Analysis of Portrayal of The Protagonist in H.G.Well's 'The Invisible Man' and R.L.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
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Invisible Man
The story starts in the village of Iping. When a stranger arrives at Iping, he enters
the Coach & Horses Inn and demands a room and a fire. When the stranger
removes his hat, his entire head is covered in bandages. Mrs. Hall thinks he has
suffered from an accident. She tries to get him to talk about himself, but he seems
to be very secretive. Then, Teddy Henfrey, a clock repairman, comes to the inn
for tea. Mrs. Hall asks him to repair the clock in the stranger’s room. The stranger
gets him to hurry up and leave. Offended, Teddy talks himself into believing that
the stranger is someone of a suspicious nature, perhaps even wanted by the police
and is wrapped up to conceal his real identity. After a few days, the luggage he
has been waiting for arrives. The contents are bottles, which raises suspicions in
the minds of the people of Iping. Because of this and the stranger’s strange
behavior, a general practitioner named Cuss interviews him, and he accidentally
see the stranger’s invisible hand, which makes him afraid. After this, a strange
robbery happens at the vicar’s house, and the next morning, the Halls realize the
stranger is not in his room but there are strange noises in the room. Finally, Mrs.
Hall demands an explanation and the stranger reveals himself to be the Invisible
Man, which raises panic. After the villagers' attempt to apprehend him fail, he
escapes the village. Then he meets Mr. Marvel, a tramp. He tries to use him as his
34
Maranatha Christian University
underling to take back his research notes but fails, and Mr. Marvel finally runs
away from him. As a final attempt, he visits his colleague, Dr. Kemp, to get help.
He reveals his name, Griffin, and tells him everything that has happened up to this
point. But Kemp betrays him and secretly calls the police, causing a fight which
ends with the Invisible Man’s death.
Synopsis of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The story opens with Mr. Utterson and his cousin Mr. Richard Enfield. Enfield
tells a story about a strange occurrence related to Dr. Jekyll's door. Late one night,
while on his way home, Enfield sees a deformed, short man who trampled down a
girl in the street on her way to fetch a doctor. After being forced to return the
money he took from the little girl, the mysterious man goes into the cellar door
and returns with a check bearing Dr. Jekyll’s name. Although Enfield assumes the
check would be a forgery, it proves to be legitimate. After hearing the story,
Utterson returns to his home to see the mysterious will of his friend and client, Dr.
Henry Jekyll. The will states that in the case of Dr. Jekyll's death, his substantial
estate will pass to Mr. Edward Hyde, whom Utterson has never met and whom he
assumes is the mysterious man in Enfield's story. Utterson concludes that Hyde is
blackmailing Jekyll and resolves to seek the man out to understand why. After
tracking the man down, Hyde is initially calm but turns angry when Utterson
extends the conversation, asking about his relationship with Dr. Jekyll. After a
series of murders and strange occurrences, it is finally revealed that Jekyll and
Hyde are the same person as a result of Jekyll’s failed experiment. Jekyll has been
trying to recreate his potion, but he always fails because of lack of ingredients,
35
Maranatha Christian University
which results in Hyde’s personality getting stronger, even transforming him
without any help from the potion. Finally, realizing he will soon be Hyde forever,
he leaves behind a testament before committing suicide by poison, pointing out
how he feels between these two personalities, and especially how he feels like he
is bound as Dr. Henry Jekyll and how free he is as Edward Hyde.
Biography of H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley, England, on September 21, 1866. His
father, Joseph Wells, was a professional cricket player until he broke his leg and
became a shopkeeper. His mother, Sarah Neal Wells, was a housekeeper. In early
childhood he loved reading and developed a love for literature. When he was
fourteen, his father’s business failed and he became an apprentice to a draper, just
like his brothers. He recorded his time as a draper in his future work, Kipps
(1905). At sixteen he became a student teacher at Midhurst Grammar School.
