Synthesis Essay

Hunt 1
Donnay Hunt
Mr. Hurt
English 10H - Period 3
13 September 2018
Psychological Scars
The most intense conflict a person can endure will leave behind a psychological scar.
This scar tends to be caused from the daily pressures’ society places upon a person. People are
taught to conform to a mold and only do what others tell them they are allowed to. When they
find themselves going against the grain or in a position that society does not accept, they are
treated in a different way. This treatment creates external conflict. In The Strange Case of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt, the
main character experiences a conflict against society.
In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll faces external conflict by
having to hide his identity from people he encounters. He is faced with attempting to contain his
other personality of Mr. Hyde from society with the fear of what people may think of him. Jekyll
reveals that he “found it hard to reconcile with my imperious desire to carry my head high, and
wear a more than commonly grave countenance before the public.” (Stevenson 61). He was not
proud of his other side; thus, chose to conceal it in public. Dr. Jekyll found that if he were to
allow society to see his second personality for who it truly was, “many a man would have even
balzoned such irregularities as I was guilty of” (Stevenson 61). Dr. Jekyll was ashamed and
scared of what people might say and do after only knowing the version that fits social norms, to
meeting the version that went against them. He experienced an external conflict by allowing
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himself to succumb to the pressures of people's expectations, creating a psychological trauma.
This trauma led to a scar that stayed with him and inevitably led to his death.
In Orbiting Jupiter, Joseph experiences societal pressures from being expected to fit the
perfect teenage mold. At a young age, he lost the mother of his child, never got to meet his child,
and has been in and out of jail. Joseph has been through various occasions where it was him
against typical morals and rules. As a teenager, society expects him to be going to school and
doing well, not getting into trouble, and staying away from people your parents don’t approve of.
He on the other hand, is the complete opposite. Upon arriving to Jacks house, “he wouldn’t let
my mother hug him. He wouldn’t shake my father's hand.” (Schmidt 5). Joseph has developed a
psychological scar from being taken away from his daughter and child's mother early on. Adults
were pulling him away from who he loved most which caused him to no longer appreciate rules
but to do whatever was in his power to find his daughter. When Jack was talking about Joseph he
said “It's not the solution, Mr. Canton. It's the path to the solution that's fascinating.” (Schmidt
5). This showed how Joseph has had to go through many things to get to where he is now. Joseph
cracked under society's pressure and developed a conflict of himself against society which led to
him enduring trauma that has shaped who he is now.
Psychological scars are a byproduct of environmental and societal influences. In an
article by Kristen Kiefler, she stated “curiosity piques when two forces oppose one another.”
(Kiefler 1). Both Dr. Jekyll and Joseph began their external conflict from their curiosity leading
them into an unwanted situation. Dr. Jekyll found a new substance and wanted to try it out which
turned him to be against societal regularities. Joseph began his conflicted journey when he met
Maddie and wanted to go against his family’s views. An article by Esther Giller stated that “a
traumatic event or situation creates psychological trauma when it overwhelms the individual’s
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ability to cope, and leaves that person fearing death, annihilation, mutilation, or psychosis Both
characters became conscious of how other people saw them and had to learn how to justify
themselves.” (Giller 1). When characters are faced with an external conflict, they begin to be
overcome by fear and are more conscious of what and who is around them. Due to this, they self
inflict a higher level of trauma by the thoughts of what society thinks. When society leaves
people “feeling numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people” (Robinson 1), those
characters begin to spiral which leaves them with mental scars. Dr. Jekyll and Joseph felt as if
they were unable to trust other people. This was cause from society’s pressure being held upon
them. When left on their own, they are no able to cope. These many identifiers are how society’s
conflicts leads to trauma.
Dr. Jekyll and Joseph were both faced with external conflicts towards society. Dr. Jekyll
had to hide himself from society to conceal what he didn’t want people to see. Joseph was
against the normal rules of society. Both characters struggled through pressure and gained
psychological trauma from it.

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Works Cited
Giller, Esther. “What is Psychological Trauma?” Sidran, www.sidran.org/resources. Accessed 25
Sept. 2018
Kieffer, Kristen. “Breaking Down The Four Main Types of External Conflict.” Well Storied,
www.well-storied.com/blog/what-is-external-conflict. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018
Robinson, Lawrence. “Emotional and Psychological Trauma”. HelpGuide. Smith, Melinda
Segal, Jeanne. www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma. Accessed 25 Sept. 2018.
Schmidt, Gary D. Orbiting Jupiter. Harcourt, Inc., 2005
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Introduction and Notes
by Jenny Davidson, Barnes & Noble, Inc., 2003.

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Hunt 1

English 10H - Period 3

main character experiences a conflict against society.

himself to succumb to the pressures of people's expectations, creating a psychological trauma.

him enduring trauma that has shaped who he is now.

Psychological scars are a byproduct of environmental and societal influences. In an

conflicts leads to trauma.

psychological trauma from it.

Giller, Esther. “What is Psychological Trauma?” Sidran, www.sidran.org/resources. Accessed 25

www.well-storied.com/blog/what-is-external-conflict. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018

Robinson, Lawrence. “Emotional and Psychological Trauma”. HelpGuide. Smith, Melinda

Segal, Jeanne. www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma. Accessed 25 Sept. 2018.

Schmidt, Gary D. Orbiting Jupiter. Harcourt, Inc., 2005

by Jenny Davidson, Barnes & Noble, Inc., 2003.

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