Quote analysis Flashcards
Jekyll and hyde
What does the Quote ‘Lawyer of rugged countenance…dusty, dreary…yet loveable’ suggests?
It suggests that Utterson is a man who us to argue a case of a client not to discover right from wrong but defend the person which money, this shows hypocrisy in his job. Also He is ‘loveable’ Stevenson is summarizing the duality of man very neatly portrayed in the description of Utterson.
What does the name Gabriel Utterson suggests?
His name suggests dual nature, Gabriel reminds us of the angel, a character clearly on the side of God, but this is contrasted with his surname. Indicating that he is completely human and will share the same thoughts as human nature. Stevenson is making the point to what human nature is about, between what is human about us and what is holy about us.
What does the Quote ‘Loathing…At first sight… only natural’ suggests?
Here you can see Hyde’s evil as easily overlooked, the most evil desire is to murder, this is the same feeling En field and the family have which is ‘only natural. This shows the Hypocrisy of the middle class men and women. Here Stevenson is alluding to human nature which is quite happy to fantasies murdering. Hyde will murder by why? is it expressing his evil nature of is it an attack on Victorian impulse to repress desires.
What does this quote suggests ‘Blackmail… youth capers’
Enfield describes that Jekyll must have done something in the past. When we look at this more closely there is an assumption that all gentlemen have committed crimes in the past which they have been blackmailed for, he implies they have escaped from this because of wealth and status. The use of the phrase ‘capers’ suggest that they should have no guilt over these.
What does this quote suggest ‘The man trampled over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground…she was no more than frightened’?
The use of the adverb implies that there is something terrible about the man . the use of the oxymoron is an uncomfortable image which suggest how evil Hyde is, he has no feelings of wrongdoing. However the the fact that it says ‘she was nothing more than frightened’ shows he hasn’t done anything to the girl at all, nothing to get the hate he is receiving. Hyde is the victim here and because we don’t side with him as readers, we too are accused of this hypocrisy of Stevenson.
What does the quote suggests ‘The last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men’
This suggests that utterson represents Victorian rationalism, always searching out for logical explanations and dismissing the supernatural. However although he is a good character he still is friends of men who have dual nature, suggesting he chooses evil over good.
What does the quote suggests ‘The last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men’ about religion?
Religion is a mental illness, Characters use religion as a scapegoat to their dual personality, utterson reads the bible as a way of being a part of society, religion is his ego. The superego is the conventions of society and religion is your conscious self being accepted in society.
What does this quote suggests ‘I incline to Cain’s heresy, i let my brother go to the devil in his own way’
He is saying that he will not intervene in another mans business, this foreshadows events in the bible with Cain and able. The irony here is that Evil Cain kills his good brother,showing that Hyde’s wishes is to take over Jekyll. This suggests that mankind is more in-tuned with the devil than God. Utterson speaks in formal sentences and avoids simplistic to reflect his profession as a lawyer.
What does the Quote ‘little man’ suggests?
Our first introduction of Hyde is significant. We might expect Stevenson to create an evil alter-ego for Jekyll to show how powerful Jekyll’s instincts are . Instead he points out that his evil is easily overlooked as it is ‘little’ hidden away. Suggesting that Hyde isn’t evil at all, maybe Enfield is the most evil as he calls him a ‘damned Juggernaut’, suggesting that he should go to hell, but Hyde isn’t responsible for hurting little girl.
What could you say more about Hyde from this quote ‘little man’?
Hyde is described completely unmasked, he doesn’t worry about social conventions and people do not recognize because he does not have a mask on. Stevenson is criticizing Victorian social conventions, that you have to be perfect and act in certain ways because it is unnatural. I think Stevenson sides with Hyde because he never tries to stay repressed.
What does the quote ‘It wasn’t like a man, it was like some damned Juggernaut’ suggests?
The adjective Juggernaut is contrasted with adjective of damned emphasizing the power of Hyde’s evil to Enfield, this is ironic as Hyde is only ‘little.’ Stevenson is being ironic here, he has been portrayed as incredibly evil but all he has done is knock over a girl and it was insignificant as Enfield said it was ‘nothing to see’. Stevenson could be doing two things, he wants everyone to see how evil Hyde is or could be showing Hyde lacks sympathy but is not evil at all. The real evil is the reaction to Hyde.
What is the Christian interpretation of this quote ‘It wasn’t like a man, it was like some damned Juggernaut’
Through the christian allusion of damned, Stevenson suggests that religion is the problem. Instead of the world which is a battle between good and evil, perhaps he is implying that Hyde’s desires are simply natural. He implies evil is caused by christian suppression of natural desires.
What does this Quote suggests ‘I am naturally helpless name your figure’
He speaks just as a gentleman would, in Victorian society he is incredibly honest, he is helpless and he is the victim here and the men are taking advantage over him. Hyde here is exposing the hypocrisy of the gentleman surrounding him, this is why he says ‘ name your figure’, he is asking them to put a price on their hypocrisy, a price on their capacity of evil, which in this case is £100, which is a huge figure then.
What does this Quote suggests ‘A certain sinister block of building thrust forward’?
This shows signs of neglect, Stevenson uses personification to imply the house as evil within Hyde.
What does the Quote ‘Coming home from some place at the end of the world about three o’clock of black winter morning’ suggests?
Clear biblical reference to judgement day, the idea here is that he has been in a place where we might expect sins to be committed, he has done it far away from the upper class area to get away with it. Exactly what Enfield is doing hasn't made clear but sounds far from innocent. The fact that it is very late and isn't drunk suggests what he has done is purposeful. The use of the adjective 'black' links to evil, the fact that it is winter makes it seem deliberately cold, all these words are symbolic for how the apparent upper class men are evil.