Then he was awarded a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London
and there he studied Darwinism and Biology under Thomas Henry Huxley. Wells
was not able to complete the requirements for his degree and lost his scholarship,
so he moved to London. He married his cousin Isabel Mary in 1891. Wells left her
for one of his students, Amy Catherine Robbins (known as Jane) whom he
married in 1895 and had a son with, George Philip, who was born in 1901. From
then on, Wells devoted his life to writing full-time. He debuted with The Time
Machine in 1895 and it became one of the most popular science fiction novels,
which gave him the confidence to dramatize science using fiction, such as the
fourth dimension, Darwin's theory of natural selection, and Marx's theory of class
36
Maranatha Christian University
struggle. Other novels, such as The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, and
The War of the Worlds soon followed. In 1903, with concerns for society, Wells
joined the Fabian society, which changed his writing style from science fiction to
political and social writing. He died on August 13, 1946 in London.
Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson was born under the name Robert Louis Balfour
Stevenson on 13 November, 1850. Unfortunately, he suffered chronic health
problems during his childhood, making regular school a problem. It was during
these times that he received literary influence from his nurse, Allison
Cunningham, who often read him The Pilgrim’s Progress and the Old Testament.
When he was 17, Stevenson entered Edinburgh University as a science student,
where he was expected to prepare himself to be a civil engineer, just like his
father. But he had no desire to be an engineer; he was more interested in literature.
So he told his father the truth, which caused them to have a painful difference.
However, this was later settled with a deal that Stevenson would study for the bar
exam should his dream of literature fail so he could still have a respectable
profession. Then, Stevenson became interested in human nature, influenced by his
environment, which eventually led him to write one of his greatest works, The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In 1873 Stevenson suffered from
tuberculosis and often traveled abroad in search of more healthy climates. He
recorded his journeys in his work An Inland Voyage (1878), describing a canoe
trip through Belgium and France in 1876, and in Travels with a Donkey in the
Cevennes (1879), an account of a journey on foot through mountains in southern
37
Maranatha Christian University
France in 1878. Then he went on an immigrant ship and train to California (187980), where in 1880 he married Frances Osbourne; he went across the South
Pacific on a pleasure cruise (1889), and finally to Samoa (1889), where he and his
wife settled (1889-94) in a final effort to restore his health. He died in Samoa on
December 3, 1894, and was buried on a mountaintop behind Vailima.
38
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
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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
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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
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Invisible Man
The story starts in the village of Iping. When a stranger arrives at Iping, he enters
the Coach & Horses Inn and demands a room and a fire. When the stranger
removes his hat, his entire head is covered in bandages. Mrs. Hall thinks he has
suffered from an accident. She tries to get him to talk about himself, but he seems
to be very secretive. Then, Teddy Henfrey, a clock repairman, comes to the inn
for tea. Mrs. Hall asks him to repair the clock in the stranger’s room. The stranger
gets him to hurry up and leave. Offended, Teddy talks himself into believing that
the stranger is someone of a suspicious nature, perhaps even wanted by the police
and is wrapped up to conceal his real identity. After a few days, the luggage he
has been waiting for arrives. The contents are bottles, which raises suspicions in
the minds of the people of Iping. Because of this and the stranger’s strange
behavior, a general practitioner named Cuss interviews him, and he accidentally
see the stranger’s invisible hand, which makes him afraid. After this, a strange
robbery happens at the vicar’s house, and the next morning, the Halls realize the
stranger is not in his room but there are strange noises in the room. Finally, Mrs.
Hall demands an explanation and the stranger reveals himself to be the Invisible
Man, which raises panic. After the villagers' attempt to apprehend him fail, he
escapes the village. Then he meets Mr. Marvel, a tramp. He tries to use him as his
34
Maranatha Christian University
underling to take back his research notes but fails, and Mr. Marvel finally runs
away from him. As a final attempt, he visits his colleague, Dr. Kemp, to get help.
He reveals his name, Griffin, and tells him everything that has happened up to this
point. But Kemp betrays him and secretly calls the police, causing a fight which
ends with the Invisible Man’s death.
Synopsis of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The story opens with Mr. Utterson and his cousin Mr. Richard Enfield. Enfield
tells a story about a strange occurrence related to Dr. Jekyll's door. Late one night,
while on his way home, Enfield sees a deformed, short man who trampled down a
girl in the street on her way to fetch a doctor. After being forced to return the
money he took from the little girl, the mysterious man goes into the cellar door
and returns with a check bearing Dr. Jekyll’s name. Although Enfield assumes the
check would be a forgery, it proves to be legitimate. After hearing the story,
Utterson returns to his home to see the mysterious will of his friend and client, Dr.
