Duality of Mind : In Novella The Strange case of Dr .Jekyll and Mr.Hyde by R.L.Steveson

Preface:The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novella (short novel) written in the later part of the 19th century by Robert Louis Stevenson. The impact of the story dealing with  the idea of both Good and Evil contained in the same person. Dr. Jekyll is an upstanding member of the community, repressing his desires for the darker side of life.

He creates a chemical formula that transforms him into Mr. Hyde, the embodiment of all the Evil impulses Jekyll manages to control.

Dual Nature of Human Being :

The idea of people having both Good and Evil in them is certainly not new, but has been part of most major religions for thousands of years. Christianity, for example, is based on the idea that people will always fall short even when they are trying to do right. It is not hard to understand, on a personal level, that both sides of our nature can sometimes be in control. This is exactly what happens to Dr. Jekyll.

Freudian Concepts of Conscious and Sub-Conscious mind :

According to early psychologist Sigmund Freud, the mind tries to keep away evil thoughts and desires which are then banished to the unconscious mind. Those thoughts are not gone, however, but remain to affect the thoughts and actions of the conscious mind.
In Freudian theory, a Jekyll and Hyde situation in real life creates a Dual personality in one person. Sometimes that person seems more like the good Dr. Jekyll, but at certain times, the evil Mr. Hyde emerges.
Of course, in reality, the transformation is not a physical one, and is usually not a complete separation of the good and evil sides in one person.

Dualism of the soul is what differentiates some religions especially those that believe in the existence of evil. For example during the creation of the earth, the two forces were in existence where evil was purported result from powerful forces who were bad or good depending on what brought good tidings to the community or vice versa.

The force of bad and good are always in conflict and the force of good finally overpowers that of evil. For instance Christianity a religion in which Stevenson’s belong, does not support the fact that people should have dual personalities. Never the less, the dual existence of the soul of human beings together with the body is clearly stipulated and outlined by the body.

In his novel Stevenson, brings out Dr. Henry Jekyll as a hero who understands his evil nature. Dr. Jekyll who is fed up with his dual nature of life those he posses finally succeeds in performing some experiments to himself in overcoming the complete part of evil in him that is the Mr. Hyde in order to have each of the personalities involving in a lifestyle that is independent of one another.

Henry Jekyll admits that on daily basis his intellectual as well as moral being is in agreement that a human being can not exists in one personality. Therefore, good does not need a justification from evil for its manifestation. Each of these entities exists on its own. Dr. Jekyll however notes that enjoyment of life results from the two existing solely, however towards the end, this is what his death and ruin.

This is as a result of Dr. Henry Jekyll’s knowledge of the danger posed by Mr. Hyde to the community and this leads him to bring ruin to himself. At this point it is quite clear that Robert Stevenson decides to abandon Christianity and embarks on dualism personality. The author does not only tend to consider the dualism in individuals but also societal dualism where the nobility that was distinguished and discreet had evil secretes hidden behind their mansions walls.

Much of these evil is conducted at night in London’s most poor districts which are considered a home for people who are evil. It is important noting Mr. Hide, good, who finds his way into Dr. Jekyll’s house and takes off via the hind door. This seems quite confusing for Mr. Hyde who is in charge of refinement and civilization.

Furthermore, dualism philosophy implies that the world consists of two distinct beings. For instance the old Greek differentiated the body and soul as dictum.

The body is perceived as the old Greek as the grave. Therefore evil was perceived as that soul which is in infinite state being trapped in a finite grave. For example, Plato is quite dualistic in expressing his sentiments on the fact that the soul and the body are independent.

Robert Stevenson develops a hero by use of fabrication which in his literature is compared with liquor intercedes in his mental faculties to comes up with Mr. Hyde. This person introduced by the author apart from being evil, but him also has countenance which indicates characteristics of Satanism and a troglodytic body.

In this case the psychological process is shown as that process which can be arbitrated by outward methods and this also means that any change in the mental process of an individual is correlated to variations in the body. The author tends to eschew the original dualism of the mind and the body to a non dual way of looking at the same thing.

The main issues outlined in this theme by Stevenson are in agreement with the concepts of death, life and instincts as indicated by Sigmund Freud as well as the structural model of the psyche.

Sigmund defined instincts as a concept based on the frontier Amid , Physically and Psyche.
It is the mental representation of the stimuli that connects the mind.
The characters in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde posses the characteristics outlined in structural theory of the psyche.

Despite the fact that Henry Jekyll never tried to lead a life of severity, the good part in him was in constant war in need of freedom. When Jekyll is peacefully relaxing  he realizes Hyde’s symptoms emerging within him without the concoction. The appearance of Hyde is as a result of Jekyll’s denial and suppression and thus subconscious desires him.

