PLEASE MARK - How is Hyde presented throught the novella?

Hi, just wondering if someone could offer me a mark out of 40 and any feedback for this essay using the Eduqas mark scheme.

My Response:

Stevenson presents Hyde as an animalistic creature that has inhumane tendencies to show a severe lack of emotion. Hyde is portrayed as having strange looks that make many feel uneasy as his personality also clearly reflects that. He reflects the deeper, more malicious side to the reputable Dr Jekyll as Stevenson explores the idea the duality of man using him. This was common of the gothic genre in the Victorian era and was prevalent in the portrayal of Hyde’s frightening, beastly behaviour throughout the gothic novella.

In Chapter one, Hyde is instantly portrayed as an inhumane beast as he is “not like a man” in the sense that his behaviours are disgustingly cruel. Hyde is described as trampling over a little girl “like some damned Juggernaut” presenting Hyde as an uncontrollable force. The noun ‘Juggernaut’ alludes to a big waggon used in the Hindu festival of Jagannath that was thought to have the power to crush anything in its path. The use of this noun emphasises the portrayal of Hyde as a powerful, unstoppable force that is relentless and unpredictable. Hyde is stripped of his humanity as he seems to be a destructive entity that cannot be tamed by anyone, including Jekyll. The further use of the adjective ‘damned’ to describe the vicious man connotes hell and creates a link in the readers mind with Hyde being a malevolent force of destruction, beyond redemption of salvation. Stevenson may have presented Hyde in this manner to emphasise the duality of man in the readers mind at the time. Stevenson believed that even the most reputable gentlemen, who were upper-class men in Victorian society, had a darker and more wicked side to them that they kept concealed in order to maintain a prestige reputation. Hyde evil and cruel nature further highlights this idea as he is apart of Jekyll’s inner personality, that is not usually shown to the public eye.

Hyde’s evil is further presented as Utterson later goes on to describe the appearance of Hyde being so nasty and distorted that he had “Satan’s signature upon the face” which emphasises his evil as he is compared with the epitome of evil in Christian belief, Satan. The sibilant “Satan’s signature” creates a hissing sound, connoting snakes and evoking a sense of danger which underscores Hyde’s sinister nature, whilst further creating a sense of foreboding. Stevenson’s use of the noun ‘signature’ could perhaps suggest Hyde is Satan’s property as the unmistakeable mark of Satan is branded onto him due to his countless number of sins, acting as a permanent mark of malevolence. This biblical allusion would have been especially shocking for a Victorian reader as the majority of them were devoted Christians so believed in Satan as being the hallmark of evil, solidifying Hyde in their minds as being a damned sinner. This again links back to Stevenson’s message of portraying the duality of man through Hyde’s evil nature, as Hyde is presented as a damned creature, yet is within Jekyll’s personality.
Later on in the gothic novella, as Hyde attacks Sir Danvers Carew, we get a clear image of Hyde’s brutal, animalistic personality as he unleashes a “storm of blows” upon the gentleman with “ape-like fury” which exemplifies his lack of control over his emotion, like a wild animal. Stevenson’s use of the noun ‘storm’ to describe his attacks links back to the idea of Hyde being unstoppable. Hyde does whatever he wants, whenever he pleases, without anyone being able to tame him or save themselves once they become trapped inside the wrath of the deadly storm. The dehumanising image of Hyde’s fury being ‘ape-like’ strips him of his humanity once again whilst highlighting his lack of remorse. This would have had a significant impact on a Victorian reader as at the time, Darwin’s reality new ‘Theory of Evolution’ led many Victorians to believe in the idea of ‘devolution’, in which humans could devolve into more primitive forms of life, without the influence of society. Therefore, the use of the noun ‘ape’ implies there is something primitive about the violence Hyde exhibits, backing up the theory of devolution into more primitive beasts, which was becoming prevalent at the time. Stevenson plays with these fears to make Hyde seem like more of an inhumane monster in the readers mind, to achieve his message of the duality of man. Stevenson makes the reader question that perhaps everyone, including the upper-class Victorian gentlemen, have inherited some sort of savagery from the creatures we evolved from, yet somehow manage to find a way of concealing the malicious tendencies to portray a stainless reputation in society.

Finally, once Utterson discovers Hyde’s body dead on the floor near the end of the novella, it is described as “sorely contorted and still twitching”, portraying Hyde as weak and helpless. Once Jekyll, the fuel for Hyde’s malicious deeds, has passed, the previously menacing and dominating presence of Hyde ends up as a drained and vulnerable creature lying helplessly on the floor. Stevenson’s use of the adjective ‘contorted’ to describe Hyde’s body emphasises the violent and gruesome nature of his demise. Perhaps Stevenson is subtly reflecting Hyde’s twisted and distorted character that was portrayed through the novella in his many violent deeds. The verb ‘twitching’ provides a grotesque image of the dying body, hinting at the struggles of Jekyll and Hyde, as Hyde’s dominance constantly overpowered Jekyll until it eventually took full control of his body and mind.

Overall, Hyde is presented as a demonical being who lacks a sense of regret or fear for the consequences of his actions. This further emphasises Stevenson’s overall message of even the highest ranking gentlemen in society have double sided personalities that lead them towards malicious deeds, but are often covered up with handsome faces in order to maintain a stainless reputation amongst Victorian society.

Mark Scheme:

https://pastpapers.download.wjec.co....22U10-B-ms.pdf

Seems great- however I have no idea what the essay is about- you haven’t set out the contents of your essay in the introduction.

You need to send this to your teacher - highly unlikely anyone on here will mark it accurately.

I've tried multiple times, but my teacher is very useless. Sent him multiple things that I've never had a reply for, and any time I ask him in school he tells me he is "still working on it" so I've had to come here instead and so far I've been really pleased as I have found many people willing to help with good advice.