Jekyll and Hyde Excel Vocabulary- Grades 7-9

Question 1

Tier 2

uncanny

Answer 1

strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way.

Stevenson presents Hyde in an uncanny way- ‘he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation.’ Even his appearance is unsettling, but people do not know why.

Question 2

Tier 2 / Tier 3

fin-de-siecle

Answer 2

Turn of the century- the fear of the old and familiar turning into the new and uncertain.

The novella embodies fin-de-siecle fears regarding reputation, evolution, and regression.

Question 3

Tier 2

Pseudoscience

Answer 3

a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method.

Stevenson seemed to be influenced by the pseudoscience of physiognomy, as we see characters’ physical traits reflect their personalities.

Question 4

Tier 2

Conjecture

Answer 4

a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method.

Utterson makes several false conjectures in the novella, mostly about Jekyll’s relationship to Hyde.

Question 5

Moral myopia

Answer 5

The inability to see the ethical implications of something

Henry Jekyll’s experiment to free himself from the burden of duality results in failure because of his moral myopia, because he is a victim of society’s standards even while he would be free of them.