Stevenson's Techniques In Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

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Nearly a year has passed since Mr Utterson’s and Mr Hyde’s peculiar meeting in the dismal district of Soho. In this violent scene Mr Hyde explodes almost randomly in a burst of anger and violently murders an old man that we later learn is Sir Danvers Carew who is a well known social and political figure. The mood is almost nightmarish and extremely suspenseful. There are a verity of teqniques that Stevenson uses through this scene to reinforce that overall nightmarish mood and make this particular scene of violence so gripping. The crime, a murder of a person of “high position” (Stevenson 21) is said to be committed by the light of the “full moon” (p. 21). Stevenson is using the full moon from a practical point-of-view so that the upstairs maid can clearly see and describe the encounter between Hyde and Sir Danvers. Also by using the full moon it gives us a sense of abnormality as a full moon, in terms of superstition, is the time when evil beings such as werewolves or deformed men ( Mr Hyde once having been described as a person that gave off “an impression of deformity” (p. 16)) commit their most hideous acts. This small detail greatly …show more content…

For example he uses old victorian words phrases such as “a trifle hurt” (p. 21) and “ brandishing the cain” (p. 21) that we wouldn't come across in a piece of modern literature. This helps the reader gain understanding of one of the main themes of the book: the uncivilised and inhumane side of humanity that conceals oneself within the formal wrapping of civilisation. Just like the savage Mr. Hyde hides in the formal, civilised Dr. Jekyll. Stevenson uses his writing style to cause chaos within the formal order of this novel. This gripes the modern-day reader because it makes the reader think about how something so hideous and gruesome as this can be said so plainly and simply in such a formal