SH+P5+2014+Multiple-personality+disorder

Emily Gates-Aim



The idea of a multiple personality disorder has been around for many years even being a huge part of the novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but what is this disease? The article Dissociative Identity Disorder it describes the disease as, Most of us have experienced mild dissociation, which is like daydreaming or getting lost in the moment while working on a project. However, dissociative identity disorder is a severe form of dissociation, a mental process which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity” (Webmd 1). This “loss of identity” is what causes people into their different and sometime very dangerous personalities. This means that being a victim to this disease or being involved with someone who has this disorder can be very dangerous. These types of people tend to be very dangerous and unpredictable. When ever changing from persona to persona these two characters can be very different and not knowing what personality that is about to come out could result in a dangerous environment. Not only is this a dangerous disorder but it is also a look into the mind of these people. When having a this is an identity crisis it might be easier for someone to express himself using their different personalities. This can help them reveal their true nature while being accepted. There are many different ways that someone can view multiple personality disorder, but no matter how it is viewed multiple personality disorder has purpose it the lives of everyone that it effects.

Jade Ketterer Audience



The book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde caught the attention of many people. The primary audience for the novel is the average reader, while the secondary audience of the book is doctors and psychologists. Psychologists are particularly interested in this novel because it demonstrates a very serious disorder call multiple personality disorder. A psychologist states,” one of the main characters, Dr. Jekyll, finds a way to “transform” into a person without a conscience. This second form is known as Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde exhibits strangely violent tendencies (such as murder) which force Dr. Jekyll to flee from the police, who are trying to hunt him down” (Derek 1). The novel not only includes the most relevant disorder, MPD, but many other disorders such as Dissociative Identity Disorder. The book attracts the average reader because of how well Robert Louis Stevenson was able to portray good vs. evil and the battle in oneself. But, because of the medical terms and disorders in the novel, the book attracts doctors and everyday people alike.

Historical by Lillian Petty



It is shown that the history of Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is well shown through the person's past or experiences that they had when they were a child. "Multiple Personality Disorder is packed with new material on MPD, including compelling new evidence that MPD is the most severe consequence of childhood sexual abuse. Also the author applies lessons learned from the study of MPD patients to an analysis of other psychiatric and nonclinical dissociative disorders” (Ross, 1). This is why most people call MPD Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) instead. The thing is, not most people realize that they have this disorder at first. They think that it’s just part of themselves and are not able to admit that there is something abnormal about their personality split. These are the details that the author had put into his book in hopes that he could attract a certain audience in which created a relationship between themselves and the viewers. The history of MPD is what the author used when he wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is expressed through the details that he used when he was portraying the split personalities of the main characters in the book. Theorists have stated that when a person has DID, they have more than one personality that resides inside of them. This is a good theory for someone to use when writing a book and that’s how authors are able to get the attention of the readers. This affects the text because it shows that the author is able to express what others are feelings as well as their emotions from DID so that more people will read it. The history provides information that would be helpful when explaining how the individual feels after their personalities change and that’s why authors choose to use the history when they are writing a book with this sort of subject.

Elise Hart-Cultural:

Although Multiple Personality Disorder or what is now known as Dissociative Identity Disorder(DID) isn't very common, the idea has influenced a lot of different things pertaining to pop culture. When this started influencing culture was in 1957, but when The Bird’s Nest came out in 1954 there were a lot of mixed reviews about it because it was the first time that people had seen the disorder used as a sort of entertainment in a book. The Three Faces of Eve is a more well-known book that involves DID in its plot line. This along with The Bird’s Nest was made into a movie at the same time (Muller 1). Some well-known movies that were based on multiple personality disorder include The Mask, Fight Club, The Nutty Professor, and Me, Myself and Irene (Davidovic 1). These movies are just the beginning of the list that have been influenced by this. Most of the movies that include this disorder tend to be on the dark side of movies. Because of this one would predict that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde will have a darker meaning behind its plot.

Works Cited Davidovic, Filip. "Movies about Multiple Personality Disorder." //IMDb//. IMDb.com, 12 June 2011. Web. 25 July 2014. "Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder)." WebMD. WebMD, 2005-2014. Web. 23 July 2014.  "Dissociative Identity Disorder - Home." //Dissociative Identity Disorder - Home//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2014.  Ross, Colin A. "Home." //PsycNET//. N.p., 2014. Web. 25 July 2014. Miller, Robert T. "The Media and Dissociative Identity Disorder." //Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist//. N.p., 19 Jan. 2013. Web. 25 July 2014. Pan, Dereck. "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde." N.p., 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 25 July 2014.