Wednesday, October 28, 2009

10/28 Question 1 (the one and only)

How do the book and film each deal with and reconcile the character of Jekyll/Hyde? What I mean by this is how much does Jekyll understand Hyde and Hyde, Jekyll? Why does Jekyll keep changing into Hyde and why does he change back? Does Jekyll know what he's doing when he's Hyde and does Hyde understand Jekyll? What does the film and what does the novel have to say about this?

Also, and relatedly, if Hyde is all evil, is Jekyll all good? Is there a way (according to the book and film) for the human to tap into his or her good side just as there's a way to tap into the purely evil? What's the deal with that?

And, in the film, why end on Jekyll? What message is the film sending?

19 comments:

Laura said...

The film makes it seem as though Jekyll thinks he has control over Hyde's actions because he promises Ivy that she won't ever see Hyde again and he seems to truly mean that. He also admits to Lanyon that he thought he could control his actions, but he needs the potion sometimes to turn back into Jekyll. He obviously is not purely good because he can tap into his evil side with just a thought or a familiar action of Hyde's (like the whistling). I think Hyde understands that Jekyll is a good person, but hates him because he is not good enough to be able to deny Ivy's advances and therefore creates an alternate personality to be able to live two lives (which is selfish and hypocritical and cowardly in Hyde's eyes). The way that the film ends with Jekyll conveys the message that with good comes evil, and to kill the evil in Jekyll they also had to kill the good in him. I think it was for the best considering the life ahead of him included a pissed off Beatrice and several dead people's families to deal with.. and he is super ugly to boot.

Anjela said...

Jekyll believes he is in control of Hyde but in reality he isn’t. It’s clear that his evil side can take over when doing things that relate to Hyde. I don't think Jekyll understands Hyde but in a way he envies him because he is able to commit terrible acts without thinking twice. I don't think that Hyde is all evil but I don't think Jekyll is all good either. They are both part of the same person therefore their qualities exist in each other. The ending of the film showed that Jekyll had to die in order for Hyde to die. Or in other words the good had to die as well as the evil, because one cannot exist without the other.

Scofield Foster said...

I feel like the film, more than the book, brings the presence and awareness of the two personalities to the other. Of course in both the book and the film Jekyll is aware of his change to his evil side, but in the film, especially, you see Hyde refer to his good side and talk down about how weak and even cowardly it is. However, when we talk about complete evil and complete good, i feel like Hyde is all evil. But as it applies to Jekyll's goodness, i'm not certain it is in entirety. Jekyll is aware of the evil brought about by changing in to Hyde by the potion and yet he does it again. Eventually this causes him to loose control. This leads me to believe he is a much lesser evil of Hyde's evil, but still not entirely good. The ending of the film leaves with Jekyll as the final counterpart. For me this only supports my opinion that Jekyll is not entirely good, and this is why the film finishes with him. It leaves us with a sense of despair, corruption, and failure all of which comes from the "good" Jekyll.

Ryan Scott said...

In the book I feel that Hyde and Jekyll are more of a separate person. When Hyde kills in the book I feel like Jekyll has no control of what Hyde is doing. However in the movie, it seemed as if Jekyll had control over Hyde. I noticed this in the bar scene when Hyde mentions how Ivy’s house is bad. He then recovers and says he would think it would be bad. Jekyll keeps changing in the movie when he got mad or frustrated it seemed. It was his escape from his real life. In the book it seemed more uncontrollable. Hyde is no doubt evil however Jekyll is not all good. He knows what happens when he is Hyde and still chooses to drink the potion. A person can act good or bad whenever they choose however it may bring more pleasure to them to be more focused on one side. In this case I think Jekyll thought he was too nice and wanted to be bad. The film shows Hyde turn back to Jekyll because that’s who the audience liked more. We wanted to feel for him at the end and wish that he could have changed.

Kyle O'Brien said...

I feel that the movie portrays Jekyll and Hyde as two completely separate people who have no control over each other. I don't think Jekyll understands Hyde at all, as they are polar opposites and Jekyll can do nothing to control Hyde which is evident when he attacks Ivy and later his own fiancee. I beleive that Jekyll serves as pure good while Hyde as pure evil throughout the movie and i beleive it sent a powerful message by ending on Jekylls dead corpse so that we truly understood the effect evil can have on those who are good and the consequences of this evil.

Brian said...

I think that in the film Jekyll knows what Hyde is doing but he cant control it. Jekyll remembered the woman he beat and he remembered the song from the bar but he does not have control over Hydes body. If he did have control he would not have killed his fiance.

Qianqian Mao said...

