The Carew Murder Case
by Robert Louis Stevenson
COMPREHENSION
1. Answer the following questions.
a. What phrase does the author use at the start of the text to show the reader that time has passed?
= The author uses the phrase 'nearly a year later' at the start of the text to show the reader that time has passed.
b. Who was witness to the crime and what was the witness doing when it was committed?
= The maidservant who most probably works for the victim Sir Danvers Carew, was the witness to the crime.
The witness was sitting upon her box immediately under the window and was about to sleep when the crime was committed.
c. Who were the two men involved in the crime and how did the witness feel about each of them?
= The old gentleman and the victim of the murder Sir Danvers Carew and Mr. Hyde alias Dr. Henry Jekyll were the two men involved in the crime.
According to the witness, the old gentleman and the victim of the murder Sir Danvers Carew was a gentleman with a very pretty manner of politeness. On the other hand, Mr. Hyde had once visited her master and she conceived a dislike for him.
d. Which type of animal is the angry murderer compared to?
= The angry murdered is compared to an ape.
e. What is Mr. Utterson's profession?
= Mr. Utterson is a lawyer.
f. What was Mr. Utterson's reaction to hearing about the crime seeing the weapon?
= Mr. Utterson lip out of his bed as soon as herd the news. He reached the police station where the body had been carried. He identified the body as of Sir Danvers Carew.
When he saw the weapon, he recognise it instantly because he had himself presented it many years before to Henry Jekyll. He had heard the name of Mr. Hyde from the maid's description. Now he is very much surprise to find out that most probably Mr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person.
g. What do we learn about the old woman who works for Mr. Hyde?
= The old woman who works for Mr. Hyde, had ivory-face and silver hair. She had an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy; but her manner were excellent. She was not much cooperative to the investigation.
h. Why will it be difficult for the Inspector and Mr. Utterson to find Mr. Hyde?
= It will be difficult for the Inspector and Mr. Utterson to find Mr. Hyde because he had hurriedly ransacked his room; clothes lay about the floor, with their pockets inside out, drawers stood open; and on the hearth there lay a pile of grey ashes, as he had burnt many papers. There were few evidence left to trace him.
i. Which word, meaning 'searched vigorously', is used to describe the state of Mr. Hyde's rooms?
= The word 'ransacked', meaning 'searched vigorously', is used to described the state of Mr. Hyde's rooms.
These questions are more difficult. Discuss them first.
j. What details are we given in the text that show us the witness' character? Pick out there pieces of evidence and explain what they tell us about her character.
= The maidservant who most probably works for the victim Sir Danvers Carew, was the witness to the crime.
She was living alone in a house not far from the river. She had gone upstairs to bed at about eleven in the night. She was fanciful in that cloudless moonlit night. She sat down upon her box which stood immediately under the window and fell into a dream of musing.
She kept watching on the two men through the window. She recognised Mr. Hyde who came to visit her master once. She found that Mr. Hyde had a heavy cane in his hand. Then she saw that Mr. Hyde pounced upon the other man and dashed him to death with the weapon. It was a horrifying incident. The maid got fainted.
At two o'clock, the maid had got her sense and called the police. She is a general human being with all the other traits of a responsible citizen.
k. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person but the characters do not know this at this point in the novel. What details can you find that connect Jekyll and Hyde?
= Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person but the characters do not know this at this point in the novel. The most important detail is that Mr. Utterson had presented Mr. Jekyll that stick many years ago and the murder had been done with the same thing by Mr. Hyde. According to the maid, the murderer gentleman had very small height. And as Mr. Utterson knew, Mr. Jekyll had also the same kind of height. Even the master of the maidservant had only seen him twice; his family could nowhere be traced; he had never been photographed; and the few who could describe him differed widely.
l. Mr. Hyde is clearly portrayed as an evil man. Make a list of information that shows us this.
= Mr. Hyde is clearly portrayed as an evil man. First of all, the maid did not like him as he once came to visit her master's place.
Secondly the description of the murder depicted him as a barbaric character. He started stamping the other man of a sudden with his foot, brandishing the cane like a madman. Then he clubbed him to the earth. And next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered.
Finally his daily life style was not normal. The master of the maidservant had only seen him twice; his family could nowhere be traced; he had never been photographed; and the few who could describe him differed widely.
2. Answer the following with reference to context.
a. "And then, all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger ..."
i. Who is angry?
= Mr. Hyde is angry.
ii. Who is he angry with?
= He is angry with the old aged gentleman Sir Danvers Carew.
iii. Does he have any reason to be angry?
= Apparently, there is no particular reason described in the text for his anger. According to the maid, he once visited her master's place. May be they had fight on some issue. Actually the good Dr. Jekyll had created a potion that transformed him into the evil Mr. Hyde. And surprisingly he did not want to change back into old good Mr. Jekyll.
iv. How does the maid describe his behaviour?
= The maid describes his behaviour in a most horrifying way. He started stamping the other man of a sudden with his foot, brandishing the cane like a madman. Then he clubbed him to the earth. And next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered.
b. "This will make a deal of noise."
i. Who is the speaker?
= Inspector Newcomen of Scotland Yard, is the speaker.
ii. Who is being spoken to?
= Mr. Utterson, the lawyer, is being spoken to.
iii. What does he mean and why will it 'make a deal of noise'?
= He means that the case is very complicated. Since, it was a crime of singular ferocity which startled London. The victim was of a high position of the contemporary society. It will be a matter of discussion too.
c. "Ah! she said , 'he is in trouble! What has he done?"
i. What did the woman wish to express by the use of 'Ah!'?
= The woman wished her worry for her master by the use of 'Ah'.
ii. Who is she talking about and what is her relationship to him?
= She is talking about Mr. Hyde. She is the maidservant of Mr. Hyde.
iii. How does the inspector react to the woman?
= The inspector just exchanged glance with Mr. Utterson and let the woman know that his master was not a very good character and he did say nothing much and wanted just to enter into his room to investigate.
About the Author:
This is taken from a novella by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) called The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde that was first published in 1886. It is about a London lawyer named Mr. Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. What Mr Utterson doesn't realise is that the good Dr Jekyll has created a potion that transformed him into the evil Mr Hyde and Mr Hyde doesn't want to change back! Stevenson wrote the novella very quickly during a period of illness. It was an immediate success and remains popular today.