Frankenstein Vs. Dr. Jekyll Essay, Research Paper
In a world where a drug, a chemical or a piece of a technology has become the primary refuge for those who seek to rid their lives of imperfection, two scientists sought out to broaden their minds and penetrate the very limits of sanity, life and death. Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a passionate and thoughtful master of the natural sciences, curious at the subject of death and question the concepts of heaven and earth, decides to go to the extreme using the very knowledge he has acquired. On the other hand, Dr. Jekyll, creator of “Mr. Hyde,” is fascinated with the theory that man has a “good” side and a “bad” side. He realized that his professional career and reputation could be ruined. With a “wild” history, Dr. Jekyll seeks out to find a solution for his shame and guilt of his sins by compounding a potion that could separate the two components, good and evil. Both men with good intentions for the bettering of society did not realize the different rules they were now playing. Neither could predict the horror that was unleashed by their truly limited knowledge and education.
People usually don’t set out with a far-fetched and bizarre task of creating “life” out of “death” nor ripping and containing the two side of the double-sided human soul. Events leading up towards the actual decision of pursuing their attempts played a crucial role. After the death of his mother, Frankenstein a long, agonizing period of time grieving over his loss. Jekyll confesses to many youthful thoughtless actions. Frankenstein and Jekyll finally both realized the positive impact their findings, if successful, would have on the scientific community and all of humanity.
Although Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll are main characters in two separate books, while they go through their experiments, there are differences as well as similarities. Frankenstein used dead pieces of the human anatomy and by taking the role of God, created a breathing life form. Jekyll, on the other hand, created a synthetic potion that would alter the physical and mental state with the “good side” or the “bad side.”
Frankenstein, shocked by the horror of his new “creation,” runs away from it, causing his monster to let loose. Jekyll becomes obsessed with “other” self that he cannot control the metamorphosis process, and continues to take in the potion, until there is no more. Both Frankenstein and Jekyll’s reactions were dominated by emotions.
The unthinkable horror that touched upon the lives of Victor Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll were brought upon by their own actions. Frankenstein’s frantic attempts to stop his creation from committing any more acts of violence ended him up on the death bed not realizing that when he croaked, so did the monster. Jekyll commits suicide in order to also control the monster he created. Both men finally came to realizing the forces of nature they were messing with but learn of it too late. Science can explain physical phenomena and treat diseases, but, was never intended towards playing the games of life and death and controlling the balance of the human mind.