This is corresponds with Jekyll’s desire of Hyde thus he is obliged by his feelings not to deny Hyde of anything he wants. The fact that Jekyll is such a respectable man in the society he tries to hide Hyde his feelings to himself and finds a way of overcoming his dualism.

In this way ,Dualism of personalities is what makes Jekyll hate himself and tries as hard as possible to overcome this nature.
So to speak, his possessing the attributes of both good and bad makes it difficult for him to just have one component of character. The nature of human beings is such that mankind exists in dualism and that is why most of the authors confirm that both good and evil co-exist.

Works Cited

Elwin, Leon. The Strange Case of Robert Louis Stevenson. London: Macdonald, 1950.

Halt, Robinson. “Dualism.” Warfield, Stitch. The Black guide to Philosophy of Mind. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003. 85-101.

Rieber, Watson. “The duality of the brain and the multiplicity of Minds: Can you have both ways ?” Hist Psychiatry (2002): 3-17.

Stevenson, Robert. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.

Appropriateness of Title 'All My Sons '

Introduction :

Arthur Miller
(October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, Essayist, and Figure in twentieth-century American Theatre Among his most popular plays are ;

All My Sons(1947)

Death Of Salesman (1949)

The Crucible(1953) and

A View From The Bridge 1955, revised 1956

He also wrote several screen Plays and was most noted for his work on The Misfits(1961). The drama Death of a Salesman has been numbered on the short list of finest American plays in the 20th century .
Miller successfully synthesized diverse dramatic styles and movements in the belief that a play should embody a delicate balance between the individual and society, between the singular personality and the polity, and between the separate and collective elements of life. He thought himself a writer of social plays with a strong emphasis on moral problems in American society and often questioned psychological causes of behavior.
He also built on the realist tradition of Henrik Ibsen in his exploration of the individual's conflict with society but also borrowed Symbolist and expressionist techniques from Bertolt Brechand others.
Some critics attempt to interpret his work from either an exclusively political or an exclusively psychological standpoint but fail to pierce the social veil that Miller creates in his work.Miller often stressed that society made his characters what they are and how it dictated all of their fears and choices.

The Title :

All My Sons is indeed appropriate for Miller's play Of that name .The title refers to 21 Air Pilots Who were killed during the war on Account of the Defective Cylinder head fitted into the P -40 which men had been flying in the course of their Raids over the Enemy Territory .The Aeroplane had Crashed because of Engine failure resulting from the defective cylinder which had been supplied by Joe Keller's Factory and which had been fitted into those Aeroplanes.
This is incident which had been included in plot of the Play .
When we think about Title so title is an important part of any literary work it should be Short ,simple ,and Meaningful .it provides glimpse for major theame, events and ideas of writers mind .this play connected with many ideas Like Morality, politics, sel-centred , American Dream ,Social responsibility etc.
For any literary forms title should connected with logically ,and rationally here this title connected with both way logically and rationally .if we do rational reading we find out suitable aspect related to title. We can evaluate this title with some Abstract ideas Generally title dealing with place, characters,and incidents but here it is dealing with an Abstract ideas. When we think rationally about meaning 'All My Sons' it means it's generalization and some way it is dealing with social bondage With Society .It is not an individual it can't be dealing with Moral and social emotion.In this point of view this title seems Meaningful and also rationally connection with The Play .In the play Catastrophe occurs as a result of the realization by the chief character that the pilots who had been killed,both way the same relationship to him as his son Larry ,Joe Keller realizes at the end of play there was no difference between his son Larry and The Pilots flying the P -40 which had been fitted with defective cylinder. He realizes that he was responsible for the deaths of those Pilots and that their deaths had subsequently caused Larry to commit suicide .
Keller's realization is an important part and connected with Title .he had been punished himself and committed suicide.and last words spoken by him 'All My Sons' with reference to 21 pilots.  who became victimed of Keller's Greediness.

In Short this play is all about conflict ,outer and inner , corruption,crime , Business, cheating ,love and Patriotism ,idealism,and practicality .
We can see these all elements which is part of Human life this play also depicted Human Relationship through incidents .title is suitable and Appropriately given By Miller For his Master piece .Play 'All My Sons'.

Thanks for Reading .

Christopher Marlowe : Contemporary of Shakespeare

Preface:

Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593) was an English Dramatist, poet and Translator of the Elizabethan Era. Marlowe was the foremost Elizabethan Tragedians of his day who belonged to the group of university-educated practitioners of literature known collectively as the ‘University Wits’. He greatly influenced William Shakespeare who was born in the same year as Marlowe and who rose to become the pre-eminent Elizabethan playwright after Marlowe's mysterious early death.
He is famous for his dramas-Tamburlaine, Doctor Faustus, Jew of Malta and Edward II.

