2024 – How does Stevenson create an atmosphere of fear and danger?
Thesis:
Stevenson creates fear and danger through unsettling settings, violent behaviour, and the
gradual revelation of Hyde’s nature. Gothic imagery and symbolism reflect Victorian
anxieties about crime and moral decay. The fragmented narrative sustains tension by
limiting knowledge. Fear is presented as constant and unavoidable.
Focus Quotation Technique & effect
Setting & atmosphere Fog rolled over the city Pathetic fallacy – fog
symbolises moral confusion
and concealment
Gothic imagery A district of some city in a Simile – creates a surreal
nightmare and threatening setting
Violence Bones audibly shattered Sensory imagery – shocks
the reader and reinforces
danger
2023 – How is Hyde presented as inhuman and dangerous?
Thesis:
Hyde is presented as a figure stripped of humanity and morality. Stevenson uses animalistic
and religious imagery to dehumanise him. His violence appears instinctive rather than
rational. Hyde embodies Victorian fears about degeneration and the hidden evil within
humans.
Focus Quotation Technique & effect
Appearance Something troglodytic Dehumanisation – suggests
regression and
primitiveness
Animal imagery Ape-like fury Zoomorphism – links Hyde
to savagery
Religious imagery Like Satan Allusion – presents Hyde as
pure evil