Henry Jekyll. The will states that in the case of Dr. Jekyll's death, his substantial
estate will pass to Mr. Edward Hyde, whom Utterson has never met and whom he
assumes is the mysterious man in Enfield's story. Utterson concludes that Hyde is
blackmailing Jekyll and resolves to seek the man out to understand why. After
tracking the man down, Hyde is initially calm but turns angry when Utterson
extends the conversation, asking about his relationship with Dr. Jekyll. After a
series of murders and strange occurrences, it is finally revealed that Jekyll and
Hyde are the same person as a result of Jekyll’s failed experiment. Jekyll has been
trying to recreate his potion, but he always fails because of lack of ingredients,
35
Maranatha Christian University
which results in Hyde’s personality getting stronger, even transforming him
without any help from the potion. Finally, realizing he will soon be Hyde forever,
he leaves behind a testament before committing suicide by poison, pointing out
how he feels between these two personalities, and especially how he feels like he
is bound as Dr. Henry Jekyll and how free he is as Edward Hyde.
Biography of H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley, England, on September 21, 1866. His
father, Joseph Wells, was a professional cricket player until he broke his leg and
became a shopkeeper. His mother, Sarah Neal Wells, was a housekeeper. In early
childhood he loved reading and developed a love for literature. When he was
fourteen, his father’s business failed and he became an apprentice to a draper, just
like his brothers. He recorded his time as a draper in his future work, Kipps
(1905). At sixteen he became a student teacher at Midhurst Grammar School.
Then he was awarded a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London
and there he studied Darwinism and Biology under Thomas Henry Huxley. Wells
was not able to complete the requirements for his degree and lost his scholarship,
so he moved to London. He married his cousin Isabel Mary in 1891. Wells left her
for one of his students, Amy Catherine Robbins (known as Jane) whom he
married in 1895 and had a son with, George Philip, who was born in 1901. From
then on, Wells devoted his life to writing full-time. He debuted with The Time
Machine in 1895 and it became one of the most popular science fiction novels,
which gave him the confidence to dramatize science using fiction, such as the
fourth dimension, Darwin's theory of natural selection, and Marx's theory of class
36
Maranatha Christian University
struggle. Other novels, such as The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, and
The War of the Worlds soon followed. In 1903, with concerns for society, Wells
joined the Fabian society, which changed his writing style from science fiction to
political and social writing. He died on August 13, 1946 in London.
Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson was born under the name Robert Louis Balfour
Stevenson on 13 November, 1850. Unfortunately, he suffered chronic health
problems during his childhood, making regular school a problem. It was during
these times that he received literary influence from his nurse, Allison
Cunningham, who often read him The Pilgrim’s Progress and the Old Testament.
When he was 17, Stevenson entered Edinburgh University as a science student,
where he was expected to prepare himself to be a civil engineer, just like his
father. But he had no desire to be an engineer; he was more interested in literature.
So he told his father the truth, which caused them to have a painful difference.
However, this was later settled with a deal that Stevenson would study for the bar
exam should his dream of literature fail so he could still have a respectable
profession. Then, Stevenson became interested in human nature, influenced by his
environment, which eventually led him to write one of his greatest works, The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In 1873 Stevenson suffered from
tuberculosis and often traveled abroad in search of more healthy climates. He
recorded his journeys in his work An Inland Voyage (1878), describing a canoe
trip through Belgium and France in 1876, and in Travels with a Donkey in the
Cevennes (1879), an account of a journey on foot through mountains in southern
37
Maranatha Christian University
France in 1878. Then he went on an immigrant ship and train to California (187980), where in 1880 he married Frances Osbourne; he went across the South
Pacific on a pleasure cruise (1889), and finally to Samoa (1889), where he and his
wife settled (1889-94) in a final effort to restore his health. He died in Samoa on
December 3, 1894, and was buried on a mountaintop behind Vailima.
38
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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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"paranoid." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web.
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