Jekyll and Hyde PPQ - Model answer summaries

Setting - disturbing and threatening atmosphere

• Cold and lonely setting with a dark mysterious atmosphere

• “wild cold seasonable night of march” “pale moon” establish a sense of foreboding

• personifcation of moon as “lying on her back” add to usellting atmosphere shows how moon position was unnatural and wrong

• violent imagery of trees “lashing themselves” images of danger and violence

• motif of fire as source of light and comfort “fire was built high” juxtaposes darkness and wild weather outside fear established from outset

• fog as motif to signify moral ambiguity hidden darkness of city contributes to oppresive atmosphere

• chocking fog hangs over city like a shroud heightens atmospehre of mystery and secrecy

• dark omnious imagery to suggest hyde at ease with surroundings coancled “deserted” streets sense of isolation/vunlerabhility (gothic context point)

• doors and keys as a metaphor barrier between jekyll and hyde

• symbolise inner struggles of two identites

• doors are a physical representation of the duality

• “the door was opened on a chain” caution and fear among servants

• “huddled together like a flock of sheep” showsterror

• Keys used to symbolise hidden truths and unlocking secrets

• Stevenson refrenmces locked door and forbidden information heightening mystery

Secrecy and Reputation

• twin forces that dominate victorian society hide desires to preserve public apperance concealment becomes survival appeareance vs reality

• “I have recieved a letter” “I have” mimics stammering signallking moral/emotional struggle

• interrupted syntax to suggest Jekuyll composure is breaking down “at a lot wheter i should show” conceals guilt

• Jekyll house divided existence “equipped with excellent taste” represnet honour hydes “laboratory is “blistered and ditained”

• architecutre in psychology fascade conceals corruption respectability hides sin

• Uttersoin breakes down door in chapter 8 symbolsies truth invaiding secrecy

• novel narrative strucutre creates layer of secrecy readers have to rescontruct truth from fragments

• mimicks invcestigative habits of victorian society fascinated by scandals

Guilt and consequence

• unavoidable once moral boundaries have been crossed jekyll desire to escape burden of conscience lead to physical tormet and suffering

• “a life of extreme seclusion” peaceful retrat but self imposed prison “extreme” shows withdrawl

• “suffer me to go my own dark way” future into a path of deliberate mystery and moral shadow calims he has brough this upon himself

• guilt links to sin and suffering “If i am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferes also” repition of “chief” balances guilt and pain superlative suggest jekyll is the worstr sinner and his punsihment should be equal

• Dr Laynon” my life is shaken to its roots “ metaphor suggest everything he beleived has be uprooted (cosequences) utterson quieter form of guilt by not exposng the truth

Lanyon attitudes to science

• rigid scientifc belief clash with jekyll dangerous ambition limits of traditional science with teh unkown

• when jekyll turns into hyde “reeled,staggered clutched”” choas mirrors lanyon collapse of certianty

• accumulation of sensory detial creating a scientific nightmare “O God” signal intrusion of faith intos science as he cant explain what he sees

• “unscientifc balderdash” captures both arrogance and fear blunt consonants of “balderdash” suggest disgust

• lanyon obsession with tradiational method refusal to consider “t5ranscenetal medicine” limits his imagination

• letter of lanyon used to show axitiest of scientifc progress to the audience

• lanyon symbolises failure of empirical science to confront mysteries of human nature unlike jekyll who sins through excess ambition lanyon persihes through disbelief

Friendship and loyalt

• moral forces that hold society together even when truth threatens to tear it apart

• Utterson - “you know me i am a man to be trusted” emphasises integirty and moral restraint declartive sentnce affirm reliability rather than affection stevenosn present loyalty as a code of conduct rather than a feeling

• “I incline to Cai heresey” - reveals philosophy of tolerance cain is ironic and choosing not to interefcere utterson compassion borders on complacency

• “inspeberable freind” later divided shows loyalty defeated by intellectual pride exposes the limits of friendhsip

Duality

• duality of human nature by shwoing conflict between outward respectability and inner desire talk about hipocrisy of victorian socieryt with apperances

• “man in not truly one but truly two” - word “truly” makes his claim sound scientific and certain as he has discovered a universal law instead of an opinon

• language is emotiuonal and dramatic call discovery a “dreadful shipwreck” compared life to a wrecked vessel to show how badly the experiment went

• use of first person voice of confession lets us see both the excitement of discovery and horror

• deepens inner conflict through the use of metaphors in the extract jekyll imagines the seperation of his two sides as a “beloved daydream” how tempting the idea has been for him

• imagery turns darker when he call sttruggle between “polar twins” and “curse of mankind” described the mind as an “agnoized womb of consciousness” the word show that this divison is both painful and universal

• each narrator only sees part of the truth fragmented way in tellihng the storyt mirrors the fragmented self that jekyll described in extract

Good vs Evil

• stevenson presented idea of good and evil by exploring tension between them and temptation and manifestation of evil

