Utterson and social class.

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mr. Young and I'm super pleased to be teaching you today on this lesson about Mr. Utterson.

And in particular, we are going to be looking at Mr. Utterson's visit to Soho and what this tells us about the social class in the novella.

So let's get started.

So today's lesson has a very clear learning outcome which is as follows.

So by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to explore how Stevenson presents attitudes to social class through Utterson.

And just like in any lesson, we have some key words with us today which we will revisit again and again throughout today's lesson.

So if you'd like to pause the video and spend a bit more time with these words, then do feel free.

But our key words today are concealment, duality, morality, critique, and social divide.

So our lesson today has two very clear learning cycles.

So in our first learning cycle, we are gonna look at an extract.

An extract, I really love this one, which is where Utterson goes to Soho.

I think we learn a lot about Utterson and we also learn a lot about the kind of setting of the novella in this extract.

So really looking forward to that first learning cycle.

And then we're gonna apply all of those things we learn in the second learning cycle.

We're gonna have a go at writing about the social class in the novella.

So let's get started with learning cycle one.

Okay, so we are gonna start today's lesson by looking in a little bit more detail about Utterson's visit to Soho in chapter four.

So in chapter four, Utterson travels to the other side of London.

So he visits Soho, which is a much poorer district than the one in which he resides.

So my first question for you then is a simple plot summary question.

So why does he travel there and what does he make of it? So pauses the video, complete the task, and then do push play when you would like to continue.

Okay, some lovely conversations taking place there.

You know, you've got a fantastic knowledge of the plot of the story and I really enjoyed those groups that spoke about, you know, his association with Hyde.

Hyde is why he goes to Soho.

So in my response I had something similar.

So Utterson travels to Soho with the police to arrest Hyde for the murder of Carew.

He is repelled by Soho, describing it as dingy, and stating that it seems like a nightmare.

Utterson describes the bad behaviour he sees.

For example, people drinking alcohol early in the morning and he is very judgmental of the poor.

So this reflects common views held by the Victorian upper classes of the time that the situation of the poor was largely a result of immoral and lazy behaviour.

So let's look in a bit more detail at the actual extract of when Mr. Utterson visits Soho.

"It was by this time about nine in the morning, and the first fog of the season.

A great chocolate-colored pall lowered over heaven, but the wind was continually charging and routing these embattled vapours, so that as the cab crawled from street to street, Mr. Utterson beheld a marvellous number of degrees and hues of twilight, for here it will be dark like the back-end of evening, and there will be a glow of a rich, lurid brown, like the light of some strange conflagration.

And here, for a moment, the fog will be quite broken up, and a haggard shaft of daylight will glance in between the swirling wreaths." So a really nice atmospheric description of Soho here.

And some of our key vocabulary that we might not have come across before is as follows.

So a pall is a dark cloud of smoke.

So lurid is unpleasantly bright.

A conflagration is a large fire.

And haggard is exhausted and unwell.

So all of these words are really, really effective at creating this kind of mysterious, slightly kind of drab and dingy atmosphere that Stevenson has done.

So our first question then, how does Stevenson explore attitudes to social class in the beginning of this extract? So I think there's quite a lot of really interesting things going on in this extract.

The first thing I would be picking out is this idea of the fog.

The extract outlines fog extensively.

It talks about this chocolate-colored pall.

So this links to the theme of concealment.

So as this side of London is being literally hidden by fog but also metaphorically hidden as Utterson never goes here.

So the novella is all about duality, but we are seeing two dual sides of London here, which I think is a really, really important point to take away from this extract.

Again, we've got this idea of an extended metaphor.

So we are presented with an extended metaphor of the fog or the wind as being like an army.

So it is charging and routing the embattled vapours.

So this creates a gloomy, potentially almost dangerous atmosphere for this part of London.

It suggests Utterson is quite fearful of the poor and certainly where they live.

So my first check for understanding for you then is as follows.

