HYDE and seek

Comparing the description of Mr. Hyde from chapter 1 and the description of Dr. Jekyll from chapter 6, a reader notices many differences yet also many similarities. The first similarity that caught my attention was how both characters had a certain aura, so to speak, and emitting a certain feel without any identifiable single source. This can be seen from the description of Mr. Hyde, where the main purpose of the excerpt is for Mr. Utterson to explain the strange, eerie feeling he experienced when looking at Mr. Hyde. Stevenson uses language to achieve this purpose such as "strong feeling" and the repetition of the word "something. "Strong feeling" is utilized to emphasize how Mr. Utterson was experiencing a bizarre disgust with Mr. Hyde that came not from his looks but purely from Mr. Utterson's gut instinct. In addition, the repetition of the word "something" points out how Mr. Utterson can not quite put his finger on what was offbeat about Mr. Hyde, instead reverting to using "something" as a vague term to describe Mr. Hyde's attributes. This same generalization and sense of aura from a person is present in the description of Dr. Jekyll. A difference can be seen, as it is not the main purpose of the passage to describe the aura of Dr. Jekyll, though it is briefly mentioned. In this section, Mr. Utterson has detected how Mr. Jekyll looked as if he was on death's doorstep and had given in to this fact. Though physical indicators of this are described, Mr. Utterson points to the most noticeable clue to Dr. Jekyll's ailment as the "look in the eye" and the "quality of manner" of Dr. Jekyll. This language used maintains a similar sense of aura and eeriness as in the description of Mr. Hyde.
Another point of contrast between the two passages is the level of description that Mr. Utterson goes into for each person. While Hyde is given very few and very vague words, Jekyll can be imagined by the reader in vivid details. I feel this difference is highlighted on purpose, as it is crucial to the main plot twist of the story. As I went to go see the musical two years ago, I know the plot twist waiting to happen. SPOILER ALERT: The discrepancy in the level of description between these two characters allows for the reader to picture the characters as two separate people in their imaginations, when in reality these two characters are the same person. If Mr. Utterson had gone into an intense, sharp depiction of both characters, some readers may have earlier picked up on the plot twist of the novella.

Dr. Jekyll	Mr. Hyde
What have I done?
What have I made?
How did this happen?	How did this happen?
	I have been released
	Jekyll has been hiding me for fear of his reputation
One day I won’t be able to hide him anymore	One day he won’t be able to hide me anymore
I try to fight but he always wins
Hyde has power over me
If man is half good and half bad why is bad winning?	If man is half good and half bad why is bad winning?
	Bad is winning because it is human nature to be bad
	Human nature is mean, unkind, selfish
When human nature prevails so does evil	When human nature prevails so does evil
My weapons are rocks, his are nuclear bombs
He is impossible to stop, I must try to appease him
I know now he will win	I know now I will win
	Bye bye Dr. Jekyll
	Forever we will be Mr. Hyde

My intended purpose of this poem was to highlight a few major themes from the novella. One of these is the struggle between Jekyll and Hyde, evident through the idea presented that Hyde won something. In addition I attempted to display that human nature is inherently evil, yet can be changed by the individual for appearances sake. I want the audience to read this poem and better understand the conflict between Jekyll and Hyde, and how that represents good versus evil.