Dr Jekyll & Hyde Flashcards
1
Q
Chapter 1
“Black, sneering coolness… really like satan”
Hyde / Religion / Reputation
A
- The adjective “black” has connotations of darkness, the unknown - which causes uncertainty, which leads to the gothic feature of the fear of the unknown.
- The adjective “sneering” shows that Hyde is cold, harsh, and sadistic
- The noun “coolness” relates to calmness and tranquility, contrasting with the adjectives and as a result evoking fear in the reader as Hyde being calm is quite frightening as it leads the reader to believe that Hyde has no conscience
- The noun “satan” relates to the devil evoking fear into the reader and Stevenson does this to show the reader how frightening Hyde really is.
2
Q
Chapter 1
“There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable.”
Hyde / Uncanny
A
- Hyde is an unidentifiable character that doesn’t blend in with the rest of society
- Is deliberately described as vague and amiguous to make the reader anxious about who he actually is.
- The idea that Hyde evokes fear and builds tension for the reader. It allows the reader to paint an image of Hyde that aligns with their own fears
- Hyde acts as a machine that revives the inner terrors and sins that exist within us.
- The repetition of “something” suggests the uncanny which would have evoked fear for the comperary reader as it’s a gothic feature.
- The use of dental alliteration gives a sense of abruptness which gives us an insight into Hyde’s violent and erratic nature. But it can also give a sense of authority which scares readers as the idea of Hyde having power would make him even more frightening.
3
Q
Chapter 1
“I saw the sawbones turn sick and white with the desire to kill him”.
Dawinism / Hyde / Good vs Evil
A
- The noun “sawbones” means a doctor, who is meant to be kind, respectable and care for people, wants to kill Hyde, shows the great influence Hyde has on others.
- The adjective “white” has connotations of innocence and purity
- The noun “desire” scares the victorians that Hyde is reverting back to his primitive state
- The verb “kill” shows his violent intentions which contrast with the doctor’s innocence.
- The adjective “sick” has connotations of disease. This idea of disease leads Victorians to believe that Hyde is unwell, he’s not normal, therefore considering him as ugly and as a result Hyde is classified as evil.
- Hyde causes an extreme, exaggerated physical reaction in both Enfield and the doctor, making both have disease-like symptoms, suggesting that Hyde is not even an animal, but a disease which inflicts suffering.
- Stevenson may be using these exaggerated, laughable reactions as a method to mock the respectable gentlemen that are blinded by the repressive society.
4
Q
Chapter 1
“It wasn’t like a man; it was like some damned juggernaut”
Hyde / Supernatural / Darwinism
A
- The pronoun “it” objectifies Hyde, therefore treating him as a thing instead of a person.
- The adjective “damned” has connotations with doomsday and the fact that there’s no rectfiying the situation.
- “Juggernaut” relates to practices in Hinduism, and this can symbolise Hyde as a member not accepted by the Christian God.
- The adjective “damned”, having the biblical connotations of Hell, which implies that Hyde is utterly removed from the respectable society.
- This links to darwinism: Victorians feared that they could revert back to their primitive state.
- The noun “juggernaut” means an unstoppable force, suggesting it is more powerful than humans.
- This would have scared the contemporary audience as at the time Victorians were christian and would have thought that the person higher than humans was God.
- Links back to the gothic genre and the supernatural, this evoked fear as Victorians were scared of the unknown.
5
Q
Chapter 1
“trampled calmly”.
Hyde / Good vs Evil
A
- The oxymoron “trampled calmly” shows the contrast between the girl’s innocence and Hyde’s brutality.
- The verb “trampled” suggests violence and barbarity, disregard for the child
- The adverb “calmly” connotes with peacefulness and tranquility, implying he’s emotionally unaffected showing his sinister reaction
- Contrast between physical and emotional actions
- Acted on ID - Freud’s Tripartite Theory
- Shows the prevalence of prostitution
Chapter 4: “With ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot”.
6
Q
Chapter 2
“Satan’s signature upon a face”.
A
- This metaphor suggests that the devil has marked Hyde for his own; he belongs to Satan and is therefore pure evil.
- Through sibilance a hissing sound like on of a snake is created.
- The snake was responsibly, in the genesis, story for tempting Eve to eat the fruit. Also, the snake in the genesis story is the devil… Stevenson is yet again proving Hyde is pure evil.