So this extract uses an extended metaphor to present the weather as like what? So pause the video, complete the task and push play when you would like to continue.

Absolutely, is, of course, an invading army.

So well done if you are able to identify that and that really creates this kind of theme or tone of kind of danger as Utterson is experiencing Soho.

So the description continues as follows.

"The dismal quarter of Soho seen under these changing glimpses, with its muddy ways, and slatternly passengers, and its lamps which had never been extinguished or had been kindled afresh to combat this mournful re-invasion of darkness, seemed, in the lawyer's eyes, like a district of some city in a nightmare.

The thoughts of his mind, besides, were the gloomiest dye.

And when he glanced at the companion of his drive, he was conscious of some touch of terror of the law and the law's officers, which may at times assail the most honest." Again, some really nice writing here from Stevenson and some really important bits of vocabulary that we need to pick out.

So firstly, he describes this quarter of Soho as dismal, so causing gloom or depression.

Again, he describes it as slatternly, which kinda means dirty or untidy.

And again he talks about it as an assail, so to make a violent attack upon.

So let's look at exactly the same question and how it applies to this part of the extract.

So how does Stevenson explore attitudes to social class in the beginning of the extract? So again, some really fascinating things I think are going on here.

So we start to see Soho through Utterson's eyes.

So he's quite judgmental to the poor, viewing their existence as some kind of nightmare.

He also describes the people as slatternly, so this kind of means dirty and untidy, but it also has these kind of overtones of being slightly immoral as well.

So Utterson's views towards the poor would really be quite typical of upper class gentlemen of the Victorian era.

And again, we've also got this idea of, you know, Utterson's fear and terror.

So he seems genuinely terrified despite being with a police officer.

You know, he's riding through Soho with a police officer, but he still feels this kind of intense fear.

So this is somewhat hypocritical, as Utterson doesn't seem to question the morality of his friends, but is seemingly terrified of the misconduct of the poor.

So Stevenson is arguably critiquing the upper classes here for believing it is the poor alone that are prone to sin.

So I think that's a really, really interesting interpretation of this extract.

So true or false for me then, please.

Utterson is arguably presented as hypocritical in this extract.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, complete the task, and then do push play when you would like to continue.

Yep, you've got it.

Absolutely.

It is quite true.

I think he does come across as quite hypocritical in this extract, but let's just add an extra layer of challenge to that task.

So how could you justify that? How could we justify the fact that Utterson is arguably quite hypocritical in this extract? Is it that he's a man of propriety and decorum but he's visiting Soho, a poor disreputable area? Or is it that he criticises the misdeeds of the poor but ignores the misdeeds of his respected friends? Pause the video, have a go, and then push play when you'd like to see the correct answer.

Absolutely, it's B.

He criticises the misdeeds of the poor but ignores the misdeeds of his respected friends.

For example, it is alluded to time and time again that his friends are potentially not as respectable as they seem, but Utterson does not seem to question their behaviour ever.

However, the moment he's in a poor area like Soho, he becomes quite critical of the misdeeds of the people around him here.

So we've reached our first practise task of today's lesson and I would like you to do the following.

So I would like you please to read the rest of the extract from "As the cab drew up," to "A look about us," and answer the following questions.

So firstly, what behaviours are taking place that Utterson seems to disapprove of and why might this be hypocritical? Secondly, Utterson describes Soho as the home of Jekyll's favourite, Hyde.

What is Utterson suggesting with this quote? And how is the landlady described? Does this contrast with how other characters are described in the novella? So have a go, really looking forward to seeing how you got with this and then do press play when you would like to see some answers to these questions.

Okay, great job on the first practise task of learning cycle one.

Really well done to apply all of your knowledge of that extract and I'm really excited to see how you got on with these questions.

So I've got some ideas here on the board, but don't worry if they are not exactly what you've put, but if you've got something similar, then really great job.

