The Out of Control Alter Ego Essay -- Literary Analysis

The story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson conveys the theme of duality in nature in which man is fighting himself, or in this case, another version of himself. Being a psychology major, it is interesting to see a case this serious all all over how an alter ego can control the main psyche up to the point where it no longer conveys influence, but instead manipulation. In order to go out the control an alter ego can eventually have on the individual, it is important to comprehend exactly what an alter ego is and how an individual can tolerate dominance over it.A common misconception with this story is the readers belief that Dr. Jekyll suffers from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia (also called dementia praecox) is a psychotic disorder characterized by progressive deterioration of the personality, sezession from reality, hallucinations, delusions, social apathy, and emotional instability. In laymans terms, someone who suffers from schizophrenia is b orn with this disease and believes they hear voices, or see images, in their minds commanding them to eject certain tasks. They have no idea who the voices are or when they came to exist, but eventually they give into the demands in order to silence the voices. Subsequently, they withdraw themselves from society in the process. These symptoms do not accurately match up with the symptoms of Dr. Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll did extract himself towards the end of the story only because he could no longer manipulate his transformations. Nothing in the story reveals him being born with such a disease. Due to this, he cannot be classified as a schizophrenic.Another universal misconception is that Mr. Hyde is Dr. Jekylls crack up personality. This seems comprehensible ... ... song represents the emotions tied in with someone who has an alter ego. The movie Mr. Brooks is a reflection of the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and how he battled with himself to contain control over his mind and his n ature. This is how each source reflects the story of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Works CitedStevenson, R. Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Norton Anthology. New York W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. Print.Mr. Brooks. Dir. Bruce A. Evans. Perf. Kevin Costner. Blockbuster 2007, Film.Celesty. Demon Inside. Song and lyrics retrieved 3 may 2012. http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kXgeIzVLuUHamilton, John. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. www.imdb.com. Web. 3 April 2012.Florentino, Sonya. Alter Ego. Poems by Sonya Florentino. New York, New York. Penguin Publishing. 2009. 48. Print.