Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, is written in a series of letters and diary entries in order to display a distortion of events. Although the diary entries of Jonathan Harker is more personal, allowing the reader to be drawn into the plot, the diary entries also includes bias. The mental state of the Harker is unstable due to his fear of Dracula and death; therefore, his diary may not portray an accurate description of what exactly happened. Words spoken as facts in the diary cannot be fully trusted and deemed credible for Harker does not know the truth of everything himself. Instead, the reader has to form their own opinion of the truth.…
In the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker conveys various themes through the personalities and actions of characters. One such character is R.M. Renfield, a patient of Dr. John Seward’s mental asylum who seeks immortality through the consumption of other life forms. Renfield aids Dracula multiple times in his quest for world domination in hopes of extending the length of his own life. Renfield’s desperate actions represent the loss of humanity of individuals, who often resort to primal instincts to survive through both his assistance to Dracula, and his consumption of life and blood.…
Mina experiences a similar double bind but unlike Eustacia, she manages to find a balance between domesticity and the working capabilities of the New Woman. She is first introduced through the eyes of Jonathan Harker, he collects recipes for her, is aware of the pain his “burning desire” for the female vampires would cause and considers her a woman who has “naught in common [with those] devils of the Pit!” (Dracula 48). Harker’s epitome of Mina is challenged by the Mina revealed in her letters to Lucy. Mina is a schoolmistress; she can type and use shorthand and is learning how to use a stenograph.…
Therefore, Harker’s confrontation with the shadow portrays his ordeal. Second, in Dracula by Bram Stocker, Harker’s confrontation with fear lead to the ordeal, especially through Life – death crisis. The hero faces his greatest fear of losing his loving wife to death. For instance, Dracula reaches London and fall in love with Mina. Thereafter, Dracula puts Harker into a stupor and threatens to kill Harker, if Mina does not drink his vampire blood, making Mina a half-vampire.…
Dracula- Fear of the Unknown All living creatures fear the Dracula character. Fear stems from not understanding the unknown and the differences that Dracula had. For example, how Dracula’s physical body looks to Johnathan Harker who is the protagonist who that becomestrapped in Dracula’s Castle. Jonathan Harker explains how Dracula looks and that is when the fear enters Jonathan Harker’s soul: “With peculiarity sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years “ ( Stoker, 18). Johnathan realized that Dracula was not a man, but a monster.…
In his 1897 gothic novel, Dracula, Bram Stoker defined the modern form of the vampire. His character, Dracula remained popular through the ages, being one of the most popular adaptation source in history. Dracula has created an extraordinary vampire subculture, and an enormous amount of films have been made that feature Count Dracula as it’s main antagonist, or protagonist. However, most adaptations do not include the major characters from the novel, focusing only on the now traditional characteristics of a vampire, created by Stoker. In this essay I will focus on the novel and how different adaptations through the 20th and 21st century differ from it.…
Phenomenon of vampires is highly incorporated in today’s popular culture with a large number of books, films, and TV-series about them emerging every year. Still, many people cannot deny that Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” is an exceptional literary creation that stood at the origins of the cult of vampires. Not only did this Victorian novel, written in 1897, become a landmark piece of gothic literature, but also it defined the contemporary form and image of vampires and paved the way for multiple interpretations in modern culture. Nevertheless, “Dracula” is not just an outstanding horror fiction book. It is also a profound insight into Victorian age – a defining time in the history of the Western world, when so many cornerstones of society began…
Dracula: From Simple Monster to Global Threat Bram Stoker’s Dracula explains the story of a vampire living in Transylvania attacking Westerners both physically and psychologically. This novel is written under different formats (in telegraphs, journal entries, and plain narrative entries). The protagonists describe their time with the Dracula, and their experiences with him. The reader first perceives Dracula as a simple monster attacking young innocent women.…
One of the strongest human drives is a desire for power. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Abraham Van Helsing is a classic example of this behavior. Throughout the novel, Van Helsing seeks to gain power over others believing that he is to carry out God’s message by ridding the world of evil. This is exemplified in his killing of Lucy Westenra, leading the other men to destroy vampires alongside him, and in introducing Catholicism into the lives of the English. By integrating himself into the circle of characters, Van Helsing seeks to exert power over the others as the figurehead of unwavering righteousness.…
(Dracula, 3.29). This novel brings to light the sexual desires both men and women were experiencing, but society wouldn’t let them express. But, Bram Stoker doesn’t stop here, the sexual actions in the…
In chapter 7 of “Dracula,” Stoker uses tone and personification to emphasise the contrast between the calm and the storm, indicating problems for the town of Whitby. Before the storm, Whitby is portrayed as a quaint seaside town. Thought the weather is “somewhat sultry” (83), the waves continue to “gently roll” (84) and the sunset taking place is said to be “so very beautiful” (84). Stoker establishes a peaceful setting that is portrayed as the norm in Whitby. Furthermore, the light tone leads the reader to believe that Whitby is “as fine as ever” (83): tranquil and undisturbed by any harm.…
Gender roles play a huge part in society’s life because they help regulate behaviors and attitude that are socially acceptable. Aaron Devor, a dean at the University of Victoria and author of the article “Gender Roles Behaviors and Attitudes,” argues that men and women have clear rules and guideline in society on the way they should act. Traditionally, masculinity defined as being aggressive and domineering, while feminity defined as nurturing and passive. Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula was set in the late 19th century, when Victorian gender roles were very restricted. However, society behavior and attitudes about woman began to change.…
An Analysis of Dennis Foster 's “The Little Children Can Be Bitten” Dracula by Irish author Bram Stoker is a seminal piece of Gothic horror fiction. The novel 's portrayal of an undead master (the titular character) being chased by Van Helsing and his band of vampire hunters has been consumed for over a century. Dennis Foster 's critical article “The little children can be bitten: A Hunger for Dracula” uses a psychoanalytic approach to analyze this influential work of literature. In his article, Foster makes a compelling, successful argument about the nature of the novel and how it relates to the inner workings of the human mind. He posits that the visceral, unchained figure of Dracula represents the innate desire for the mother and a return…
Stoker’s writing style gave birth to a figure who is imbedded in many aspects of society today. This novel’s themes are so universal that it has survived to this very day. This story is unlike anything I have read in awhile. Today so make stories are cliche and overdone that it makes one think that there are no more good ideas. Then there is Dracula.…
Dracula was a novel written in 1897 by an Irishman by the name of Bram Stoker. Dracula is a gothic horror story based in the Victorian times. The story was about an evil vampire and some of the many people he tormented. Count Dracula had killed many innocents for many years before he targeted Jonathan Harker, who was completely oblivious to the dangers the supernatural could bring at the beginning of the story. Jonathan’s business trip to Transylvania sets the story in motion, and he remains a critical character throughout the novel.…