Read the excerpt from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. "Sir,” said the butler, turning to a sort of mottled pallor,
"that thing was not my master, and there’s the truth. My master”—here he looked round him and began to whisper—"is a tall, fine build of a man, and this was more of a dwarf.” Utterson attempted to protest. "O, sir,” cried Poole, "do you think I do not know my master after twenty years? Do you think I do not know where his head comes to in the cabinet door, where I saw him every morning of my life? No, sir, that thing in the mask was never Dr. Jekyll—God knows what it was, but it was never Dr. Jekyll; and it is the belief of my heart that there was murder done.” Which theme does this passage best support?
Good will always prevail over evil.
Appearances shape people’s opinions.
Poole is frightened by Mr. Hyde’s appearance.
Mr. Utterson listens to the butler with concern.
Let's work with elimination to answer this question. Options C and D can be eliminated simply because they do not present themes. They are related to the passage, but they summarize or conclude it instead. Themes are underlying ideas.
<u>We are now left with options A and B. Option A may have something to do with the novel, but not with this particular passage. The focus here is on how Poole judges the man he saw because of his appearance. He calls him a "dwarf" and a "thing", while saying Dr. Jekyll "is a tall, fine build of a man." The passage does not mention anything else that leads Poole to judge Mr. Hyde besides his appearance, more specifically his height. Therefore, we can easily see that the theme here concerns how appearances shape people's opinions.</u>
