Compare how the ideas of evil are presented in the books “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde”.

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow perhaps, but after living through their own odysseys, so do Scout Finch and Dr Henry Jekyll. They slew and succumbed to their respective demons, both social and personal, and in the doing earned us all a glance at what lurks in the darker crevasses of the human mind.

Arguably, both Dr Jekyll and Robert “Bob” E. Lee Ewell are just products of their respective societies, Dr Jekyll of the repressive/permissive duality of the Victorian upper class, and Bob of the rural, unadvanced “Deep South” of America in the Thirties, just after the liberation of the black slaves.

In the town of Maycomb, “White Supremacy” is as established an ideal as the famous “American Pie” idiom, and Bob is merely the symbolic figurehead of this: He knows that no matter what he does, however low he or his family stoop, he will still be “Better” than the black population.

Jekyll, however, is a different proposition altogether: He is a metaphor for the twin nature of his times.

On the surface, Victorian London was extremely strict: history books are full of tales of covered table legs and feet being referred to as “Unmentionables”.

But behinds the scenes, the largest gathering of prostitutes in a single place to date plied their trade, and pornography was first invented.

Jekyll is a perfect representation of this: On the surface, he is respectable, even genteel, but behind his societal façade lies a deeper truth: a seething maelstrom of repressed anger, hatred, and sexuality. A perfect representation, then, of Victorian society.

Dr Jekyll is, I feel, more accurate in its portrayal of evil, as a beast that lurks within us all, held back only by the tendrils of the ephemeral “Jellyfish” known as Society, that teaches us what is expected.

Jekyll also, however, portrays the more callous evil that is undoubtedly present in all of us, the evil that forms the very basis of society: the repression of the lower class.

We can surmise this from the way that Hyde is able to “Smite (the match girl) in the face” and get away scot free, with no repercussions, as she was, after all, merely a member of the lower class.

This act can also be seen as repr expected.

Jekyll also, however, portrays the more callous evil that is undoubtedly present in all of us, the evil that forms the very basis of society: the repression of the lower class.

We can surmise this from the way that Hyde is able to “Smite (the match girl) in the face” and get away scot free, with no repercussions, as she was, after all, merely a member of the lower class.

This act can also be seen as repression of another kind: that of females by males. Before the suffragettes, who started their epic campaign in 1909, women were regarded as nothing, below contempt (much as were the black people in To Kill…).

Now Bob, on the other hand, and the society that he represents, give a flawed representation of the nature of evil.

If the character of Atticus is to be believed, evil is not something in us all; it is an external force that cannot dwell in some people.

This, however, we know to be false, as who amongst us has never had an evil thought about something?

Atticus is, essentially, Übermensch: a being of pure good power, incorruptible, and it is here that the usually impeccable characterization of Harper Lee is called into question, as we are forced to wonder: Can anyone be that good?

Whilst he may serve merely as an allegory, to throw the darkness into relief, he is a weak link in the book’s portrayal of institutionalized racism, by somehow putting him above not just his upbringing, but also his entire people, and that is just not possible.

Jem is a far better character in terms of realism; whilst he may consider himself above the masses in terms of personal enlightenment, in reality he is sadly lacking in understanding of others, as we see from his treatment of poor deranged “Boo” Radley, and his thoughtless impulsive behavior towards the drug-addled Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, Confederate war veteran and perfect example of the true nature of evil.

Mrs. Dubose is a simple woman, twisted by age and circumstance into a terrible harridan, an image of fear and hatred amongst the young population of the quiet little town of Maycomb. She has not evil in her heart, but what she has lived through has twisted her morals beyond any normal recognition, and in the core of it, there she sits, a human being that nonetheless regards it as acceptable to discriminate against someone due to nothing more than the colour of their skin.

Think: Why did President Jackson lead his forces against the Confederates?

To free people, black and white, from the crimes of oppression and prejudice.

A freedom that, to this day, many people still choose to ignore, and, in that, Harper Lee has evil to tee: Otherwise good people do nothing, and evil festers behind them.

This is diametrically opposed to Dr Jekyll, where good people just try to expand their horizons, and unwittingly unleash great evil, much as the protagonis