I think Hyde knows Jekyll more than Jekyll knows about him. Hyde knows that Jekyll is a very hypocritical man. Even though he is known for his kindness and is respected by people, in his deep heart, he also wants to do something that he can’t do in his daily life. He has to pretend nice to keep his reputation and to fit his social status. For instance, when Jekyll had transferred into Hyde to go for Ivy, Hyde told Ivy that he knew Jekyll is such a hypocrite and he also admitted that he is Jekyll. Besides, I think just because Hyde knows Jekyll very well, so he has the courage to do some veil things to let Jekyll feel satisfied. And, Jekyll knows a little bit of Hyde. When Jekyll first transferred into Hyde, he felt so happy in front of the mirror and went to the place that lower class people went to without hesitation. He also knows that under Hyde’s appearance, he can do whatever he wants. Nobody will suspect him. But in the later part of the film, we can see that Hyde is not under Jekyll’s control. He can let Jekyll transferred into him even though Jekyll didn’t want to. So, we can’t say that Jekyll is all good and Hyde is all evil. They are the same people that do the things together no matter if the things are good or evil. The reason that Jekyll likes changing to Hyde is he wants to enjoy another life that he can’t make it when he is Jekyll. After doing some bad things, he just comes back to Jekyll to escape. At first, he enjoys this. But as time goes on, Hyde has more power than Jekyll that Jekyll can’t handle him. The film ends on Jekyll, maybe it wants to tell us that evil can’t beat kindness. And if the evil one has to die, so does the good one. In other point, I think Jekyll is also the one die for technology.(just like the Frankenstein)

Yang Gao said...

i think they know and understand each other pretty well, because they are the same person, the only different is their outside. and i think the reason why Jekyll keep changing into Hyde is because when he is Hyde he feels free and happy, also he doesn't need to care about other people's feelings anymore. he can do whatever he wants. there is no fetters.in the novel, Jekyll said he knows what does Hyde do,but he cannot control him. but in the film, i think what Hyde does is what Jekyll wants to do, the reason why Jekyll doesn't do is because his position in the society.
however, i think Hyde is all evil from outside to inside, and i think Jekyll also is a evil in his inside. because if he is not a evil in his inside, he cannot create Hyde.

Wenjing said...

In this film, I think Dr. Jekyll know who is Mr. Hyde and what did Hyde do, but Jekyll did not control over the Hyde. Although Jekyll really wanted to control over what Hyde did, he can not. In the film, Jekyll promise Ivy that she would not see Hyde, but the Hyde still appeared and did evil things what he wanted. On the other hand, I think Hyde knew he became from Jekyll. But Hyde was out control of Jekyll. Hyde still killed Jekyll’s fiancee. I don’t think hyde is all evil and Jekyll is all good. If Jekyll was all good, why did he create this poison? And why did he still drink the poison to become to Hyde even knew Hyed did evil things? So, in a way, Jekyll has evil side in his mind, we can not say that Jekyll was all good. Also, I don’t think Hyde was all evil as well. If Hyde was all evil, why did he change back to Jekyll? This film end on Jekyll, I think the first reason is Jekyll is the first important charactor of this film, the whole story around him. Second, generally, people think Jekyll is good though he creat the poison to change to Hyde. That wishes people is good as natural.

Martina Nelson said...

I believe that both the film and the novel underhandedly use biblical references because they both show Hyde as completely evil and Dr.Jekyll as partly evil. In the Bible it states tat man is born with sin, so there is no perfect part of him. Jekyll keeps transforming into to Hyde because Hyde feeds off of Jekyll's natural emotions, and Jekyll cant control his natural emotions. The only reason I think that the only reason that Jekyll changes back is because of he naturally wants to appear good in the public eye and in the film he changes back because of his strong love for Beatrice.The film ends on Jekyll because there again is a religious moment andhe ends the way God made him. Also, being Hyde was a hassle for him so now his soul is finally at rest.

judd bleser said...

Obviously, Jekyll isn't purely good. It isn't as easy to tell in the book, but in the movie it is evident that he gets a rush from being Hyde. He had never felt that way before, and once he did, he had trouble resisting at times. Towards the end, Jekyll shows that the two personalities are somewhat intertwined and that he knows what he is doing as Hyde. When Hyde reveals that he remembers being Jekyll, it shifts the overall feeling.

Paige said...

In both the book and film, it is pretty clear that Jekyll and Hyde have only a basic understanding of each other. Jekyll knows that Hyde is evil and does bad things. Likewise, Hyde knows Jekyll is not bad and doesn't agree with his actions. Jekyll created Hyde as a way to rid himself of his evil side, and in actuallity he just made it come out in full swing. Jekyll might have had a little bit of control in the beginning, but he completely lost that by the end. At that point Hyde was in full control. Hyde could emerge at any sign of weakness in Jekyll. Hyde could also do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He had nothing to lose, and this made him way more powerful than Jekyll. Hyde was veiwed as the completely evil entity, but that didn't make Jekyll a good one. When Jekyll first turned into Hyde he knew that Hyde was evil and he could have guessed at what Hyde was capable of. Instead of stopping the transformation or going deeper to try and reach his completey good side, Jekyll let Hyde come out and reign over everything. In the end, the film ending on Jekyll is a way of getting justice for the crimes Hyde committed. While Jekyll would have never done those things himself, he is every bit responsible for the murders and such and so by showing that he had to pay with his life, it brings the film closure, and lets the story rest.

Josh Waycaster said...

