The Duality of Human Nature - Essay Example

The Duality of Human Nature Humans do have a duality about their nature. In reality, humans possess both good and bad natures. The duality of thehuman nature is influenced by the product of society and a man’s fundamental nature, but ultimately a conscious decision decides whether a person is good or bad. Children form their total personalities before the age of four. Thus a child raised to be virtuous tends to be virtuous. A child raised to be a crook will tend to be a crook. Many criminals have blamed their childhood for their crimes. Yet if the duality of human nature was only blamed on being a product of society, then upstanding citizens would not snap and commit crimes. So man’s fundamental nature must play a part in the duality of human nature. In the end, it comes down to the path an individual decides upon despite being influenced by society and man’s fundamental nature. The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a perfect example of the duality of human nature. Many people have pondered why some people give into their evil nature, and others give in to their good nature. A reader might have the same question about Dr. Jekyll. Why did Dr. Jekyll give in to Mr. Hyde? A Cherokee legend gives the best answer: An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed." (Native American Legends) The answer is clear; Dr. Jekyll fed Mr. Hyde more than he fed Dr. Jekyll. Every time Dr. Jekyll drank the potion, he fed his evil side, or Mr. Hyde. The first time he drank the potion, Dr. Jekyll felt “at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked” (Stevenson, 2005, p. 31). Despite the wickedness of his new life after drinking the potion, Dr. Jekyll continued to drink the potion until it was no longer needed to turn into Mr. Hyde. Thus by feeding Mr. Hyde more, that is what Dr. Jekyll became. The winner of the dual personality, whether good or bad, is the individual’s choice. Dr. Jekyll made a conscious decision to turn into Mr. Hyde. Man’s dual nature is complicated. No man is every totally good, or totally bad. There can be a dominate side to the duality. For example, on the outside a law abiding man might be vain, or a criminal might be an animal lover, but a dominate side normally dictates a person’s life. Thus when a man shows a dual nature, it disrupts society’s neat little labels. Humans tend to simplify man’s duality. A man is typically considered good, until committing a crime, and then they are labeled bad. In a criminal’s case, the fight between good and evil was lost by the good side. However, like in Dr. Jekyll’s case, good did not lose and evil did not win. It was a conscious decision on Dr. Jekyll’s part. The reason for labels of good and bad is humans do not want to think that they have a dark nature. Most readers feel that in the situation between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, they would chose to live Dr. Jekyll’s life. Most humans want to fit into society. When some humans fail to fit into mainstream society, some humans try to fit into the outer fringes of society. These outer fringes could be a gang or other criminal element, along with other more law abiding fringe that include loners, computer geeks, and nerds. The need to fit in is a product of society’s expectations. The interesting part of The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is Dr. Jekyll’s decision to be Mr. Hyde. Most readers wonder why Dr. Jekyll gave into his dark side. For at first, Dr. Jekyll had to sip his potion to become Mr. Hyde. After deciding to be Mr. Hyde up until the time Hyde killed, Dr. Jekyll passed a point of no return. Once the decision to give into dark impulses is made there is no going back. Even when Dr. Jekyll wanted to stop, he found himself turning into Hyde (Stevenson, 2005, p. 69). He had fed Mr. Hyde too much. Every time he turned into Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll lost more and more of himself to Mr. Hyde. Finally Dr. Jekyll lost the battle to Mr. Hyde. The duality of human nature is also seen in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Some could say that the monster was evil and Dr. Frankenstein good, but the story could be interpreted another way. Both the monster and Dr. Frankenstein have good and evil sides. The monster only wants to fit in. When he does not, then the monster turns to vengeance and violence. When Dr. Frankenstein does not nurture his creation, then the monster becomes evil. The monster is a product of society and influenced by his inherent nature. Dr. Frankenstein loves his family and fiancée. He tried to make a beautiful creation. When his creation turned out to be ugly, he turned his back on the creation making it a monster. Both monster and man were influenced by society and their own natures. In the end, both monster and man made the decision to do evil acts. The one thing that controls man’s duality is a conscious. Dr. Jekyll’s potion was like a drug, or even alcohol. Drugs and alcohol lifts a person’s inhibitions. People under the influence do things that sober they would never dream of doing. Dr. Jekyll’s potion lifted his inhibitions creating Mr. Hyde. Whereas Dr. Jekyll had a conscious that dictated he has remorse. As the acuteness of remorse die away…The problem of my conduct was solved. Hyde was thenceforth impossible…I was now confined to the better part of my existence; and oh, how I rejoice to think it! with what willing humility I embraced anew the restrictions of natural life. (Stevenson, 2005, p. 68) That conscious was dulled by the potion at first, then by blackouts when he turned into Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll, like any drug user, started giving into his dark impulses due to the dulling of his conscious by the potion. Humans like to place good and evil in a battle with one another, with one or the other finally winning. Many individuals like the idea of a totally good Dr. Jekyll and a totally bad Mr. Hyde. The truth is every human possess a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The duality disturbs most individuals, so they do not acknowledge the two sides. The proof of the duality is when a person takes drugs or alcohol. The inhibitions are lifted to show the Mr. Hyde side. Thus the decision to not lose inhibitions dictated by a conscious or to lose inhibitions is ultimately the individuals. Whether an individual is good or bad depends on there decision. Every human has a dual nature. Human duality is influenced by society and man’s fundamental nature, but the side that wins is ultimately up to the individual. Dr. Jekyll chose to become Mr. Hyde too many times to return to being Dr. Jekyll. In the end, Dr. Jekyll became Mr. Hyde by choice. Like in the story “Two Wolves”, Dr. Jekyll fed Mr. Hyde more than he fed Dr. Jekyll. If Dr. Jekyll would not have dulled his inhibitions with the potion, Mr. Hyde would never have appeared. Despite having a conscious, after turning into Mr. Hyde too many times, the conscious was dulled. In the end, the evil won in this story Bibliography Native American Legends. Two Wolves. (n.d.). Native American Legends. Accessed 14 June 2009 from http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TwoWolves-Cherokee.html. Shelley, M. (2005). Frankenstein. New York: Simon & Schuster. Stevenson, R.L. (2005). The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Prestwick House Inc. Read More