Notesale: Turn your study into money

Document Preview

Extracts from the notes are below, to see the PDF you'll receive please use the links above

---

How is Hyde presented in Chapter Two- The Search For My Hyde?
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Jekyll and Hyde (J&H) in 1886
...
In the novel, Stevenson uses many devices to introduce and
present the character of Mr Hyde and keep him intriguing to the readers
...
As readers, we meet Hyde officially first in Chapter Two as Utterson “began to haunt
the door” of the house where Hyde is seen
...
Most
notably, Utterson reports that Hyde had “a look of deformity,” which implies that he doesn’t look fully human
...
By doing this the author is making us depict him more carefully, questioning who he is into a deeper
level of interest
...
Due to this, I
think he wants us to use what we imagine as deformed because not one person’s interpretation would be the same,
spreading his idea of how society views a person differently based on judgement
...
In example, “Snarled” and “hissed” sound like sounds animals would make, or
onomatopoeias associated with them
...
These words aren’t particularly positive either, so it also furthers the negative
overview we have been given by Stevenson
...
Generally, Hyde is presented in a way with
correlates with the genre of gothic horror because he brings an atmosphere of disquiet to the chapter; a form of
discomfort was crucial in the 1800s to bring a book of J&H’s genre to light
...

In addition to this, Stevenson also uses influential situations like the murderers in London (that of the likes
of Jack the Ripper (even though his ‘prime’ was in 1888)) to outline Hyde
...
This is sharing similar characteristics with a no-good criminal mind
...
They would sneer and direct these smiles at them,
enticing them into their grip
...
At the time, the effect
on the audience would have been a great fear due to how alarming the murders were and they would view it as
something which could easily happen to them
...

Stevenson does use other techniques to enhance how Hyde is presented, such as using his behavior
...
When Hyde is enquiring about how
Utterson knew of him, he reacted with “extraordinary quickness” and darted into the house
...
The word “extraordinary”
implies yet again that the behavior (not just appearance) of Mr Hyde is baffling to Utterson, who is a reputable, austere
character
...
This means that due to his stricter outlook on life and his “inclination to help” others we think he’d not
exaggerate
...

Although Hyde was described fully in Chapter Two, our first insight into him took place in Chapter One
...
He recounted that Hyde had “calmly trampled”
over a fragile girl in the street and “left her screaming” in pain
...
‘Trampling’ once again seems inhuman, so what is Hyde and why is his behavior
so animalistic? Not just this, but he left the girl wailing in the street
...


How is Hyde presented in Chapter Two- The Search For My Hyde?
Based on the above point, Stevenson leaves the readers asking multiple questions regarding Hyde’s actions:
what was he doing out at that time? Why didn’t he acknowledge the girl’s injury? What was the cause of his “stumping
along eastward”? The word “stumping” suggests that he himself has been crippled or injured, but how? What? If
appropriate, who? Later in Chapter Two, Hyde is described as “dwarfish”, so maybe there is a link between his height
(as it is mentioned frequently) and his movement? Stumping also seems slightly hasty, as if he had somewhere to be
...
In Victorian London, the
streets would’ve been desolate at night due to the fear of the criminal figures mentioned before, noted by Stevenson
in his description around pages 17-20
...
This just adds to his image as a detestable fiend, or potential criminal
...
Utterson has the most important view in this chapter due to how the readers have grown to trust his opinion
(especially as his occupation is as a lawyer
...
Stevenson has used “Satan’s signature” as a metaphor for the Devil, the evilest
figure (arguably) in the world to humanity
...
For him to rank Hyde as the most malicious is very
notable because he’s only met him once at this point in the novel
...
“No
...
One would think that this is very suspicious because Jekyll is a reputable man
himself, so why would he place all of his possessions (and wealth) into a man who “seems deformed in some sense”
and who leaves children in tears? Enfield also embraces his disgust in the character in Chapter One when recalling the
story, saying “I’ve never met a man I’ve so disliked
...

The use of the word “never” means that Lanyon, who considers himself one of “Jekyll’s oldest friends”, is
in the dark
...
Again, Poole (the elderly
servant of Jekyll) says he sees “very little of him” (Hyde) around the house, mostly just in the laboratory
...
From a religious standpoint, science and experimenting was still viewed as blasphemy against God
because it was ‘doubting His creation’ and challenging many religious views
...
This is parallel to the conflict between science
and religion in the novel (Jekyll and Lanyon) and also in the time period
...
Through using historical context to link the novel to Victorian London,
Stevenson has included ideas from religion and murders around the time
...
He is an antagonist whom we shouldn’t bond with (which is
backed up by his “savage” laugh and defensive behavior
...
Suddenly we can make links to him
hovering around the laboratory and not the house, his late-night activities and defensive outlook on life
...




---