Which side are you on; good or evil? Now think of two people one good and one evil. Now in your mind they might be evil but in their mind they might say they’re good any your evil or vice versa for the good person. In the story Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde (by Robert louis Stevenson) Jekyll claims himself good but Hyde declares himself bad and everyone else agrees with him. Jekyll and Hyde both are very bright and smart but use that ability in different ways. Jekyll is a drop of golden sun while Hyde is a black-hearted monster of evil. The two personalities of Jekyll and Hyde aren’t all good or all bad. With Jekyll and Hyde being the same person it’s possible that they could be on the unknown neutral side, technically neutral in real life is impossible.

All knowledge could be used for both good and bad. One key factor that Jekyll was smart is the fact that he was a very thorough person. He shows this when he is talking about the potion on page 46. It states, “Edward Hyde would pass away like the stain of breath upon the mirror; and there in his stead, quietly at home, trimming the midnight lamp in his study, a man who could afford a laugh at the suspicion, would be Henry Jekyll”. When this is said Jekyll is showing how he’s thinking things through. Another example is that he’s very aware of what’s to come. He shows this when on page 43 when it states, “I knew well that I risked death”. This shows that he’s aware of the fact that he could die from his scientific meddling . The last thing is that Jekyll was very observant of everything. On page 45 it states ” I think, it came about that Edward Hyde was so much smaller, slighter, and younger than Henry Jekyll.” This shows that he’s aware of what Hyde is like and his posture and shape.

Witch side is Jekyll on? Throughout this story it shows how Jekyll or Hyde couldn’t be truly evil.  Let’s start out with looking a Hyde. He showed he was evil on page 3 it states “…For the man trampled calmly overalls the child’s body and left he screaming on the ground.” This shows that Hyde is evil because a good person would help the child up instead of leaving her screaming on the ground. Jekyll displays that he’s a good friend on page 36 when he says”Dear Lanyon,–You are one

of my oldest friends; and although we may have differed at times on scientific questions, I cannot remember, at least on my side, any break in our affection. There was never a day when, if you had said to me, `Jekyll, my life, my honor, my reason, depend upon you,’  I would not have sacrificed my left hand to help you” This shows that Jekyll is loyal to his friends. Jekyll couldn’t be truly good and Hyde could never be truly evil. If Jekyll was truly good then why would he turn into Hyde over and over again. And I Hyde was truly evil he would drink the potion to get away from crimes but if he was truly evil then he would hate the idea of doing something good would be terrible and would take getting caught over drinking the potion.

Throughout the story Jekyll and Hyde were very secretive. One example that shows this is on page 17 and it states “Mr. Hyde had numbered few familiars–even the master of the servant maid had only seen him twice; his family could nowhere be traced; he had never been photographed; and…” This shows that he is not showing a lot of things about himself. Another example of his mysteriousness was his seclusion. On page 23 it states”I mean from henceforth to lead a life of extreme seclusion; you must not be surprised, nor must you doubt my friendship, if my door is often shut even to you”. This shows that he is trying to hide something and the that he wants to make his life in the dark so that he can make it that he can fix the potion without anyone getting in his way. The last example of him being secretive is when he is stuck as Hyde and he’s hiding from his servants. He’s giving them notes like this one: “In the year 18–, Dr. J. purchased a somewhat large quantity from Messrs M.  He now begs them to search with most sedulous care,and should any of the same quality be left, forward it to him at once” (30). This shows that no one knows anything except that the thing requesting the drugs isn’t Jekyll. Later we learn that it’s not Jekyll but it’s Hyde.

As you can see Jekyll and Hyde display many different characteristics. For both good and evil they used their brains. They were both good and bad but maybe not pure neutral.They also kept the potion a secret the whole time from their friends until they died. With all this going on it’s a tough question: Which side is Jekyll and Hyde on?