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Daniel Kyong

Ms. Jorgensen

English 10H, Period 1

20 September 2018

Societal Judgement in Present Day

In our interconnected, instantaneous world of communication, the prospect of judgement

is often disregarded. Society has become so adjusted to perceiving people based on their looks,

wealth, power, etc. that it has become part of our culture. In ​The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and

Mr. Hyde, ​and ​Orbiting Jupiter, ​the authors criticize how adjusted we have become to our own

and others judgements. Similar to society today, the characters in their books explicitly show

their own perspectives and biases on other characters on ideas. Both authors are correct about the

extent of judgement today, and as stated in their books, judgement should be more openly

criticized and avoided.

Several times throughout the plot of ​The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde​, Mr.

Utterson, a prosperous lawyer, implicitly and explicitly judge characters such as Mr. Hyde, a

small, deformed, and somewhat disgusting man. He states, Mr. Hyde “​was pale and dwarfish, he

gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing

smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and

boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice​” (Stevenson

15-16). Mr. Hyde is clearly judged based off his physical appearance, with Utterson
acknowledging him as possibly evil, disabled, or capable of murder. Utterson’s fears of Mr.

Hyde m

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are suddenly legitimized upon viewing him. Other characters such as Dr. Lanyon and Mr.

Enfield also view Mr. Hyde and compare him to a savage animal. By judging his outer

appearance, they subconsciously believe that Mr. Hyde is less of a human than them and

therefore treat him worse than they treat others. The problem with this judgement is that despite

his own denials, the judgement that Mr. Utterson has on Mr. Hyde could potentially cloud his

own judgement and change his normal, reasonable personality. However, in contrast, the

physical appearance of Dr. Jekyll -tall, successful, and handsome- proved to show the other

characters that he as scholarly and respected. Described as “​a large, well-made, smooth-faced

man of fifty, with something of a stylish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness”

(Stevenson 27), t​he characters didn’t talk to him in the way they talked to Mr. Hyde, always

making sure to be most respectful and kind. Therefore, when Dr. Jekyll decided to research the

split sides of people, no one suspected much of what the hypocritical man was trying to

accomplish. Although his research was presented as a scientific experiment, Dr. Jekyll was able

to release the evil, ugly side of the respected Dr. Jekyll. The judgement and biases that people

had of Dr. Jekyll ultimately covered his hypocritical experiment.

In ​Orbiting Jupiter ​by Gary D. Schmidt, judgement is a reason for the unmannerly, guile

actions against Joseph, the protagonist of the novel. Upon first arriving to school, one of Joseph’s

bullies exclaimed, “I think someone’s tightie-whities got a little too tightie” (Schmidt 21). The

reasoning behind this name-calling is because people such as the parents and teachers judge him
based on his prior actions, the most substantial being his daughter, Jupiter. Teachers and students

alike judge him because of his actions, even though on the inside, Joseph was really a loving and

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mature kid. For example, the author continuously infers to the reader that underneath all his outer

appearance, Joseph has a lot of deep care for his daughter and new family, stating, “​Joseph just

listened. It was like he was dragging every word about Jupiter into himself so he could remember

it and treasure it in his heart” (Schmidt 73).​ In other words, Joseph cherises and values his

daughter and yearns for a relationship with her. While some of his prior actions such as

assaulting a teacher might not show this deep care, Joseph is compassionate and warm hearted on

the inside. In addition to bullying, parents also judge Joseph because while an 8th grader such as

himself may seem innocent and friendly, his desire to take care of his kid and be a more mature,

present father is widely rejected due to his age. The adults and children don’t understand his

desire to be a present figure for his child, so they instead turn on their own knowledge that

parenthood shouldn’t be a part of an eighth grader’s life. Ultimately, judgement shaped a lot of

Joseph’s overall development throughout the book, causing him to mature into a better, smarter

person.

In both these novels, the authors use their diction and tone to criticize the natural

judgements of society. They use scenarios such as the bullying in ​Orbiting Jupiter​ to show the

reader that judgement in today’s society is unacceptable and can often discourage or peer

pressure people to do things they don’t want to do. For example, upon asking to see his daughter,

Joseph is discouraged and denied by his daughter’s caretaker, the librarian. However, people

such as Jack’s parents encouraged and embraced Joseph’s want to meet his daughter, ultimately
ending with the librarian giving Joseph a picture of Jupiter (Schmidt 162). In addition, while a

judgemental society can cause people to do better things, it can also mask people’s true desires,

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such as in ​The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde​. Dr. Jekyll’s wealth and knowledge

masked the true intentions of his experiment. Because everyone around him respected him, no

one ever asked any questions to Dr. Jekyll. In the end, the judgements made can be both

beneficial and harmful to society.

In a society of constant gossip, fake news, and rumours, judgement is largely prominent

and will remain influential for years to come. While many may not realize it, judgement is a

huge part of their decision making factors. In both ​Orbiting Jupiter​ and T​he Strange Case of Dr.

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde​, judgement is criticized by the authors. In order to stop others from deciding

things based on physical appearance, race, etc. judgment must be criticized and avoided.
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Works Cited

Ferrin, Asia. “Good Moral Judgment and Decision-Making Without Deliberation.” ​Southern

Journal of Philosophy​, vol. 55, no. 1, Mar. 2017, pp. 68–95. ​EBSCOhost​,

doi:10.1111/sjp.12210.

“Judgement Today – The Cancer of Our Society.” ​RSS​, Voices of Youth. ​www.voicesofy

outh.org/ en/posts/judgement-today---the-cancer-of-our-society​. Accessed 14 September

2018.

Schmidt, Gary D. ​Orbiting Jupiter​. Boston: Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.

Print.

Sheard, Abigail. “Judgement Poems on Hello Poetry.” ​Hello Poetry​, hellopoetry.com/words/judg

ement/. Accessed 12 September 2018.

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894. ​The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.​ London

:New English Library, 1974. Print.