ENTRY 27- DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE

Language 4 Entry Nª 27

Extract from chapter 8 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde “The last night” (P.48)
Soro, Juana. Revised

This extract from Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde represents the climax of the novel, the peak of the raising action. That is the moment of highest intensity and interest. The author uses certain literary devices such as descriptions, visual and auditory images, inversion, contrast and symbolism in order to create expectation on the last night, when the decisive events of the novel are happening.
The descriptions are very vivid in the whole passage. It seems to be like a story within the story, because of the introduction, the development and an open ending. Stevenson uses visual images such as the red handkerchief Poole uses to mop his brow, which has the colour of blood, anticipating death, as well as the description of the moon to represent a tragedy or a violent event about to happen, “…with a pale moon lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her.” The description of the street gives the impression of a very sad, lonely and deserted place, “It seemed to have swept the streets unusually bare of passengers…”. Violence is suggested through the presence of wind, a strong wind which makes “…the thin trees in the garden were lashing themselves along the railing”, a metaphorical representation of the fight, the violence of the events. This image is so vivid that the readers can feel the force and brutality of the wind (Evil), which can cause the destruction of the trees (Good).
The author uses inversion to emphasize the desperate moment of the story, Mr. Utterson fears a tragedy, “…never in his life had he seen of so sharp a wish to see and touch his fellow creatures, for struggle as he might, there was borne in upon his mind a crushing anticipation of calamity” , as if anguish, desperation were present everywhere. This is clear in the description of how Poole mops his brow with a red handkerchief “But for all the hurry of his coming, these were not the dews of exertion that he wiped away, but the moisture of some strangling anguish , for his face was white and his voice, when he spoke, harsh and broken”. It is a very sad image, a metaphorical representation of some kind of tragedy that Poole cannot avoid by wiping his brow, an unavoidable agony happening somewhere, reflected in his voice harsh and broken.
The short dialogue between Poole and Mr Utterson : -“well, sir”, “here we are, and God grant there be nothing wrong”.
“Amen,Poole,”said the lawyer. Poole’s word sound like a prayer to prevent something bad from happening. the lawyer also fear evil and shares Poole’s prayer, asking God for help.
The description of the outside of the house with the street sad, windy, lonely and cold, and the inside which is “…brightly lighted up, the fire was built high,…” shows contrast, an abrupt change. In the outside there is loneliness, darkness, terrible anguish whereas in the inside there is clarity, comfort, when Mr. Utterson is seen as a saviour. It is reflected on Poole’s voice when someone in the inside asks: “Is that you, Poole?"
And Poole answers : “It’s all right”, “open the door”, as if he had returned with a solution to a terrible event.
The main characters in the piece are Mr Utterson and Poole in the street, the two men plus the servants and an unidentified voice are inside of the house. The simile of the servants, men and women, “like a flock of sheep”, reflects they are looking for a guide, a protector, clearly shown when a female servant says crying out “Bless God! It’s Mr Utterson”.and “ran forward as if to take him in her arms”. Here Utterson is the father figure, the protector who can help their children ( the flock of sheep) to solve the problem, or to overcome the dramatic moments they are living in the house.
The wind stands for evil, “…it made talking difficult”, as a symbol of the lack of communication between people or friends, a kind of silence which hides some kind of terrible secret. The short dialogues have just the necessary words, so as to create expectation.

In my opinion, the extract is a beautiful piece of writing. The descriptions of the deserted street, the tilted moon, the brutality of the wind takes the reader step by step to the scene of some calamity, the scene of an unavoidable tragedy. The descriptions and the images are so vivid that I, as a reader, could feel the cold wind, its violence, in a destructive way. So, I think that the intention of Stevenson of placing the reader in the atmosphere of the climax of the story has been achieved.