Hyde Quotations

“stumping”

• The verb suggests unnatural way of walking - adds to the idea that he’s not normal

• Heavy, awkward and aggressive movement

• Animalistic

• The harsh sound of the word creates an impression of unpleasantness and discomfort

“Like some damned Juggernaut”

• The simile compares Hyde to a powerful, destructive force that crushes whatever lies in its path

• The religious adjective “damned” associates Hyde with sin and spiritual corruption

• The image of a Juggernaut suggests that Hyde is unstoppable and indifferent to the suffering he causes

• Stevenson presents Hyde as a threat to the moral order of respectable Victorian society

“trampled calmly”

• Juxtaposition → “trampled” suggests violence and destruction” whereas “calmly” suggests a piece

• animalistic language - he behaves in a way that is wild + untameable

• “Calmly” makes the violence even more disturbing because Hyde appears completely unaffected by his actions

“hellish”

• “Hellish” associates Hyde with satan and eternal punishment

• Stevenson presents Hyde as spiritual evil

• Victorian society was strongly influenced by Christianity, so comparisons with hell would create feelings of fear and disgust

“something wrong” “something displeasing” “something downright detestable”

• Repetition of “something” implies that he’s a thing and not human

• The adjective “detestable” conveys intense disgust

• Rule of three (tripartite sequence) - descriptions get progressively worse: initial feeling of discomfort always becomes pure hatred

“with a hissing intake of breath”

• The repeated “s” sounds creates a snake like quality

• The hissing makes Hyde appear more like a dangerous creature than a civilised human being

• Snakes are cold blooded And have venom: slowly spreads - kills

• zoomorphism - not human

• Biblical reference - serpent represented devil and temptation

• links to a snake

• “intake” caught of guard

“Pale and dwarfish”

• “Pale” suggests Illness and death while “dwarfish” suggests unusual physical proportions

• His emotions and thoughts are showing through his physical appearance

• supernatural creature

• Links to criminals

“snarled aloud with a savage laugh”

• The verb “Snarled” is usually associated with aggressive animals which dehumanises Hyde

• The adjective “savage” suggests no care, violence

• Juxtaposition “Laugh” suggests happiness, but “snarled” transforms it into something threatening

• Wild, animalistic, cave man like

“hailing down a storm of blows”

• The metaphor “storm” suggests overwhelming and uncontrollable violence

• Hyde’s violence is compared to a destructive natural force, suggesting he is difficult to restrain

• “Hailing” suggests a ongoing attack

• Hyde is presented as completely consumed by aggression

“he sprang”

• zoomorphism to describe Hyde

• verb: excitement, sudden, explosive movement → animals pouncing on their pray

• Hyde act as instinctively rather than thing of the consequences his actions might have

“jaws”

• Animalistic imagery: the noun “jaws” associated Hyde with a predatory animal rather than a human being

• many/multiple teeth - emphasises danger, aggression and power

• zoomorphism to describe Hyde

“jaws”

• Animalistic imagery: the noun “jaws” associated Hyde with a predatory animal rather than a human being

• many/multiple teeth - emphasises danger, aggression and power

• zoomorphism to describe Hyde