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Barbara Harrison Professor Petty English 102 March 3, 2014 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Trying to fit in in society is not any easier today than it was hundreds of years ago. It is a desire of most people to want to feel wanted and to be involved in something that can show their individual identity. People want to feel appreciated and valued for what they have to contribute to society. Self-image and a lack of confidence is one of the biggest problems youths face. At a young age, Henry Jekyll could not express who he really was without being degraded, and because of this he created another side to him that was more acceptable to society. Could Henry Jekyll have suffered from some kind of mental disorder? Schizophrenia is a form of psychosis and Henry Jekyll showed all the classic signs of Schizophrenia: emotional disturbances, social withdrawal, and disorganized thoughts. Henry Jekyll was a cheerful and happy young man. Many people did not like this about him, so he had to learn how to hide his emotions. In doing so he developed an emotional disorder. An emotional disorder is a mental disorder that is not a brain abnormality but a major disturbance of emotions. Studies have shown that boys have more emotional disorders than girls. People that suffer from an emotional disorder have a negative perception of themselves when interacting with other people. Mr. Hyde was his negative personality. Mr. Hyde was often described as: young, short, small stature, ape-like, powerful, deformed looking, and disregarded by society; where as Dr. Jekyll was described as a handsome, friendly, cheerful, fifty something year old white male. He was a very intelligent and well respected scientist, and still had trouble

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fitting in with his peers. Over the years of suppression his emotions, Henry Jekyll failed to meet his social expectations that he set for himself and developed a personality disorder. A multiple personality disorder is a severe condition in which at least two distinct identities, or personality states, are present and alternately take control of an person, called schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a split personality. One personality is usually an introvert; which focuses on a subject and sees the image of the world as fantasies, and the other an extravert; which the real world as they see it is a collection of things of instincts, a target for the impulses of a person. Both personalities can work side by side of each other and consciously know what the other one is doing. Mr. Hyde would do things that Dr. Jekyll could never do or would ever do. Mr. Hyde was the extrovert personality of Dr. Jekyll and became the more dominate personality. The more Mr. Hyde took over, the more socially isolated Dr. Jekyll became. Dr. Jekyll liked to entertain his friends. He would occasionally have dinner parties. As time passed on Dr. Jekyll became more socially isolated, which means he had lack of contact with his friends. Mr. Utterman would go to Dr. Jekylls house only to be turned away. On one occasion Mr. Utterman and Mr. Enfield was talking with Dr. Jekyll from his upstairs window and invited him on a walk and again he declined. On that particular day while Dr. Jekyll was talking, Mr. Hyde came out just long enough to be witnessed by Mr. Utterman and Mr. Engfield. Conversation became difficult due to Dr. Jekylls disorganized thinking and thought process. Disorganized thinking occurs due to failure to think straight. A person with disorganized thinking is easily distracted and unable focus on a thought for very long. People should always be who they are. There will always be someone in society that does not like you. Trying to fit into society and acting like a person someone else thinks you should

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act or be can be detrimental to ones psyche. Pretending to be someone else can cause a disturbance of ones emotions where a person would start seeing himself or herself in a negative way when talking with others. The more negative a person feels about himself or herself, the less comfortable he or she feels around other people and this could cause a person to socially isolate themselves from friends and associates. Hiding your emotions and acting like a different person when around people not excepting who you really are can cause you to have two personalities, which is a more serious mental condition called schizophrenia. One personality would be who you really are and the other would be the side of you would be totally opposite of your normal self. A split personality can be detrimental because the more dominate or worse personality could eventually take over ones mind and the real you could be lost forever. It is important to remember to be yourself, love yourself, and respect yourself because if you do not, how would you expect someone else to?

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Works Cited Edens, J.F, et al. The Self- Systems of Aggressive Children: A Cluster Analytic Investigation. Journal of the Child Psychology and Psychiatriy and Allied Disciplines. 40 (1999): 441-463. Print

Freud, S. Civilation and Its Disconnect. Trans. J. Strachey New York, 1962: Norton. Print