Explore the Ways in Which Stevenson Creates an Effective...

Explore the ways in which Stevenson creates an effective horror story in â€Å"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.† Robert Stevenson wrote â€Å"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde† in 1885. In â€Å"Dr. Jekyll and My Hyde,† Stevenson creates the atmosphere of a horror story. He does this through many different techniques. He makes subtle suggestions that the central characters lead a double life, creating suspense, dramatic events and the taking of innocent victims. In chapter one, Stevenson creates an enormous amount of suspense and intrigue in the description of Jekyll’s house. Firstly, as Stevenson describes the street, he makes a massive contrast between the attractive street: â€Å"The street and general cleanliness,† and Mr. Hyde’s house: bore in every feature the marks†¦show more content†¦Hyde. As the reader and Utterson have, no clear idea of who Hyde is, when Hyde starts to approach the awaiting Utterson it causes a huge amount of suspense: â€Å"The steps drew swiftly nearer and swelled out suddenly louder.† The tension is intensifies as the steps get closer. Stevenson takes his time to describe Hyde so when the reader is finally about to encounter Hyde is it extremely power as we do not know whether he will commit another horrendous murder, this time on Utterson In chapter five Stevenson does a useful description of the laboratory. Utterson describes â€Å"three dusty windows barred with iron.† However, the year before, Mr Enfield describes the same window as, â€Å"always shut but...clean.† This helps Stevenson create an effective horror story because this slight detail hints that perhaps Mr. Hyde is slowing but steadily taking control of Dr. Jekyll and the murderous evil man will continue before Dr. Jekyll has a chance to stop it all. Stevenson makes Hyde seem a monster/animal/supernatural evil in the way that he is described. Hyde clearly represents â€Å"the beast in man† and is described in a number of animalistic images. When Utterson confronts him, he is described as â€Å"hissing† like a cornered snake; Poole describes him as a â€Å"thing† which cries out â€Å"like a rat†; he moves â€Å"like a monkey† and screams in â€Å"mere animal terror.† He is described as â€Å"A Juggernaut†, â€Å"Like Satan†, â€Å"Deformed†, â€Å"Dwarfish†, â€Å"Hardly human†,Show MoreRelated The Representation of Evil in Stevensons Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde1490 Words   |  6 PagesThe Representation of Evil in Stevensons Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde This essay will show how evil is represented in Robert Louis Stevensons Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is about evil and the duality of peoples personalities. To show this I will focus on Stevensons use of characterization, setting, historical, social and cultural context, settings, symbols and language. Robert Stevenson lived in the Victorian era, this was a very repressiveRead More Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde2544 Words   |  11 Pagesâ€Å"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde† is a gothic horror novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson in the Victorian era. The novella follows a well-respected doctor - Henry Jekyll - and his struggle between good and evil when he takes a potion and becomes Mr Hyde. Robert Louis Stevenson - the author of the novella â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde†- was born in Edinburgh in 1850 and died at the young age of forty-four. He wrote the book in 1886. As a child he was very closeRead MoreExplore How Stevenson Creates a Sense of Intrigue and Engages the Reader’s Interest in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.1839 Words   |  8 Pages‘Explore how Stevenson creates a sense of intrigue and engages the reader’s interest in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.’ The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886. This book is a classic and has been very successful; therefore it has been turned into several films and theatre productions. The book seizes the reader’s attention and gets straight into drama and action, making it hard to put down. This well thought out and complicated book touches on many topicsRead MoreGothic Elements in Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens Essay2075 Words   |  9 PagesThe Gothic was born out of the romanticism genre in the late Eighteenth Century, combining romance and horror in an attempt to thrill and terrify the reader, yet in the Victorian era ceased to become a dominant literary genre. However themes of the Gothic still survived such as psychological and physical terror, mystery, supernatural and madness. The melancholy atmosphere and persistent melodrama in novels such as ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens are examples of Gothic el ements in later novels