So firstly, what behaviours are taking place that Utterson seems to disapprove of and why might this be hypocritical? Well, I would say that Utterson is appalled to see mothers drinking alcohol first thing in the morning.

This could be hypocritical as he overlooks the misdemeanours of his own class.

And again, Utterson describes Soho as the home of Jekyll's favourite, Hyde.

What is Utterson suggesting with this quote? Well, to me I kind of feel like Utterson is suggesting that anyone who lives in a place as disreputable as this must be immoral.

This highlights Utterson's concern with reputation and outward appearances.

And again, how is the landlady described? Does this contrast with how other characters are described in the novella? Well, this description of this landlady really stuck out to me for the following ways really.

You know, she's described as having an evil face which contrasts directly with the description of Carew as a beautiful gentleman.

Again, it kind of really shows Utterson's concern for outward appearances, particularly of those closest to him.

So really well done if you identified anything similar in your own work.

Okay then, we've now arrived at learning cycle two and what we're gonna do is put all of that fantastic work you've done in learning cycle one into producing a really nice, really high level paragraph in learning cycle two, writing all about social class and in the context of the novella.

So let's get started.

So using the extract from the previous learning cycle, so that fantastic piece of writing all about Utterson in Soho, we are now going to attempt the following question and that question is as follows.

So in this extract, explore how Stevenson uses Utterson to explore attitudes towards social class.

Really, really nice question there and I'm really looking forward to how you approach this later on in learning cycle two.

So, in particular, what we are going to do is to look at how to structure our paragraphs using single paragraph outlines so that they include the following things and those things are a topic sentence, supporting detail, and a concluding sentence.

So let's start by looking at a really nice example of a student paragraph.

Let's see how a student has approached this task and let's look at all the fantastic things they've done in that response.

So Stevenson is implicitly critical of Utterson's attitude towards the poor people of Soho in this extract.

Adopting a third person limited narrative perspective allows Stevenson to show his readers this deprived part of London, the dismal quarter of Soho, through the eyes of a Victorian upper middle class gentlemen in the lawyer's eyes.

Through the repeated references to the smog, that great chocolate-colored pall as brown as umber, Stevenson literally describes the conditions of the impoverished parts of this industrialised city whilst also conveying Utterson's distaste for his surroundings.

Indeed Utterson is undoubtedly unnerved by these blackguardly surroundings and appears to share the commonly held Victorian view that poverty and vice are linked.

I absolutely love that paragraph.

I think there's so many good things going on there and let's look at exactly what the student does to make this paragraph so good.

So firstly it has a clear opening topic sentence at the beginning of the paragraph which references both the author and the terms of the question.

So Stevenson is implicitly critical of Utterson's attitude towards the poor people of Soho in this extract.

So both the terms of the question and the author's intention are referenced really well there, which is really nice to see.

Again, we've got this idea of a key device referenced as part of the supporting detail.

In this case, it's third person limited narrative.

So what the student has done really well here is kind of identified a device in relation to the question and kind of shown exactly what it tells us about Stevenson's intentions here.

And again, this third sentence in the paragraph, through the repeated references to the smog, that great chocolate-colored pall as brown as umber, Stevenson literally describes the conditions of the impoverished parts of the industrialised city whilst also conveying Utterson's distaste for his surroundings.

So this part focuses on different examples of the same phenomenon, so in this case fog, and it is interpreted in two separate ways.

The quotations are embedded and they link to the terms of the question.

So a really nice addition to this paragraph that really elevates the student's response.

And finally the paragraph also has a really nice concluding sentence.

The student says, "Indeed, Utterson is undoubtedly unnerved by these blackguardly surroundings and appears to share the commonly held Victorian view that poverty and vice are linked." So the end of this paragraph contains a concluding sentence that links back to the opening and that's the crucial thing.

It links back to the initial idea presented at the very beginning.

In this example, it also links to a wider contextual point about how Victorians viewed the urban poor.