7
Q
Chapter 2
“The other snarled aloud into a savage laugh”
Darwinism / Hyde
A
- Utterson is the narrator making him a well trusted narrator and he gives a description of Hyde.
- The adjective “savage” implies that Hyde is degenerate without morals, and he is viewed as animalistic.
- The verb “snarled” is usually a sound that’s made by animals and has a sinister undertone.
- The use of sibilance suggests that there is a sinister aspect to Hyde’s character and can also imply the screcy behind it.
- The is relates to Darwinism: the idea that humans could possibly degernate into the inner savage if the veneer of society were removed.
8
Q
Chapter 2
“Unscientific balderdash”
Science
A
- The noun “balderdash” implies that Dr Lanyon believes that Dr Jekyll’s science is nonsense and not real science.
- Similarly to how the average religious Victorian would not have accepted Dr Jekyll’s mystical and metaphysical science, as it was new and unknown, which contrasted to Dr Lanyon’s rational and orthodox science, which represents the repression during the Victorian era.
- Could also imply that Dr Lanyon wants to break the boundary of science, but he is afraid, so calls out Dr Jekyll for his science. This represents the repression in Victorian society, and that Victorian people may want to do something, but don’t because it isn’t socially acceptable.
9
Q
Chapter 3
“Large handsome face of Dr Jekyll grew pale to the very lips, and there came a blackness about his eyes”.
A
- highlights duality between Jekyll and Hyde
- Victorian idea of purity, facade for his true self which is erratic and unpredictable
- Contrast between pale and handsome suggesting secrecy
- suggests illness, colour leaves face
- blackness represents gothic theme of unknown, shows unpredicability and evokes fear in the reader
- blackness has connotations of evil, dark, grief, this links to duality of human nature
- eyes are quite revealing - can tell a person’s yrue intentions. Fact that eyes have blackness suggests Jekyll has nearly revealed Hyde and his dark side further evoking fear.
10
Q
Chapter 4
“with ape-like fury”
A
- Simile shows that Hyde is animal-like because he has no control over his emotions, which lead to his violent and animalistic behaviours.
- This dehumanising image of Hyde as an animal strips him of his humanity and highlights his lack of remorse.
- Because Carew has done nothing to deserve his murder, Hyde’s fury seems to be wild and arbitrary. It could suggest that he is driven by a hatred of all people and the world in general.
- Darwin’s theory of evolution led many Victorians to fear the idea of ‘devolution’, the idea that humans could devolve into a more primitive state without the influence of civilisation. Stevenson may be playing on these fears to make Hyde seem a more terrifying character.
11
Q
Chapter 4
“a great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven”
A
- A ‘pall’ connotes funerals and death, mirroring the death that has just occurred.
- This pathetic fallacy emphasises the fear of the readers, making them feel uneasy as the area seems unsafe.
- It is a metaphor describing Hyde as being the chocolate pall, emphasising the dark and evil side within him, and Jekyll being heaven and how Hyde is taking control over Jekyll.
- However on the other hand, the alliterative phrase ‘chocolate covered’ not only emphasises the dirt and darkness but is seemingly ironic as ‘chocolate’ is sweet and liked by everyone but in this context, brings misery upon Soho.
- “c” sound creates a commanding tone suggesting that Hyde is playing God by causing this to happen
12
Q
Chapter 6
“Deep seated terror of the mind”
A
- Traumatic, evokes reader curiosity
- not going anywhere
- victorian audience - psychotic
- modern audience - empathetic
- “deep-seated” shows how duality or an alter ego is permanently and always in ever gentleman
- the reference to “mind” shows how even rational people have this duality
- the sibilance creates a hissing sound connecting the line to a snake or serpent howing how this terror is evil
13
Q
Chapter 6
“The rosy man had grown pale, his flesh had fallen away”
A
- physical decay - the semantic field of rot shows that Lanyon is slowly secomposing due to the guilt and trauma he feels.
14
Q
Chapter 7
“the smile was struck out of his face and succeeded by an expression of… abject terror”.
A
- The adjective “abject” shows that Jekyll knows his appearance (as Hyde) will be shocking and unfamiliar to Utterson and Enfield.
15
Q
Chapter 8
“I shall consider it my duty to break in that
door”
A
- Utterson is trustworthy and a loyal friend