Marlowe’s tragedy is significant due to its newness, renaissance influence, Machiavellian morality, powerful and passionate expressions, element of tragic inner conflict, overreaching Protagonist, popular literary style, high seriousness, bombastic language and blank verse. Swinburne remarks: ‘Before him, there was neither genuine blank verse nor genuine tragedy in our language. After his arrival the way was prepared and the paths were made straight for Shakespeare.’
               
Marlowe’s contribution to English tragedy is very vital and manifold. He has rightly been called the ‘Morning Star’ of the great Elizabethan drama. Following are the salient features of his tragedies.

         

Tragedy Before Marlowe

It was in the fifteenth century that tragedy came into English dramatic field. And this was due to the influence of the Revival of Learning and the translation of great Italian tragedies of Seneca. And the first English tragedy was Gorboduc by Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville. In the style and treatment of theme Seneca was very much their model. Although this tragedy showed some innovation, yet most of the Senecan characteristics—long sententious speeches, lack of action, talkative ghosts and horrible scenes of murder were very much there. The credit goes to Marlow to free the Elizabethan drama from the worst features of the Senecan tragedy. We can discuss various characteristics of his tragedy to point out how he formulated the English drama, specially the tragedy which was improved upon and perfected by a genius like Shakespeare.

Marlowe’s Tragic Heroes

Marlowe put forward a new kind of tragic hero. The medieval concept of tragedy was the fall of a great man, kings or royal personalities. But it was left to Marlow to create the real tragic hero. Almost all the heroes of Marlowe—Tamburlaine, Faustus or Jew of Malta—are of humble parentage, but they are endowed with great heroic qualities and they are really great men.

His tragedy is, in fact, the tragedy of the hero. All other characters of Marlovian drama look insignificant besides the towering personality of the tragic hero.

Tragic Flaw In His Heroes
  
Marlowe revived the Aristotelian conception of tragic hero in so far as he introduced a certain flaw or flaws in his character. His heroes are men fired with indomitable passion and inordinate ambition. His Tamburlaine is in full-flooded pursuit of military and political power, his Faustus sells his soul to the devil to attain ultimate power through knowledge and his Jew of Malta discards all human values in order to gain maximum wealth. But they perish by the forces beyond their control.

Inner Conflict

Another great achievement of Marlowe was to introduce the element of conflict, especially inner struggle in two of his great tragedies—Doctor Faustusand Edward II. And this inner conflict reveals the real significance of character as the main-stay of a great tragedy.

High Seriousness / Absence Of Female Characters

Another notable characteristic of Marlowe’s tragedies is its high seriousness and hence there is complete lack of humour.
According to many a critic, the scenes of clownishness in Doctor Faustus are nothing but later interpolations. His often neglects female characters.

Poetic Excellence / Blank Verse

Marlowe’s poetic excellence was highly appreciated even by his contemporaries. Swinburne pays his tribute: ‘The first great English poet was the father of English tragedy and the creator of English blank verse.’

            All of Marlowe’s heroes, Faustus is the most poetic, as he is a prototype of Marlow himself with his passionate love of beauty and yearning for sensuous pleasures.

                   Was this the face that launched a thousand ships,

                        And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?

                        Sweet Helen make me immortal with a kiss.

            A new spirit of poetry was breathed into the artificial and monotonous verse of old plays. He made blank verse a great dramatic medium acknowledged by all his successors as the metre indispensable for any serious drama.

Plot Construction

As for as plot construction is concerned all Marlow’s great plays, with the exception of Edward II to some extent, suffer from great technical defects. There are no sub plots in his dramas.

Influence On Shakespeare

Shakespeare was heavily influenced by Marlowe in his work, as can be seen in the re-using of Marlovian themes in Antony and Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, Richard 2 and Macbeth (Dido, Jew of Malta, Edward II and Dr. Faustus respectively). In Hamlet, after meeting with the travelling actors, Hamlet requests the Player perform a speech about the Trojan War, which at has an echo of Marlowe's Dido, Queen of Carthage. In ‘Love's Labour's Lost' Shakespeare brings on a character "Marcade" in conscious acknowledgement of Marlowe's character "Mercury", in ‘The Massacre at Paris’.

Work Cited :

http://shuaib6727.blogspot.com/2013/08/christopher-marlow-as-dramatist.html?m=1

The History of English Literature ,W.J .Long

Symbols : The Bluest Eye.

What is symbols ?
In literary sense symbols are use in very Broadway simple meaning of symbols is a sign .In the terminology of Literature it is used in broad sense .it means to reveal hidden ideas, through various objects symbols can be objective and Subjective.

It is connected with work directly and Indirectly it is reveal hidden ideas and appeal of writer.