So again, just finishing what has been a really, really nice student analytical paragraph.

So a single paragraph outline is a way to structure our ideas when we are writing analytically.

So it allows us to structure what we want to say in our essays.

So our topic sentence explains specific focus of a paragraph and it's written in four sentences.

The supporting detail includes judicious evidence that supports the topic sentence.

And this can include context and this is usually written in note form.

We don't have to be too formal when we plan these.

And again, the concluding sentence is a summary of the paragraph with a clear focus on writer's purpose.

And again, this is written in full sentences.

So a quick check for understanding for me then please.

So in a single paragraph outline, what does a topic sentence do? Is it A, explains the specific focus of a paragraph? Is it B, gives a brief summary of the main points.

Or is it C, introduces a piece of evidence relevant to the point? Pause the video, have a go, and then push play when you would like to continue.

Absolutely.

Well done.

It is A.

It explains the specific focus of any paragraph that we are about to write.

So well done if you identified that.

So we've reached our final practise task then for today's lesson, which is all about Utterson and social class.

So what you have on the board in front of you is an example of a single paragraph outline prepared by a student.

So in answer to that question, they've come up with the following single paragraph outline.

They've got their topic sentence, which is "Stevenson is critical of Utterson's attitude towards poor people in Soho.

He considers this hypocritical." And then we've got some supporting detail that we might include.

We've got the idea of a third person narrative, we've got the description of the landlady, and we've got this idea of a kind of contextual point about the upper class having the means to protect their reputations and respectability, whereas the poor do not.

We've also got this kind of concluding sentence which is that Stevenson might be showing that Utterson's critique is misguided.

So my task view then is to take this single paragraph outline and what I would like you to do is to write a paragraph about Utterson and social class using the notes in this single paragraph outline.

This is a really, really challenging task and I'm really, really excited to see how you get on and how you interpret this student's ideas.

So pause the video, complete the task, and then push play when you would like to see some feedback.

Okay, some fantastic work on that.

I'm super impressed by everyone that approached that task.

This is not an easy task to do and it is lovely to see how well you are applying all the things that you've learned so far in this lesson and applying them in a really kind of high level and in-depth way.

So fantastic work to all of you.

So there is an example on the board in front of you.

This is not the be all and the end all.

You don't have to have written exactly what is here, but this is just some ideas of how you could have approached this task.

"Stevenson is intensely critical of Utterson's attitudes toward the poor people of Soho in this extract.

Adopting a third person limited narrative perspective, Stevenson is able to critique Utterson's, and wider Victorian society's, view of the Victorian poor.

Indeed, this critique of hypocritical Victorian values becomes more apparent through the description of Hyde's landlady who has an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy.

This offers a stark contrast to the descriptions of the beautiful aged man, Sir Danvers Carew, or indeed the smooth-face man of 50, Dr.

Henry Jekyll.

Utterson's contemporaries all engage in morally dubious behaviour which makes this statement ironic.

Stevenson appears to be making the point that the only distinction between the people of Soho and Utterson and his friends is the means to protect their reputations.

We get the impression from Stevenson that Utterson's critique is misplaced and largely hypocritical due to the similarity between the two groups." Great job if you are able to identify anything similar in your own work.

Well done.

Okay, then we've made it to the end of the lesson.

We've learned a lot today, so let's have a look at exactly what we have focused on.

So firstly, social divide is a key idea here, highlighted because the reader sees Soho through the middle class eyes of Utterson.

Utterson is portrayed as judgmental towards the poor, mirroring commonplace Victorian beliefs.

Stevenson criticises the idea that only the poor are prone to sin and vice.

The middle class characters harbour secrets.

The description of Soho links to the theme of duality, showing that the city is as divided as Jekyll is.

And finally, concealment is an important theme here as Utterson confronts a side of London that middle class men don't usually see.

As always, I've been super impressed by all of your hard work throughout this lesson today, and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this sequence.

So thank you very much and goodbye.