoyed the sensation it provided, and as time went on, he loss more control over his ‘evil’ urges and his evil side began to overtake his life, instigating a battle of good versus evil within himself, much like Dr Jekyll. Jekyll began to transform more frequently into Hyde in order to experience the sensation of moral freedom, however he began to lose control over his transformations and slowly began into metamorphosing and becoming Hyde permanently. Inevitably both characters suffered from their secrets and consequences and consequently committed suicide in order to end their miserable lives as a result of releasing their evil sides and obtaining their inner desires…

    Okee dokee atrichokee that’s all I have right now! Happy-late Easter everyone!!! nite nite.

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  16. Maintaining one’s reputation proves as all important for the characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Macbeth who carefully construct and foreground their earned repute. The significance of reputation correspond with the importance of outward appearances, frontages and facades that are maintained to conceal a less pleasant or laudable reality. Macbeth upheld a reputation of high supremacy having “bought golden opinions from all sorts of people” and proven his nobility. He worked hard to receive good opinions of himself by others and truly earned his landed gantry. However, after hearing the prophecy his desire vaults even beyond its basic confines as the murder of Duncan is conjured and driven by thoughts of ambition, enabling Macbeth to gain the uppermost status of authority. Alongside, Banquo senses a vile truth underneath Macbeth’s outward grace, similarly to Jekyll, though both in the maintenance of reputation, remain unspoken. Lady Macbeth also grapples onto this notion when she says to Macbeth “Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under ’t.” Both Macbeth and his wife hide behind facades, pretending to be the King’s loving subjects and yet have the intention of murdering him that night. Similarly, Macbeth tells his wife “False face must hide what false heart doth know,” which practically mirrors Lady Macbeth’s attitude, ‘look fair and innocent to hide foul intentions.’ But in the end, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth succumb to the fact that they can no longer hide their true feelings. It proves that although appearances can always be deceptive, in the end the truth cannot be hidden.
    In both texts, much of the pronounced violence is directed at innocent people. Macbeth and his wife’s ambitious thoughts lead them to murderous deeds against, Kind Duncan, Banquo and Fleance and Lady Macduff and her children. Likewise, Hyde injures a girl and ruthlessly murders a man, who similarly to Macbeth’s victims, do nothing to aggravate their brutality or to deserve death.

    Sorry this is not exactly right……..I sort of forgot to do it until now :S
    Thanks! PS. see you all at schoolio

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  17. Comparison of themes within Macbeth and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

    Both literary pieces can be interpreted to emphasise several important conceptions including the Western notion regarding humanity’s inner battle of morality as well as the perceived significance of social repute.

    The concept of the duality of human nature is prominent in both Shakespeare’s play and Stevenson’s script. It includes the understanding that all is comprised of both good and evil, and that these elements of character constantly and inevitably conflict with one another. In ‘Macbeth’, this distinction is more recognisable when one focuses on ambition vs. guilt. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth aspire power and wealth and subsequent to their scandalous endeavours they’re consumed by their guilt and paranoia. This can be interpreted to be a result of their morality and dual nature. In ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ this duality of human nature is actually expressed within two different characters, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, further enhancing our ability to recognise and understand the concept. Unlike in Macbeth, its manifestation suggests that by disregarding evil’s presence and tension with virtue results in this evil being impelled onto others (Sir Danvers Carew who was brutally beaten to death by Mr Hyde, the evil). Therefore, the duality of human nature can be interpreted to be a core theme of both works, although may bring to light different notions concerning it within each text.

    Now, Hazel seems to have summed up the theme of reputation which correlates both literature pieces very well so I won’t endeavour any further there. Sorry for the absence of a conclusion... very rushed, extremely sorry.

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  18. There are many similarities between Macbeth and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The similarities between the two main characters are that they both wanted to become more powerful and to do this they both became murderers. This shows that one of the core themes is murder. After this both Macbeth and Dr Jekyll felt really guilty because of the people they killed. This shows that guilt is another core theme in both of the plays. The last theme that I noticed was suicide. Suicide is evident in Macbeth when Lady Macbeth feels that it is all too much for her and commits suicide by jumping off a building. In the same way Dr Jekyll killed himself because he couldn’t handle all of the guilt he created. To conclude both plays have the core themes of murder, guilt and suicide in common.

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  19. It took me a while to fully understand The story of Dr Jekyll and Hyde and seeing how it actually links and relates to MacBeth.
    However, my brains came up with something!
    I believe that the story of Dr Jekyll and Hyde thrives within the theme of power, as does the Shakespearean play MacBeth.

    Within MacBeth, the two main characters, MacBeth and Lady MacBeth, seem to thrive on power, and are greedy with it. MacBeth becomes the Thane of Cawdor, and a prophicy says he's to become king. Striving for a higher title, MacBeth plans on killing the current king. After some hesitation, he is murdered. Yet the pair have not thought about the reprecussions that follow. MacBeth becomes more greedy while his authority begins to devour him. Lady MacBeth starts to comprehend and take grasp of what she took part within. In the end, her guilt drove her to insanity and led her to taking her own life.

    The story of Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll relates to these two themes as it's own motivators as well. Dr Jekyll was a well respected man, until he had a second person within him- a darker figure; to which he names that side 'Mr Hyde'.
    Mr Hyde does some horrendous things- and murders two people. Dr Jekyll begins to feel guilty for his darker side, and starts to feel remorseful. This drives him to taking his own life to end the guilt.

    To conclude,
    Guilt and Power- strong motivators.

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  20. Mario Said> YOU ARE ALL RIGHT ! WELL DONE

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  21. hi i'm anduela, deepak is sitting on the right side of me and kyle is sitting on the left side of me:D yaaaaaaay.

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  22. well in dr jekyll and mr hyde it talkes about the duality off man dr jekylls alter ego mr hyde represents the bad side while dr jekyll represents good i think macbeth also has that alter ego that bad macho side off himself were he also has the good noble side in the end off the novella dr jekyll commits suicide to escape from mr hyde also lady macbeth commits suicide to escape from the evil act she had commited also in both plays there is religious quotation macbeth cannot say amen after he commited the murder this shows that the deed was to horrific and evil that god wouldnt repent his sins and in dr jekyll and mr hyde. hyde goes over to dr lanyons when lanyon witnesses the transformation he says o god over and over again turning to god in a time off horror mr hyde gave dr lanyon a ultimation to witness the change implying something bad was going to happen if he did watch THIS IS MY OPINION WRITTEN FROM A 15 YEAR OLD GANGSTER!!! BET YOUR THINKING WE AINT SO FUCKING CHAVVY NOW

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  23. Dr Jekyll is at constant conflict with Hyde through the transformations, eventually Hyde gets too much and Jekyll doesn't even have to take the potion for the transformation. Jekyll decides to put it to a stop by committing suicide. This similar thing happens in Macbeth as he has constant conflict within his mind over whether to commit the deed of killing king Duncan or not and his 'angel' and 'devil' are having a fight in his brain. Eventually with the persuading done by Lady Macbeth he does the deed but its too much to cope with and commits suicide. Meaning both stories end in the similar way and have similar events occurring throughout.

    GCSE student studying this.

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