Jekyll and Hyde Revision Settings and Symbolism Do

Jekyll and Hyde Revision: Settings and Symbolism. Do Now: from memory try and describe ( either in your own words, paraphrasing or a direct quotation anything about Jekyll’s home and Hyde’s home. Help line- look at the image and key words. Sordid Air of wealth and comfort Sinister block of building. No window. The pleasantest room in London. Challenge task: making connections- what do you notice about the settings everytime Hyde appears? Why is this important and significant?

Settings and symbols in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Definitions: The setting of a piece of literature is the time and place in which the story takes place. The definition of setting can also include social statuses, weather, historical period, and details about immediate surroundings. A symbol is literary device that contains several layers of meaning, often concealed at first sight, and is representative of several other aspects, concepts or traits than those that are visible in the literal translation alone. Symbol is using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.

Important symbols in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde • In pairs- why are the following important in the novel? What could they symbolise? • 1) Doors • 2) Windows • 3) Hyde’s physical descriptions • 4) Fog • 5) Dreams

• Read this extract from Chapter One (Story of the Door) and then answer the question. In this extract, the narrator describes the streets where Enfield and Utterson walk. It chanced on one of these rambles that their way led them down a by-street in a busy quarter of London. The street was small and what is called quiet, but it drove a thriving trade on the weekdays. The inhabitants were all doing well, it seemed and all emulously hoping to do better still, and laying out the surplus of their grains in coquetry; so that the shop fronts stood along that thoroughfare with an air of invitation, like rows of smiling saleswomen. Even on Sunday, when it veiled its more florid charms and lay comparatively empty of passage, the street shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood, like a fire in a forest; and with its freshly painted shutters, well-polished brasses, and general cleanliness and gaiety of note, instantly caught and pleased the eye of the passenger. Two doors from one corner, on the left hand going east the line was broken by the entry of a court; and just at that point a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the street. It was two storeys high; showed no window, nothing but a door on the lower storey and a blind forehead of discoloured wall on the upper; and bore in every feature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence. The door, which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained. Tramps slouched into the recess and struck matches on the panels; children kept shop upon the steps; the schoolboy had tried his knife on the mouldings; and for close on a generation, no one had appeared to drive away these random visitors or to repair their ravages. Mr. Enfield and the lawyer were on the other side of the by-street; but when they came abreast of the entry, the former lifted up his cane and pointed. “Did you ever remark that door? ” he asked; and when his companion had replied in the affirmative, “It is connected in my mind, ” added he, “with a very odd story. ” Starting with this extract, how does Stevenson use symbols to create deeper meaning for the reader? Write about: • how Stevenson uses symbols in this extract

What do we need to do? • Remember your AO’S. All of these must be covered in your response! • How do they link to the way that the question in worded? AO 1: Be able to analyse and evaluate a text and create your own detailed response. This includes creating your own personal ideas in a well-written essay and using references and quotes to back up your ideas. AO 2: Analysing the use of language, structure and form in the extracts you are given and the whole text you have studied and revised for, looking at how these areas are used to create meanings and effects for the reader. AO 3: Show that you understand texts are not written or studied in isolation – they link to historical and social contexts, too. Starting with this extract, how does Stevenson use symbols to create deeper meaning for the reader? Write about: • how Stevenson uses symbols in this extract • how Stevenson uses symbols to deeper meaning for the reader in the novel as a whole.

A possible approach to structuring your work • PETALS paragraphs. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW THIS ORDER- JUST MAKE SURE THAT THROUGHOUT YOUR ESSAY YOUR COVER THE 3 ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES IN DETAIL! • • • P = Point you are making linked to the focus of the question. E = “Evidence” this could be a quotation, paraphrasing or any reference to the text. T = Technique (what methods has the writer used). A = Analysis (why has the method been used? How does it help to create meaning? ). L = Link and how the character or theme is developed throughout the novel. S= Social historical context (only where it relates to the question).

