GCSE English Language Paper 1 – Grade 9 Model Answer
Extract taken from Chapter 9 of ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ by Robert
Louis Stephenson, starting at “Compose yourself” and finishing at “the murderer of Carew”.
(Available for free at https://archive.org/details/drjekyllmrhyde00stevuoft/page/7/mode/1up)
4) After reading this extract a pupil said, “the change of Jekyll and Hyde is a terrifying
thing”. How far do you agree?
(20 marks)
I would agree that the change is a terrifying thing because of the writer’s use of horrific
descriptions: “features seemed to melt”. The verb “melt” here portrays the man as inhuman,
as his face is dissolving and there is no truth to his appearance or emotions; the fact that he is
willing to bring this torture upon himself presents him as psychotic and would terrify the
reader. Also, this verb could suggest that the man is powerless and has no control over the
effect the potion has on his body, which creates tension as his actions and the outcome will be
unpredictable – the narrator cannot prepare himself for the horror he will witness. By using
the vague verb “seemed” before this, the writer could be suggesting that the change was so
terrifying that the character doesn’t want to remember it specifically; the dashes used
throughout this paragraph could be illustrating him purposely missing out information.
However, it could be argued that the change is disgusting, rather than terrifying, because of
the verb “melt”. This implies that the man’s face is liquifying, which initially would be
disturbing, although the idea that heat is being applied could be a metaphor for kindness
returning to the character; perhaps he was never truly evil, which causes the change to be less
terrifying. Also, due to the vagueness of the verb “seemed”, the reader isn’t provided with
any exact details and therefore might not visualise the change as truly terrifying – they are
free to interpret it in their own way.
On the other hand, some would argue that the change is undoubtedly terrifying from the very
beginning: “dreadful smile”. Here, the use of an oxymoron causes the reader to feel uneasy as
the positive “smile” is out of place amongst the tension; the mixture of good and evil is
strange and adds to the interpretation of the many being psychotic. Also, the use of the first-
person pronoun “me” enables the reader to identify with the speaker as they are placed in the
same situation, which would be terrifying as they would feel they are also in danger during
the transformation. Although the extract is written in the past tense, which could bring some
comfort to the reader as the events have already taken place, the change could still be viewed
as terrifying as it has clearly affected the man – something horrific must have happened to
cause this and the reader will have to wait for it.
Alternatively, the noun “smile” could cause the change to seem less terrifying. Its positive
connotations of joy and safety could portray the man as almost reassuring; the fact that this
noun is repeated in the extract suggests that there is actually a good intention behind the
change, rather than an evil one, which consequently masks over the terrifying aspects of it.
Also, despite the adjective “dreadful” being negative, the writer may have used it to illustrate
Extract taken from Chapter 9 of ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ by Robert
Louis Stephenson, starting at “Compose yourself” and finishing at “the murderer of Carew”.
(Available for free at https://archive.org/details/drjekyllmrhyde00stevuoft/page/7/mode/1up)
4) After reading this extract a pupil said, “the change of Jekyll and Hyde is a terrifying
thing”. How far do you agree?
(20 marks)
I would agree that the change is a terrifying thing because of the writer’s use of horrific
descriptions: “features seemed to melt”. The verb “melt” here portrays the man as inhuman,
as his face is dissolving and there is no truth to his appearance or emotions; the fact that he is
willing to bring this torture upon himself presents him as psychotic and would terrify the
reader. Also, this verb could suggest that the man is powerless and has no control over the
effect the potion has on his body, which creates tension as his actions and the outcome will be
unpredictable – the narrator cannot prepare himself for the horror he will witness. By using
the vague verb “seemed” before this, the writer could be suggesting that the change was so
terrifying that the character doesn’t want to remember it specifically; the dashes used
throughout this paragraph could be illustrating him purposely missing out information.
However, it could be argued that the change is disgusting, rather than terrifying, because of
the verb “melt”. This implies that the man’s face is liquifying, which initially would be
disturbing, although the idea that heat is being applied could be a metaphor for kindness
returning to the character; perhaps he was never truly evil, which causes the change to be less
terrifying. Also, due to the vagueness of the verb “seemed”, the reader isn’t provided with
any exact details and therefore might not visualise the change as truly terrifying – they are
free to interpret it in their own way.
On the other hand, some would argue that the change is undoubtedly terrifying from the very
beginning: “dreadful smile”. Here, the use of an oxymoron causes the reader to feel uneasy as
the positive “smile” is out of place amongst the tension; the mixture of good and evil is
strange and adds to the interpretation of the many being psychotic. Also, the use of the first-
person pronoun “me” enables the reader to identify with the speaker as they are placed in the
same situation, which would be terrifying as they would feel they are also in danger during
the transformation. Although the extract is written in the past tense, which could bring some
comfort to the reader as the events have already taken place, the change could still be viewed
as terrifying as it has clearly affected the man – something horrific must have happened to
cause this and the reader will have to wait for it.
Alternatively, the noun “smile” could cause the change to seem less terrifying. Its positive
connotations of joy and safety could portray the man as almost reassuring; the fact that this
noun is repeated in the extract suggests that there is actually a good intention behind the
change, rather than an evil one, which consequently masks over the terrifying aspects of it.
Also, despite the adjective “dreadful” being negative, the writer may have used it to illustrate
