Analysis Of Portrayal Of The Protagonist In H.G Wells'The Invisible Man And R.I Stevenson's The Strange case Of DR. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study.................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ................................................................................3
Purpose of the Study .......................................................................................3
Methods of Research .......................................................................................3
Organization of the Thesis ..............................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO: DISCUSSION OF PORTRAYAL OF THE
PROTAGONIST IN THE INVISIBLE MAN ............................................5
CHAPTER THREE: DISCUSSION OF PORTRAYAL OF
THE PROTAGONIST IN THE STRANGE CASE OF
DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE ................................................................16
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ..................................................................27
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................31
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of The Invisible Man .....................................................................33
Synopsis of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ..........................34
Biography of H .G .Wells .............................................................................35
Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson ..........................................................36
i
Maranatha Christian University
ABSTRACT
Di dalam Skripsi ini, penulis menganalisis tentang karakteristik tokoh
peneliti dari dua novel yang berjudul The Invisible Man tulisan Herbert George
Wells dan The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde yang ditulis oleh Robert
Louis Stevenson. Kedua tokoh yang dianalisis di dalam Skripsi ini adalah Griffin
dalam novel The Invisible Man dan Dr. Henry Jekyll dalam novel The Strange
Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Setelah menganalisis kedua novel ini, penulis
menyimpulkan bahwa kedua tokoh di dalam kedua novel ini sangat menarik untuk
dibahas. Kedua novel ini bercerita tentang peneliti yang berhasil membuat sebuah
terobosan baru di dunia ilmu pengetahuan, tetapi terobosan sains yang seharusnya
bisa menjadi berkah justru berubah menjadi kutukan akibat penyalahgunaan.
Setiap peneliti tentunya memiliki pandangan yang berbeda dalam sains yang
membuat perbedaan dalam cara mereka menggunakannya. Hal ini yang menarik
minat penulis untuk mengangkat kedua karya ini sebagai pembahasan di dalam
Skripsi ini dan penulis berpendapat bahwa The Invisible Man dan The Strange
Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde merupakan karya yang sangat menarik untuk
dibaca dan dibahas karena memiliki pengembangan karakteristik tokoh yang baik
serta pesan moral dengan makna yang dalam.
ii
Maranatha Christian University
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
After analyzing H. G. Wells' Invisible Man and Robert Louis Stevenson's
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in this chapter I would like to draw
some conclusions.
From the analysis, I can conclude that the purpose of H. G. Wells in
creating the character of Griffin is to show that science is just a tool. Its good or
bad outcomes depend solely on how it is used. We can see this from Griffin, who
becomes slowly but surely mentally ill due to his obsession with science. Griffin
is the model of science without humanity, as he never intends to use it for good.
He begins his road of decline in college when he becomes so obsessed with his
experiments that he becomes paranoid as he hides his work in fear that anyone
else would receive credit. He becomes an introvert when he begins to focus all of
his attention merely on the concept of invisibility and neglects to think about the
consequences of such a condition. The evil that he could commit does not occur to
him until after he has swallowed the potion and seen the reaction of the landlord
and others, which makes him feel invincible. Then he decides to use it for his own
needs.
28
Maranatha Christian University
The irony is that his invisibility is good only for approaching people without
being seen and for getting away. Any gain from his crimes are useless to him. He
cannot enjoy any of the normal comforts of life-such as food, clothes, and money.
Thus the condition that would make him invulnerable also renders him helpless,
which slowly causes him to become psychopathic. In spite of his actions, Griffin
at no time expresses any remorse for his behavior or for the crimes, which he
selfishly describes as necessary. He goes from obsession to fanaticism and finally
to insanity, becoming a curse to the society.
Robert Louis Stevenson's purpose in creating the character Dr. Jekyll is to
criticize humans who tamper with science without moral limitations which leads
to misuse of science, and, in the end, their own downfall. We can see this from
how a respectable man such as Dr. Jekyll can turn into a cruel, despicable monster
like Edward Hyde. At first, Jekyll appears as moral and decent, engaging in
charity work and enjoying a reputation as a courteous and genial man. Seeing
himself as a model, he becomes convinced that humans are composed of both
good and evil parts, and he devises a drug to separate these components. By
taking the drug, he is able to turn into Hyde, the evil part of himself. However,
sometime later he wakes to discover that he has changed into Hyde without taking
the drug, and he realizes that Hyde is becoming stronger. From then on, he is
engaged in a continual struggle to find a way to cure himself, becoming reclusive
in the process. He must take the drug continually just to become Jekyll, and, when
he runs out of it, he realizes that he has been fighting a losing battle with himself.
