Question

Read the excerpt from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The butler was awaiting my arrival; he had received by the same post as mine a registered letter of instruction, and had sent at once for a locksmith and a carpenter. The tradesmen came while we were yet speaking; and we moved in a body to old Dr. Denman’s surgical theatre, from which (as you are doubtless aware) Jekyll’s private cabinet is most conveniently entered. The door was very strong, the lock excellent; the carpenter avowed he would have great trouble and have to do much damage, if force were to be used; and the locksmith was near despair. But this last was a handy fellow, and after two hour’s work, the door stood open.
How does the complication affect the story?
It resolves the story.
It delivers exposition.
It introduces a theme.
It intensifies the conflict.

Answer 1

Intensifies content

Answer 2

Answer: D) It intensifies the conflict.

Explanation: in literature, a complication is any aspect of a story (a situation or a detail of character ) that the protagonist or antagonist must work through, or resolve in order to move forward. In the given excerpt from "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson, we can see that the complication is the difficulties they had to open the door of Dr. Jekyll's private cabinet, this complication intensifies the conflict of the story.