Jekyll has a full understanding of what Hyde does in the book and movie, and I believe that Hyde understands Jekyll but simply ignores the good nature. In the film Jekyll seems to know all that Hyde can do but he still desires the more adventurous evil side of himself. Jekyll is definitely not all good; if he were, nothing would happen when he drank the potion and there would be no Hyde at all. The book and film seem to relate the idea that the good nature can be present as well, but human nature tends to be evil as opposed to good. At the end of the film, they ended on Jekyll because even though he had an evil side that took control, Jekyll was basically a good person.

quan.greene said...

Jekyll has an understanding of what Hyde does throughout the novel and the film. More importantly, Hyde is aware of what Jekyll does. This is evident when Hyde goes to the show, he recognizes Ivy. His only previous encounter with Ivy was in the form of Jekyll. Also, in the scene where Hyde kills Ivy, he tells her everything that happened between her and Jekyll which signifies that he has complete knowledge of what happens when he is Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll turns into Hyde whenever he has a bad thought which would imply that Jekyll is not all good. No human being is all good. In the film, Hyde needs the potion to change back into Jekyll. Once he is killed, he finally changes back into Jekyll without the potion, but this does not happen under his will. The only message that I can get from the film ending in the form of Jekyll is that there is good in every man no matter what evil acts he/she may commit. (By the way, good questions.)

Unknown said...

In the film and the novel, I think that Hyde has more of a understanding of Jekyll then Jekyll does of Hyde. For instance, Hyde is well aware of the reputation that Jekyll has in this town. Hyde ignores that reputation and takes advantage of the fact that he is a different person then Jekyll and commits crimes and acts differently from the way Jekyll acts. In the film, you can see that Jekyll doesn't understand Hyde because everytime the character changes from Hyde back to Jekyll, he is confused about what he did. Jekyll keeps changing into Hyde because he is able to do things that he normally can't when he is Jekyll since his reputation is so well known. He changes back to Jekyll because the potion wares off after awhile. I think that Jekyll doesn't completely know what he is doing when he is Hyde because he wakes up confused whenever he changes back.

Michael Coutts said...

I believe that in the movie Hyde and Dr. Jekyll are two completely different people. When he turns into Hyde, Jekyll has absolutely no control over what Hyde is doing. In the movie when Hyde kills the girls father Dr. Jekyll could do nothing about it. To me this brings of the popular theme of good vs.evil because Jekyll is the good person trying to fight off the evil in life. While Hyde is the evil since he is always trying to take away Jekylls good in life.

Clay said...

Jekyll and Hyde are clearly two completely different people with polar opposite personalities. Jekyll thinks he can control Hyde, but when it comes down to it Hyde is just as powerful as Jekyll. Jekyll enjoys being Hyde from all the excitement he gets from it, and Hyde absolutely hates Jekyll 100%. I do believe that there is some evil in Jekyll, but not so much good in Hyde. Ending with Jekyll makes the audience question what just happened and maybe shows that Jekyll was the dominant personality

Courtney Slocum said...

I don't think the characters understand each other at all. When hes Jekyll, he clearly feels bad for what he has done as Hyde, such as when Ivy comes to visit him-you can see the regret on his face, and he says he will never come around again. Since Hyde is all bad and Jekyll is supposedly all good, neither of them can imagine doing the actions which the other takes, and with that, they don't know why those actions happen. Jekyll changes into Hyde when he has an evil thought or intention or feeling, and I think he changes back when he has a thought of someone or something good. I think they both know what they do when they are the other becuase Hyde quotes what Ivy said to Jekyll and Jekyll's line of "I'm Harry Jekyll" at the end carries over through his transformation into Hyde.
I think Jekyll is supposed to be all good, but he actually isn't because if he was, he would never have any desire, conscience or not, to do the things which Hyde does. The book and film do not address ways to tap into the good side. Jekyll has the ability to make himself change with the potion, as does Hyde, but Jekyll also changes unwillingly. As far as I noticed, the only time Hyde changed unwillingly was when he was killed, and turned back into Jekyll.
And I think they end with him turning back into the Jekyll to show that no one can be purely good, everyone has evil desires, and the only way to get rid of those desires is to die, when you cannot have thoughts anymore you become pure.

Unknown said...

I was actually thinking of the characters awareness of each other while watching the black and white version of the film. I wasnt sure if Jekyll remembered the things he had done when he was Hyde or if it was as though he had blacked out. But in the book and the movie it seems as though Jekyll is made conscious of his actions at least through other people. In the book I thought that Jekyll really wanted the change because it was freeing and made him feel uninhabited, because of the social constraints that he had do to society. However in the film it seemed more like experimentation and boredom while his fiancee was away. I felt as though the film Jekyll had less of a reason to change because he had a good life that he shouldnt have done anything to mess up, but in the novel Jekyll was old and alone. In the book it sort of got to the point where Jekyll seemed to be addicted to the change. Finally once the monster is unleashed within Jekyll it seems as though he keeps wanting to reappear, and even a mere evil thought will bring him out. This reminded me of temptation and biblical stories where people act on evil thoughts and wrongdoings by persuasion of the devil. I think that the book isnt showing that Hyde is all evil and Jekyll is all good. Because Jekyll is made aware of what he is doing as Hyde and still continues to change, which is quite evil in itself. Ending as Jekyll I believe shows that he was in control, and that he has the choice to be good or evil.