Predator and Prey Themes in American Psycho and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Anonymous 12th Grade

The repressed nature of both Victorian society and modern day American Wall Street societare reflected in both the The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and American Psycho. The characters of Dr. Jekyll and Patrick Bateman are alike in the way that both are respected high ranking members of their society. Dr. Jekyll is a doctor and Bateman is a businessman. Both live comfortably in the upper class and both are well educated. They reflect an outward appearance of class and good manners in their civilized society. However, lurking inside both of them are their hidden desires. Inside both of them hides their most primitive desires, a type of evil which manifests strongest in the repressed man. Not allowed to be themselves, but instead forced into a mold by their society they are both predator and prey. They are prey in the fact that in their everyday lives they are prey to the demands and expectations of their societies. Both, however, wish to gain some sort of control and power. They both crave the power to be less than perfect. Dr. Jekyll’s creation of Mr. Hyde shows his desire to be a predator while Bateman’s secret killings shows how he wants the control he is not allowed to have over himself.

Dr. Jekyll and Patrick...