• presents idea of good and evil exploring dualityt of human nature

• “the first breath of a new life” transformation into hyde evil is not entirely a seperate entity but an extension of oneself

• stevenson highlights idea of innate duality and consequences succumbing to ones own evil side as jekyll exults “in the freshness of these sensations” evil nature take over has attractions

• “curse of mankind” both coexist within a person and are perpetually in conflict

• Steveson exploses idea that inherent evil of makind is suppressed by society under jekyll veneer of respectability jekyll conceals his dark secret as it will result in his ruin

• strict nature of victorian society often forces induviduals to surpress certain aspects of their character to maintain respectable

• jekyll cant supress desires lives a double life unable to reconcile the two sides of his character

• this supression is shown in enflied morning walks and utterson curiosity

• hyde would not exist if jekyll could lvie without rigid social contraints

Mystery and tension

• gothic genre of literature and the narrative employhs many of its convential feature through its sinister and grotesque setting which build m+t

• setting fog userd as motif to symbolise moral ambiguity and hidden darkness within the city

• structure of novella - sense of mystery only in final chapter resolves identity of hyde strucutre makes reader think they are two different characters

• steveson flashforwards one year and provide no information of hyde this creates the sense of foreboding and reader is left what to wonder

• narrative account and shift provide different perspective epistolary form near the end makes reader question credibility of the sources

• hyde is depicted as an outsider high elusive character referred to as “the man” air of mysteriousness and then as a cruel being

• “strong feeling of deformity” creates feeling of uncertainty and also hints at supernatural element as the descirption of him are quite ambiguous adding to the mystery

Hyde - inhuman and disturbing

• inhuman and disturbing member of scoierty protrayal as a malevolent evil and anamlistic character exposes themes of duality

• smaller than jekyll but stevenson only hints at physical apperance making him seem more disturbing

• “the man trampled calmly” words “calmly” and “trampled” juxtaposition of words highlights brutaility and horror of Hydes character foreshadows danvers carew

• illustrates hydes character spiralling out of control which each subsequent event becoming increasingly more brutal and violent progression algins with hyde becoming the more stronger and dominant side

• inherently violent character with no remose for his victims “mr devil” christian concepts of hell and satan constant reminder of his inhuman nature and inner evil and epraved nature might reside in each person

Hyde - threatening

• “clubbed him to the earth” “with ape like fury” imagery algins with Hydes savagery protraying him as aa creature ruled bt impul;se and devoid of empathy “trampling” repeated with girl earlier reinforcing Hydes repeated cruetly and his tendency to use brute force

• Hydes carries himself “really like Stana” marking him, not only dangerous but also morally and spiritually corrupt Hydes assciation with Satan and the supernatural present him as a threat to christian morality

• affectedcs character on psychjological level Lanyon dis of shcok “terror of the mind” revulsion is so great he refuses to talk about what he saw until his posthumous letter

Hyde - frightening

• Hyde is a frightening outsider through use of description

• dilebrate use of animal imagery highlights his seperateness from human society nd also alludes to unrestrained nature “savage” “hardly human” allude to primitve nature

• “troglodytic” implies primitve behaviuour which link to Darwins theroy of evolution challenge christian views of many victorians

• excplors victorian social attitudes apart from violent deed reader learn very little about him stevenson present him as somewhat pathetic and helpless at times

• as an outsider hyde could be viewed as representation of dangerous or represssion and servers as criticsm for victorian social and moral codes

Jekyll - Mysterous character

• unexplained action and witrhdrawals from society creates a character with dual identity

• mysterious character through frequent dissappearances and reclusive behaviours “evil influecne” of Hyde is removed and jekyll is able to return to charitable activites renewing realtions

• “familar guest and entertainer” gregarous generous model of respectable society

• however this is merely an illusion for by the end of the extract jekyll becomes reclusivce again as he waas once more “confined to the house” sudden shift in behaviour add mystery

• double life further add to mystery

• positve language and imagery to protray jekyll juxtapoising this with violent iamgery of hyde beneath his fascade of respectability

Jekyll - Sympathy

• invites reader to feel sympathy particulary through portyal of jekyll as a prsioner no control of transformation

• “disconsolate prisonmer” physically conformed at his home and psycholk,ogiall imprisoned by hyde immediately ellicts sympathy from the reader

• “infinte sadness” utterson observes in Jekyll as he sits by window converts regret and despiar

• Coverys his suffering to utterson and “premature twilight” of the setting adds sombre mood

• tragic figure might evoke our sympahty it could be argued he is also to blame for his downfall diminshes reader sympathy for him

• jekyll indulged in dark stuff instead of acting dignnifed and respectable expected to adhere to highest standard as restrain emotiuon desir

• hypocirsy as gentlemne could kjeep appearance with dark secret underlying

• jekyll could be seen as an actiuve participant in his downfall