About Novel The Bluest Eye :

The Bluest eye is a Novel written by Toni Morrison in 1970 .Morrison is well known Afro- American female Novelist .
This Novel is all about condition of Afro -American People Novel Pointed out Conflict of Breedlove family and Also Novel provided some impact of Great Depression .and Economical cricis .it is presenting reality of Black community . problems and Racism .Role of white dominating Society .Pecola central character of the Novel and this Novel depicted her unrealistic desire for Bluest Eye .
Who suffering from inferiority complex among society because of having Black skin and Ugly Appearance .At the end of Novel her desire turned into obsession and She suffered a lot .the story dealing with Love , Domestic Violence, Racism,Women and Feminity, Sexual Initiation and Abuse.

Some symbols are important for understanding and Making various Interpretation related to Novel which is used by writer . let's we see it in detail.

(1) Nature :
Nature means the phenomenon of the physical world collectively , including plants ,animal,the Landscape,and other features and products of the earth.as opposed to humans or human creations.

Novel consist 11 Chapters name given based on sesons Autumn, Spring,winter, summer. as we know that sesons impact over our life and mind .cycle of nature running in both way operating entire objects and some time it is used for re- production environment is not statics .here we can see change of seasion reflecting with the situation and incident for example Autumn is known as falling action of nature and Spring is known process of Re- productive system.same way we can see circumstances of characters Changing with nature Writer created suitable situation and assemble incident in correct Part as defined in nature .

(2) Family :
Family is part of our life we can not live without family.family is symbols of emotional Attachment ,love,care, sacrifice,trust ,and social-bondage .But here Pecola's family is not like that ,it is in paradoxically potrayed by writer .we can see violence,hatred, isolation,bias, irresponsiblity.by reading the Novel some relationship such as relation between Husband and wife,mother and daughter ,father and daughter.not emotional , feeling,care, respect they all are living as an isolated we can see only inferiority, violence,hatred.it doesn't follow the typical definition of family and we can't categories as Happy Family because of some personal bias and circumstances are responsible for that.frustred family members .Breedlove's family members are in miserable condition and became victims of Domestic Violence and clashes.Paulin and Cholly both are lives together but lack of love , emotions , feeling ,and sentiments.They don't keep respect for each other . Their expections not filled with each other after marriage.Morrison described some element related to depressed Family it is symbols of violence and lack of love .

(3) The Blue Eye :

The Blue eye symbolically presented in Novel both way subjective and objective .it is belief that having Blue Eye person can be attractive and Blue Colour Blue colour symbolises as universal belief.it can be centre of attractions Pecola want to get Blue Eye.to look attractive and pretty she want to someone love her . because of her Black colour and Ugly look no one can love her every one hate her .

In the sense that novel Title uses the superlative degree ' Bluest' it is indicated Superiority and Universal belief .one more thing here in Singular form 'Eye' is used for within Pecola's unrealistic desire .
Figuratively speaking " The Bluest Eye" is a metaphor for standardized nations of beuty that are discussed throughout the Novel.this symbol is directly relates to the Novel.

(4) Marigolds:
Marigolds represents the constant renewal of nature In Pecola's case this cycle of renewal is preverted by her father's rape of her. Claudia and Frieda associate Marigolds with the safety and well-being of Pecola's baby their believe that if the Marigolds they have planted grow then Pecola's baby will be all right . Marigolds is part of nature and As cycle of nature running for process of Re-productive .Here it used for both way as symbolically and some way it is related to superstition .by sowing seeds we need some kind of fertile soil otherwise it can be grow here Pecola's baby died it is symbolically telling that she is not enough mature to give birth of child .

(5) The Prostitutes :
Prostitutes China ,missMarie,and Poland,all represents the power of freedom from social constrains provides.These three women have already been caste out of society so they are able to avoid standard pressure of social expectations which allow them to live liberal .it is one type of Black spot on Society There is nothing like love but it all just for physical satisfaction .no one is expecting just for using so it is throwing light at darkness of society .

(6)The White Colour:

Whiteness as standard of beuty this typical represents the belief related to Beuty .if this is common definition of beuty if someone having white skin can be categories as Beutyful .but it is narrow mentality and judgement related to color .
Typically it is believe White colour represents Purity and Innocence but Novel Juxtaposed with something evil and Harmful or destroyed .White people are not good they are dominating figure and they not like black people .but when we think about equality and Humanity we can't judge white people as dominating figure after all are humans and Colours is not be Use for good or bad Things are thing there is nothing good or bad over thinking make so.

Conclusion :
In Short symbols are part of story and we can interpreted according to our understanding and knowledge. here it all are used appropriately and suitable ultimately it is depending on reader. how they can interpreted it depends on their perspective and vision we can not apply over own thoughts upon everyone.Throughout the Novel Morrison presented live picture in front of reader .some symbols are used as metaphorically but it is shown reality and rationally connected with each other .