Question

This person (who had thus, from the first moment of his entrance, struck in me what I can only describe as a disgustful curiosity) was dressed in a fashion that would have made an ordinary person laughable; his clothes, that is to say, although they were of rich and sober fabric, were enormously too large for him in every measurement—the trousers hanging on his legs and rolled up to keep them from the ground, the waist of the coat below his haunches, and the collar sprawling wide upon his shoulders. . . . there was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature that now faced me—something seizing, surprising and revolting . . .

–The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
Robert Louis Stevenson

How does this part of the letter create suspense? Check all that apply.

by describing a mysterious visitor
by describing an ordinary visitor
by not stating the identity of the visitor
by revealing Dr. Lanyon’s feelings about the visitor
by calling the visitor “laughable”

Answer 1

Selected:
- by describing a mysterious visitor — The odd, exaggerated clothing and “abnormal” appearance make the visitor strange and unsettling, building suspense.
- by not stating the identity of the visitor — The reader is kept in the dark about who he is, which heightens curiosity and tension.
- by revealing Dr. Lanyon’s feelings about the visitor — Words like “disgustful curiosity” and “revolting” show strong emotional reaction, signaling danger or threat and increasing suspense.

Not selected:
- by describing an ordinary visitor — The visitor is described as anything but ordinary.
- by calling the visitor “laughable” — The passage says the clothes “would have made an ordinary person laughable,” but the emphasis is on oddness and revulsion rather than humor, so this does not primarily create suspense.