Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Essay Example He lives life like a trapped bird, because society expects him to be good in actions and attitudes. Dr. Jekyll chooses to be a good person, the perfect Victorian model that Evangelicals are proud of. Inside, however, he battles his Id that he has contained too much. He does not give in to his selfish desires, such as by doing philanthropic work, and as a consequence, his subconscious learns to love selfish and lethal desires. Soon, his appearance gives way to the inner self. The inner self, when it breaks free, becomes wild and strong. Dr. Jekyll turns to Mr. Hyde, the full expression of his innermost desires. This paper shows that when the inner self is fully imprisoned though appearance, it will be repressed, but not forever; and when it is released, it will destroy the humanity of a person. Wendy Perkins, in â€Å"Critical Essay on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,† examines the role of the ideologies, utilitarianism and Evangelicalism, in shaping Victorian England during the ninete enth century. These ideologies opposed each other and affected the context of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Perkins stress that these ideologies forced people to choose between being hedonistic and being moral, which are both extremes that do not do the soul and identity any good at all. She argues that through this novel, Robert Louis Stevenson criticizes Victorian society. Dr. Jekyll would not have created an evil alter ego, Mr. Hyde, if he had enough channels to express his â€Å"desires.† Perkins uses the characters of Utterson and Enfield to describe what norms should be during Victorian times. Utterson represents the â€Å"human side that refuses to condemn others.† Perkins is saying that if people did not focus on being good alone, then freedom of expression has been more tolerated, if not widely promoted. Enfield has the â€Å"same temperament as Utterson.† He stands for moderation in attitudes and behaviors. Utterson and Enfield shame Evangelicals and utilit arians who focus on their own goals and values. These characters are examples of tolerance and moderation that utilitarianism and Evangelicalism lacked. Perkins argues that society has made it harder for people to balance their conflicting desires. Utilitarianism justifies the creation of Mr. Hyde, since he enables Dr. Jekyll to fully express his desires, even evil ones. Utilitarianism says that it is right to pursue pleasure and eliminate pain. Mr. Hyde provides pleasure, though not in the normal kind. He makes Dr. Jekyll feel free to be whoever he wants to be. Dr. Jekyll also uses the â€Å"duplicity† of his characters to balance his conflicting urges and norms. Evangelicalism, however, compels Dr. Jekyll to kill himself, since he can no longer control Mr. Hyde. As a result, the ending satisfies Victorian norms. In the end, Dr. purifies the world from the existence of a malignant tumor like Mr. Hyde. Perkins stresses that utilitarianism and Evangelicalism are two extreme id eologies that pushed Dr. Jekyll to create Mr. Hyde. These ideologies do not promote sobriety and do not help people balance their different needs and interests. Perkins emphasizes that it is important for people to have a sense of balance in their lives, or else, they will also produce their Mr. Hyde, who cannot be controlled anymore. In â€Å"The Prisonhouse of my Disposition,† Daniel Wright explores that duplicity is not the main goal of Dr. Jekyll. He contends that such analyses are superficial and incomplete. He presents a psychological view of the novel, where the double

Proportional representative system in U.K Term Paper

Proportional representative system in U.K - Term Paper Example The reason for this has been partly likened to the failure by the plural form of elections to produce a clear winner after the 1974 election, which saw the formation of a weak government without an outright majority (Amy 23). Additionally, the additional vote from a third party in the 70s has also acted to highlight the disproportionate and distorted nature of a pluralist voting system. This paper provides a discussion on the way proportional representative system is better than plurality system in the UK. The Labor government, in 1997, made a promise to hold a referendum as soon as it got into power that would vote on the issue of introducing a representative voting system. However, this referendum was continually delayed and dropped off the labor party agenda. Additionally, the amount of choice that the voter would be given could also be limited. This is because there is an argument that the Labor Party and the Tories stand to lose the most if any changes are effected to the plural ist electoral system, which explains their reluctance to pursue the issue (Amy 25). Had proportional representation been used during the elections of 1997, it is possible that the big Labor majority would have seen a reduction with major gains by the Liberal Democrats (Connolly 31). This would have seen a gain from the forty six seats they attained to as high as one hundred and six members of parliament. The Lib Dems got 16.8% of all the votes cast, but suffered when it came to actual seats at Westminster, gaining less than ten percent of the total seats. Proportional representation would have altered their standing and greatly reduced that of the Labor Party. A similar incident would have occurred in the elections of 2001, a result that intimates the fact that pluralist electoral models are unfair and have the potential to be undemocratic, i.e., the number of votes that are cast for the government are not proportional to that the government’s popularity with the UK public (C onnolly 31). All proportional representation forms tend to possess similar basic merits. These merits include the fact that the system is more representative of the voting public’s wishes as expressed during the voting process (Connolly 35). In addition, fewer wasted votes encourage better participation in the election. The pluralist electoral model could lead to some voters avoiding the voting process because they perceive it as a wasted cause. Additionally, the minority parties could end up with fairer representation in Westminster. Independent candidates will also have more opportunities at being elected with only a single one, Martin Bell, winning a seat in parliament during the 1997 elections. The candidate lost the seat during the second attempt where he used the pluralist electoral route. Another advantage of PR is that it removes safe seats that are characterized by perennial low turnouts. If people feel that their vote counts, then they may be more encouraged to part icipate in the elections. Using the PR system, the voter also has an increased variety of choice as far as candidates are concerned. Finally, a pluralist system can be eliminated by a proportional representation system ending up with a system that is â€Å"