Realizing that he will soon turn into Hyde for the last time, he becomes
29
Maranatha Christian University
despondent and declares his life is over. He committs suicide to as a final attempt
to stop himself.
After analyzing the portrayal of characters in the two novels, I would like
to discuss some similarities and differences between them:
The similarities are both protagonists plunge to their fall because of their
ways of using science without a good purpose. In The Invisible Man the
protagonist uses the result of his scientific experiment for evil things such as
murder, theft, etc., which causes him to be hated and killed by the society at the
end of the story. The protagonist of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
at first had a good intention in using the result of his scientific experiment, but
after experiencing the effects, he starts to enjoy doing evil things; as the effects
start to overwhelm him and he cannot do anything about it, he commits suicide.
As for the differences, the protagonist from The Invisible Man is a static
character who starts out having evil characteristics and stays the same until the
end of the story, while the protagonist of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde is a dynamic character who starts as a good man but then turns evil. Another
difference is the protagonist of The Invisible Man does not have a good purpose at
all in using his scientific experiment. When he first becomes invisible, he does not
think about using it for good but only for evil purposes such as using his
invisibility to fulfill his material needs. On the other hand, the protagonist of The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde had a good purpose when he created the
potion, which is to scientifically prove that man is not one but two, and to separate
the good and evil in man. But after he drinks the potion, he becomes corrupted by
30
Maranatha Christian University
it and decides to use it to satisfy his long-strained evil urges. The last one is that
the protagonist of The Invisible Man does not try to stop the evil things that he has
done until he is killed while the protagonist of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde tries to stop the evil things by committing suicide to prevent him from
doing more evil.
In my opinion, both novels are good to read because the writers succeed
in conveying their messages through the portrayal of the protagonists and it also
give us some new perspectives about the use of science in our everyday lives.
Personally, I like The Invisible Man better because it is easier to read and
comprehend, it also has a clearer plot. The character is also portrayed realistically
and is more plausible and I can clearly feel the thrilling atmosphere the character
creates. As for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it also has a great
story but the main weakness of this novel is too many details are left out, such as
the many crimes that Mr. Hyde commits, and the process of how Jekyll creates the
potion. This causes some difficulties in understanding the plot. Also, the character
sounds somehow too hypocritical, making it hard to be plausible. Nevertheless,
both are great novels to read and analyze and I would recommend that people
read both novels because of its great story and characters.
31
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary texts:
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. London:
Penguin Classics, 1994.
Wells, Herbert George. The Invisible Man. New York: Pocket Books, Inc., 1957.
References :
"Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson." Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson |
List of Works, Study Guides & Essays | GradeSaver. 2010. Web. 16 Apr.
2010
.
"cruel." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 15 Apr. 2011
.
"despicable." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary.
Web. 2011. 15 Apr. 2011
.
"despondent." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary.
Web. 2011. 15 Apr. 2011
.
"genial." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 13 Apr. 2011
.
"introverted." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary.
Web. 2011. 3 Mar. 2011
.
Keller, Charles. "H.G. WELLS SEES IT THROUGH". HG Wells USA
Introduction. 2010. 16 Apr 2010
.
Liukkonen, Petri, and Ari Pesonen. "H(erbert) G(eorge) Wells." H.G Wells. 2008.
16 Apr. 2010 .
32
Maranatha Christian University
"paranoid." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 8 Mar. 2011
.
Phelps M.A., Ph. D, William Lyon. "Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson ". 13 Feb
1906. 16 Apr 2010
.
"psychopath." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary.
Web. 2011. 17 Mar. 2011
.
"reclusive." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 15 Apr. 2011
.
"reputable." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 6 Apr. 2011
.
"selfish." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 11 Mar. 2011
.
"SparkNotes: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Analysis of Major Characters."
SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. SparkNotes LLC.
Web. 2011. 10 May 2011
.
Wheeler, Dr. L. Kip. “Literary Terms and Definitions: C”. 28 Jan 2010. 4 Sep
2010 < http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_C.html>.