The approach in practice! You might not have heard of PETALS paragraphs, but they are a good way of writing out analytical paragraphs. P = Point you are making linked to the focus of the question. E = “Evidence” this could be a quotation, paraphrasing or any reference to the text. T = Technique (what methods has the writer used). A = Analysis (why has the method been used? How does it help to create meaning? ). L = Link and how the character or theme is developed throughout the novel. S= Social historical context (only where it relates to the question). TASK: COLOUR CODE THE MODEL. IS IT A WAGOLL OR A WABOLL? How could it be made better? From the opening chapter of the novel Stevenson makes use of setting and symbolism to draw attention to the key themes of the novel; duality and secrecy. At the start our attention is drawn to Hyde’s lodgings by Enfield. Hyde’s house resides in a pleasant area ‘ shone out’ and ‘pleased the eye of passengers’ creating for the reader the idea that we are in a respectable and safe part of London, however Hyde’s house ‘thrust’ onto this street, this violent verb has connotations of forcefulness and when placed with the adjective ‘sinister’ makes the reader feel fearful and uneasy about this house. It could be seen that Stevenson is using the house to symbolise the nature of the person who resides there, Hyde. ‘Sinister’ and ‘thrust’ would make a reader feel uneasy about a person who was described in this way and sure enough, later in the chapter when Enfield describes Hyde trampling over the innocent child the reader can see that he, just like the house forces his evilness onto the good and innocent people of society. In a similar way. Later in the novel Jekyll’s house could be seen to symbolise the reputation that he himself has built about himself. Utterson remarks that it is the ‘pleasantest room in England’, this evokes an image of a home where people feel at ease, comfortable and safe because of Stevenson’s use of the superlative. At this point in the novel, the true link between Jekyll and Hyde is unknown to both the reader and the characters in the play, as far as the reader is aware (through Utterson), Jekyll is a respectable man and the reader would see his home, as symbolic of his ‘good’ character. As the novel progresses Stevenson reveals that these two apparently opposing houses are actually linked by a secret passage. This can be seen to symbolise the link between the characters of Jekyll and Hyde and how even those who appear respectable on the surface have a darker side.

Now over to you… What else could you write about in relation to setting and symbolism being used to create deeper meaning? Share your ideas now… Try to organise them into the correct AOs so that you know that you are fully answering the question. Remember you cannot just write about the extract! You must show knowledge of the whole novel. The use of windows in the novel The use of Hyde’s description and the symbolism The symbolism created by the weather The symbol of darkness

AO 1: Key ideas The narrator focuses our attention on where Enfield and Utterson are drawn to as well: the door on the aforementioned building. The building show windows, so no light gets in, but the door “bore in every feature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence. ” This is an abandoned street, one without hope and sunlight but left to rot. Even the people around the door are ‘disreputable’, not gentlemen and ladies but “Tramps slouched into the recess and struck matches on the panels; children kept shop upon the steps; the schoolboy had tried his knife on the mouldings; and for close on a generation, no one had appeared to drive away these random visitors or to repair their ravages. ” This door is surrounded by lower class members of society, tramps and poverty-stricken children that attack it with knives and ‘ravage’ its appearance. The door which is described here leads to a room connected to Jekyll’s own house which is described in Chapter Two as having “a great air of wealth and comfort”. Both the streets and the door in this description act as symbols of duality – from the same building we can have two very contrasting sides. A glorious, light, beautiful façade and a darker, sinister, disturbing neglected side. This represents the concept of human duality – on the outside we can appear to be very different people to how we feel on the inside. Both Jekyll and Hyde enter and leave the same building but through very different entrances. There are other significant symbols that students could discuss within the text: Hyde’s walking stick and burnt chequebook that act as symbols of the link between Jekyll and Hyde, but also the handwriting of Hyde that Mr Guest notices is virtually identical to that of Jekyll’s. These are clues about how the two characters are linked but are also further symbols of duality. Additionally, the Lanyon letter and Jekyll’s narrative are symbols of repression and secrecy. Both would rather take their dark secrets to the grave than damage their reputations or reveal their innermost thoughts in person to Utterson or anyone else they trust. AO 2: Analysis of language, structure and form We’ve already touched on the very different descriptions of the streets and the door, but the juxtaposition of these descriptions is incredibly important in understanding how Stevenson uses them as a symbol of human nature and human duality: “so that the shop fronts stood along that thoroughfare with an air of invitation, like rows of smiling saleswomen”, here he uses personification “stood” and the simile to convey to the reader just how wonderful this place is. However, the door in the other street “was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained. ” This is not an inviting entrance – the inhabitant does not wish to be disturbed, and their lack of care and awareness of others is reflected in the warped and decaying appearance of the door. There are so many language features used here and it would definitely be worth learning a handful of quotes from this extract to use within your exam essay. But also making a mental note of the use of contrast and juxtaposition would be very helpful, too. AO 3: Linking to social and historical contexts Victorian social expectations and responsibilities Victorian sense of social reputation and its significance Victorian respect for privacy and notions of repression How the text might link to the gothic and gothic literature Victorian ideas around class and reputation Victorian notions of duality

Write your own response to the question. Have you met the criteria? REMEMBER YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CONSTRUCT YOUR PARAGRAPHS IN THIS ORDERTHIS IS JUST A SUGGESTION. AS LONG AS AO 1, 2 AND 3 ARE BEING COVERED IN YOUR RESPONSE IN DETAIL THEN YOU ARE STILL ANSWERING THE QUESTION. P = Point you are making linked to the focus of the question. E = “Evidence” this could be a quotation, paraphrasing or any reference to the text. T = Technique (what methods has the writer used). A = Analysis (why has the method been used? How does it help to create meaning? ). L = Link and how the character or theme is developed throughout the novel. S= Social historical context (only where it relates to the question).