‘Methods’ is an umbrella term for anything the writer does on purpose to create meaning. Using the writer’s name in your response will help you to think about the text as a conscious construct and will keep reminding you that Stevenson purposely put the text together. This guide includes the following sections:
Exam Tip
Remember that the people in the text are conscious constructs, and so are the places being described, and the objects mentioned. Try to learn to notice deliberate things Stevenson has done to communicate his ideas.
As you read the text, try to consider: ‘Why this, now’? For instance, Stevenson chose to begin the novella with Enfield recounting a story about Hyde to Utterson, which is the reader’s first introduction to Hyde. Try to consider why Stevenson may have begun his novella in this way.