33
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study.................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ................................................................................3
Purpose of the Study .......................................................................................3
Methods of Research .......................................................................................3
Organization of the Thesis ..............................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO: DISCUSSION OF PORTRAYAL OF THE
PROTAGONIST IN THE INVISIBLE MAN ............................................5
CHAPTER THREE: DISCUSSION OF PORTRAYAL OF
THE PROTAGONIST IN THE STRANGE CASE OF
DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE ................................................................16
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ..................................................................27
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................31
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of The Invisible Man .....................................................................33
Synopsis of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ..........................34
Biography of H .G .Wells .............................................................................35
Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson ..........................................................36
i
Maranatha Christian University
ABSTRACT
Di dalam Skripsi ini, penulis menganalisis tentang karakteristik tokoh
peneliti dari dua novel yang berjudul The Invisible Man tulisan Herbert George
Wells dan The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde yang ditulis oleh Robert
Louis Stevenson. Kedua tokoh yang dianalisis di dalam Skripsi ini adalah Griffin
dalam novel The Invisible Man dan Dr. Henry Jekyll dalam novel The Strange
Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Setelah menganalisis kedua novel ini, penulis
menyimpulkan bahwa kedua tokoh di dalam kedua novel ini sangat menarik untuk
dibahas. Kedua novel ini bercerita tentang peneliti yang berhasil membuat sebuah
terobosan baru di dunia ilmu pengetahuan, tetapi terobosan sains yang seharusnya
bisa menjadi berkah justru berubah menjadi kutukan akibat penyalahgunaan.
Setiap peneliti tentunya memiliki pandangan yang berbeda dalam sains yang
membuat perbedaan dalam cara mereka menggunakannya. Hal ini yang menarik
minat penulis untuk mengangkat kedua karya ini sebagai pembahasan di dalam
Skripsi ini dan penulis berpendapat bahwa The Invisible Man dan The Strange
Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde merupakan karya yang sangat menarik untuk
dibaca dan dibahas karena memiliki pengembangan karakteristik tokoh yang baik
serta pesan moral dengan makna yang dalam.
ii
Maranatha Christian University
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
After analyzing H. G. Wells' Invisible Man and Robert Louis Stevenson's
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in this chapter I would like to draw
some conclusions.
From the analysis, I can conclude that the purpose of H. G. Wells in
creating the character of Griffin is to show that science is just a tool. Its good or
bad outcomes depend solely on how it is used. We can see this from Griffin, who
becomes slowly but surely mentally ill due to his obsession with science. Griffin
is the model of science without humanity, as he never intends to use it for good.
He begins his road of decline in college when he becomes so obsessed with his
experiments that he becomes paranoid as he hides his work in fear that anyone
else would receive credit. He becomes an introvert when he begins to focus all of
his attention merely on the concept of invisibility and neglects to think about the
consequences of such a condition. The evil that he could commit does not occur to
him until after he has swallowed the potion and seen the reaction of the landlord
and others, which makes him feel invincible. Then he decides to use it for his own
needs.
28
Maranatha Christian University
The irony is that his invisibility is good only for approaching people without
being seen and for getting away. Any gain from his crimes are useless to him. He
cannot enjoy any of the normal comforts of life-such as food, clothes, and money.
Thus the condition that would make him invulnerable also renders him helpless,
which slowly causes him to become psychopathic. In spite of his actions, Griffin
at no time expresses any remorse for his behavior or for the crimes, which he
selfishly describes as necessary. He goes from obsession to fanaticism and finally
to insanity, becoming a curse to the society.
Robert Louis Stevenson's purpose in creating the character Dr. Jekyll is to
criticize humans who tamper with science without moral limitations which leads
to misuse of science, and, in the end, their own downfall. We can see this from
how a respectable man such as Dr. Jekyll can turn into a cruel, despicable monster
like Edward Hyde. At first, Jekyll appears as moral and decent, engaging in
charity work and enjoying a reputation as a courteous and genial man. Seeing
himself as a model, he becomes convinced that humans are composed of both
good and evil parts, and he devises a drug to separate these components. By
taking the drug, he is able to turn into Hyde, the evil part of himself. However,
sometime later he wakes to discover that he has changed into Hyde without taking
the drug, and he realizes that Hyde is becoming stronger. From then on, he is
engaged in a continual struggle to find a way to cure himself, becoming reclusive
in the process. He must take the drug continually just to become Jekyll, and, when
he runs out of it, he realizes that he has been fighting a losing battle with himself.
