“What I heard was abominable,” said Utterson. “It can make no change. You do not understand my position,” returned the doctor, with a certain incoherency of manner. “I am painfully situated, Utterson; my position is a very strange—a very strange one. It is one of those affairs that cannot be mended by talking.”

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

Write two to three sentences explaining how this passage creates suspense.

SAMPLE RESPONSE: The passage describes a conflict between Mr. Utterson and Dr. Jekyll over the terms of Dr. Jekyll’s will. Jekyll insists that, despite Mr. Hyde’s despicable behavior, his relationship with Mr. Hyde prevents him from changing his will. Jekyll’s words create suspense by making the reader wonder about the nature of Jekyll’s relationship with Hyde and why Jekyll cannot cut ties with Hyde.