Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 193 views

    Mystery and Tension Essay in Jekyll and Hyde

    Uploaded by

    Siddhant Patel
    Stevenson creates mystery and tension in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde through several literary techniques. He uses pathetic fallacy to represent repressed emotions with the "first fog" obscuring truths. Victorian social standards of class and reputability are contrasted between the environments of Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll to raise the reader's curiosity. Irony is also used to build tension, such as describing Mr. Hyde as Dr. Jekyll's "favorite" while foreshadowing the harm to come. Overall, Stevenson strategically employs these methods to explore the novella's theme of duplicity and keep the reader engaged.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Mystery and Tension Essay in Jekyll and Hyde

    Uploaded by

    Siddhant Patel
    193 views2 pages
    Stevenson creates mystery and tension in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde through several literary techniques. He uses pathetic fallacy to represent repressed emotions with the "first fog" obscuring truths. Victorian social standards of class and reputability are contrasted between the environments of Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll to raise the reader's curiosity. Irony is also used to build tension, such as describing Mr. Hyde as Dr. Jekyll's "favorite" while foreshadowing the harm to come. Overall, Stevenson strategically employs these methods to explore the novella's theme of duplicity and keep the reader engaged.

    Original Description:

    An essay on mystery and tension in Jekyll and Hyde

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Stevenson creates mystery and tension in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde through several literary techniques. He uses pathetic fallacy to represent repressed emotions with the "first fog" obscuring truths. Victorian social standards of class and reputability are contrasted between the environments of Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll to raise the reader's curiosity. Irony is also used to build tension, such as describing Mr. Hyde as Dr. Jekyll's "favorite" while foreshadowing the harm to come. Overall, Stevenson strategically employs these methods to explore the novella's theme of duplicity and keep the reader engaged.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    193 views2 pages

    Mystery and Tension Essay in Jekyll and Hyde

    Uploaded by

    Siddhant Patel
    Stevenson creates mystery and tension in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde through several literary techniques. He uses pathetic fallacy to represent repressed emotions with the "first fog" obscuring truths. Victorian social standards of class and reputability are contrasted between the environments of Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll to raise the reader's curiosity. Irony is also used to build tension, such as describing Mr. Hyde as Dr. Jekyll's "favorite" while foreshadowing the harm to come. Overall, Stevenson strategically employs these methods to explore the novella's theme of duplicity and keep the reader engaged.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    AQA GCSE English Literature June 2018 Paper 2 Q07

    AQA GCSE English Literature June 2018 Paper 2 Q07

    Stevenson creates mystery and tension as he relates the novella’s events to the precept that
    ‘man is not truly one but truly two’ – duplicity.

    Stevenson creates mystery by employing pathetic fallacy with the ‘first fog’ as a way of
    obscuring repressed emotions, however, foreshadowing the coming of truth just as ‘the fog
    would be quite broken up’. Stevenson indicates the superficial occurrences to his readership
    through the alliteration of the ‘first fog’, implying even the simplest details should be
    received attentively. The ‘fog’ is symbolic of a concealed truth given the foreshadowing of it
    being ‘broken’, this appeases the contemporary, 18th century audience’s lust for surprise.
    Repressed homosexuality could be reflective of the fog, as it reasons an alternative nature
    to Dr Jekyll. The Doctor’s ‘undignified’ liking for the ‘elderly man’ could signify the exposure
    and coming out, since only subtle details are given just as the ‘fog’ was only partially ‘broken
    up’. The adjective ‘undignified’ evokes the reader’s alarm given the connotations of scandal
    and reputability, elements of society which could have been easily put against the then
    repressed orientation of homosexuality.

    Victorian standards of class and reputability are exercised by Stevenson to create mystery
    and tension. Stevenson contrasts Mr Hyde’s lodging, based by ‘a dingy street’, with Dr
    Jekyll’s, which is described with a ‘great air of wealth’. The juxtaposing of the environments
    through the adjective ‘dingy’, carrying connotations of impurity, with the noun ‘wealth’,
    highlighting Jekyll’s significance in society, instantly evokes the reader’s curiosity as they
    may wonder why Dr Jekyll, a man of ‘every mark of capacity and kindness’, would want to
    associate with Hyde, a figure of low social standing. Stevenson raises such thoughts to
    create a sense of scandal, empowered by the hidden duplicity. Stevenson employs a cryptic
    tone to obscure the reader’s foresight, emphasising the high social stake of reputability; the
    tone is created by using the noun ‘air’ and abstract nouns such as ‘great’, ‘capacity’ and
    ‘kindness’ to almost create a surreal experience for his readers. Victorian social emphasis on
    class is paramount to maintaining an obscure reality of duplicity.

    Stevenson creates tension through the irony of the construct of Mr Hyde as he describes
    him as ‘Henry Jekyll’s favourite’. The adjective ‘favourite’ is highly ironic as Stevenson
    maintains the separate identities to appeal to his readership’s fascination with gothic fiction
    where alter-egos featured as dramatic devices. However, the adjective is ironic since it
    negates the harm to be done, similarly ‘the home’ foreshadows the grave upcoming harm.
    This is evident when Stevenson uses the simile ‘like some disconsolate prisoner’ to describe
    the Doctor: the irony is in the fact that the Doctor has been imprisoned by his alter-ego,
    Hyde, in his own home. The simile implies the sheer pain of the Doctor as a ‘prisoner’.
    Stevenson further builds the tension as the Doctor swears ‘I will never see him again’. The
    reader is put in a state of tension and pity is evoked for Jekyll as they witness his worsening
    condition.

    Overall, Stevenson builds mystery and fear as outcomes of the novella’s central theme of
    duplicity.

    You might also like