Realizing that he will soon turn into Hyde for the last time, he becomes
29
Maranatha Christian University
despondent and declares his life is over. He committs suicide to as a final attempt
to stop himself.
After analyzing the portrayal of characters in the two novels, I would like
to discuss some similarities and differences between them:
The similarities are both protagonists plunge to their fall because of their
ways of using science without a good purpose. In The Invisible Man the
protagonist uses the result of his scientific experiment for evil things such as
murder, theft, etc., which causes him to be hated and killed by the society at the
end of the story. The protagonist of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
at first had a good intention in using the result of his scientific experiment, but
after experiencing the effects, he starts to enjoy doing evil things; as the effects
start to overwhelm him and he cannot do anything about it, he commits suicide.
As for the differences, the protagonist from The Invisible Man is a static
character who starts out having evil characteristics and stays the same until the
end of the story, while the protagonist of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde is a dynamic character who starts as a good man but then turns evil. Another
difference is the protagonist of The Invisible Man does not have a good purpose at
all in using his scientific experiment. When he first becomes invisible, he does not
think about using it for good but only for evil purposes such as using his
invisibility to fulfill his material needs. On the other hand, the protagonist of The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde had a good purpose when he created the
potion, which is to scientifically prove that man is not one but two, and to separate
the good and evil in man. But after he drinks the potion, he becomes corrupted by
30
Maranatha Christian University
it and decides to use it to satisfy his long-strained evil urges. The last one is that
the protagonist of The Invisible Man does not try to stop the evil things that he has
done until he is killed while the protagonist of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde tries to stop the evil things by committing suicide to prevent him from
doing more evil.
In my opinion, both novels are good to read because the writers succeed
in conveying their messages through the portrayal of the protagonists and it also
give us some new perspectives about the use of science in our everyday lives.
Personally, I like The Invisible Man better because it is easier to read and
comprehend, it also has a clearer plot. The character is also portrayed realistically
and is more plausible and I can clearly feel the thrilling atmosphere the character
creates. As for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it also has a great
story but the main weakness of this novel is too many details are left out, such as
the many crimes that Mr. Hyde commits, and the process of how Jekyll creates the
potion. This causes some difficulties in understanding the plot. Also, the character
sounds somehow too hypocritical, making it hard to be plausible. Nevertheless,
both are great novels to read and analyze and I would recommend that people
read both novels because of its great story and characters.
31
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary texts:
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. London:
Penguin Classics, 1994.
Wells, Herbert George. The Invisible Man. New York: Pocket Books, Inc., 1957.
References :
"Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson." Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson |
List of Works, Study Guides & Essays | GradeSaver. 2010. Web. 16 Apr.
2010
.
"cruel." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 15 Apr. 2011
.
"despicable." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary.
Web. 2011. 15 Apr. 2011
.
"despondent." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary.
Web. 2011. 15 Apr. 2011
.
"genial." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 13 Apr. 2011
.
"introverted." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary.
Web. 2011. 3 Mar. 2011
.
Keller, Charles. "H.G. WELLS SEES IT THROUGH". HG Wells USA
Introduction. 2010. 16 Apr 2010
.
Liukkonen, Petri, and Ari Pesonen. "H(erbert) G(eorge) Wells." H.G Wells. 2008.
16 Apr. 2010 .
32
Maranatha Christian University
"paranoid." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 8 Mar. 2011
.
Phelps M.A., Ph. D, William Lyon. "Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson ". 13 Feb
1906. 16 Apr 2010
.
"psychopath." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary.
Web. 2011. 17 Mar. 2011
.
"reclusive." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 15 Apr. 2011
.
"reputable." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 6 Apr. 2011
.
"selfish." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
2011. 11 Mar. 2011
.
"SparkNotes: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Analysis of Major Characters."
SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. SparkNotes LLC.
Web. 2011. 10 May 2011
.
Wheeler, Dr. L. Kip. “Literary Terms and Definitions: C”. 28 Jan 2010. 4 Sep
2010 < http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_C.html>.
33
Maranatha Christian University