model answer

Model Answer:

This extract from half way through the novel has Mr. Utterson, worried about his friend, visiting Dr. Jekyll in rooms of the latter’s home that he has never been previously visited. This extract is important because through the descriptions of Jekyll’s laboratory and cabinet we get ideas about his secretive and sly undertaking of unorthodox scientific practices. Moreover diction from the semantic field of death foreshadows his untimely end.

 

This particular extract is key as this is the first time we are introduced to the eponymous protagonist’s private space in which he will die later in the novel. Although this passage comes from half way through the novel, these tragic events are already foreshadowed by words from the semantic field of death, complex sentences and by creating a repugnant setting, which significantly increases tension. The words such as ‘deadly,’ ‘sick’, ‘cold,’ ‘red’ and ‘silent’ all connotes lifelessness. Additionally Dr. Jekyll’s  “changed voice” in this extract foreshadows the tragic moments towards the end of the novel when Mr.Utterson and Poole are trying to breach the door of the cabinet and do not recognize Jekyll’s voice.

 

The author paints a very peculiar picture of Dr. Jekyll's private space through using Mr. Utterson as the reader's guide. Mr. Utterson is often our eyes and ears in the novel as he has useful qualities such as his "curiosity" and how he observes the scene painting a clear picture for the reader as seen through the words "eyed" and "gazed". The passage is written in free indirect discourse and this amplifies Mr. Utterson’s opinion of the atmosphere. He describes it as having a "distasteful sense of strangeness" which connotes being repelled and disgusted and "strangeness" connotes something foreign and supernatural. This foreshadows what the reader will find eventually about the true nature of Dr. Jekyll's activities. 

 

 

Stevenson highlights the secrecy of Dr. Jekyll's private space by including the motif of windows and doors and including words from the semantic field of obscurity. Dr. Jekyll's laboratory is described as being a "windowless structure" which implies that he is hiding something. Furthermore the "barred" windows hint at criminal activity and suggest how Dr. Jekyll will become entrapped by Mr. Hyde. Moreover there are words that connote obscurity such as "foggy", "fog", "dimly" and "thickly" which infer that Dr. Jekyll's unorthodox activities even in the world of conventional science. 

 

Additionally, this extract is further evidence of Dr Jekyll’s shift in interest from the anatomical, conventional scientific approach to the unorthodox, chemical practices which, the reader learnt before, were so disapproved by his friend and fellow scientist Dr Lanyon. Stevenson paints a picture of the scene of the house as it was previously used by its old owner “a celebrated surgeon” as being “crowded with eager students” and juxtaposes this with its purposes now. The room is now described as “lying gaunt and silent”. The words “gaunt” and “silent” come from the semantic field of death which suggests that the previous lively atmosphere has been contaminated and killed by the evil practices that have been introduced by Dr Jekyll. The change in atmosphere is a consequence of the shift in Dr Jekyll’s scientific methods, proving that the work he is doing is untoward and not appropriate. 

 

To conclude, this extract is particularly enjoyable as the reader savours entering and discovering the private spaces in the novel.  The atmosphere of intense secrecy and the suggestion of unorthodox goings-on further sharpens the appetite to know what Dr. Jekyll is really engaged in doing.