hyde

Question 1

overview

Answer 1

In the novella, Stevenson presents Hyde as an outsider by never writing from his perspective so the reader can’t tell what he’s thinking. However, we hear about other characters opinions of him through their perspectives. Stevenson shows how frighteningly different Hyde is through the use of vague descriptions and uses the gothic genre to help create a fear of the unknown. Mainly, Stevenson uses him to show how everyone has evil inside of them which would’ve been shocking for the Victorian reader.

Question 2

the story of the door (1)

Answer 2

• In E story, H ‘trampled calmly over the child’s body.’ The use of an oxymoron creates a strong impression that H is unnatural as his actions contradict each other. This is because ‘trampling’ is a very violent action and an ordinary person would not be able to do that ‘calmly.’
  -In response to this, E tells U that it was ‘hellish to see.’ The adjective ‘hellish’ is significant as the average Victorian reader would be Christian and would be very frightened of this link between the devil and H. This would create a strong impression on the reader that H is evil. E’s reaction is very exaggerated in contrast to H’s action which emphasises the idea that H is unnatural as he can create such a dramatic reaction.
  -When E finishes the story he tells U that H is not easy to describe but there was ‘something wrong’ and ‘something displeasing.’ The adjectives ‘wrong’ and ‘displeasing’ are very strong which suggests how E had an immediately negative impression of H. The repetition of ‘something’ creates a sense of vagueness as Stevenson uses the gothic genre to create a fear of the unknown.

Question 3

search for mr hyde (2)

Answer 3

• Before U talks to H he says that H went ‘strongly against the watchers inclination’. This is significant as U is reacting before he has even met H which suggests how bad H must be to create such an immediate reaction from U. His reaction is also similar to E’s who hated H on first sight. This helps to emphasise how terrible H must be for such respectable people to dislike him so much.
• U describes H to give ‘an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation.’ This quote reinforces the sense of unnaturalness that E mentioned earlier when he described H as ‘something wrong.’ The fact that U also realises this reinforces the point as U comes across as a trustworthy and reliable narrator to the reader who uses common sense.
• When H leaves U alone, U is left with the ‘picture of disquietude’. This suggests how U is disturbed by H which is significant as he is a rational thinker so this emphasises how strange H really is.

Question 4

the carew murder case (3)

Answer 4

• C is described to have an ‘innocent and old-world kindness of disposition.’ This links to the Victorian belief of physiognomy which means that if someone looks good they are good. Therefore, this suggests that as he has a kind face he is kind. Stevenson sets C up as the typical Victorian gentleman who is polite and kind to contrast this to H.
• When H attacks C he ‘broke out in a great flame of anger.’ Stevenson uses the metaphor of fire to suggest how angry and out of control H is as fire cannot be contained. The use of metaphor also emphasises his vague description as he can only be described when compared with other things. The repetition of the phrase ‘broke out’ helps to suggest how unpredictable H is.

Question 5

dr lanyons narrative (4)

Answer 5

• L first describes H as something that ‘struck me disagreeably.’ This enforces the negative impression the reader gets of H as many characters throughout the novella have the same first impression. The phrase ‘struck me’ is violent imagery which helps to create a forceful impression.
• L then describes H as ‘something abnormal and misbegotten.’ The word ‘something’ helps to emphasise how vague H’s appearance is. The word ‘misbegotten’ suggests that L thinks that H should not have been born and that he is an outsider because of this.

Question 6

dr jekylls full statement of the case (5)

Answer 6

• J says that H is ‘inherently malign and villainous.’ The word ‘inherently’ suggests how he was born evil without any good in him. This explains why the ordinary Victorian person was so horrified by him as he is pure evil whereas everyone else is a combination of good and evil.
• Towards the end of the novella J says that the ‘child of hell had nothing human.’ This helps create the sense that H is an outsider as he is a ‘child of hell’ so he’s not like the rest of society. This is also significant as earlier on in the novella, J praises H and treats him like a child so the fact that he has changed suggests how evil H really is.