According to the Victorian Web, a new and budding author named Bram Stoker entered the world in the year 1847, on the eighth of November. From a young age, Stoker loved to read about folklore, and later on in life he aspired to be an author. Although Stoker published several stories, only in the year 1897 did he publish his most well-known novel, Dracula. After this success, Stoker went on to write several other novels, and eventually died in the year 1912. (Scarborough) His novel, Dracula, tells the tale of five people who encounter and have to deal with the evil undead vampire Count Dracula, who terrorizes them and even causes two out of the five to become undead like himself. Thankfully, the group eventually discovers a way to eventually vanquish Dracula once and for all, and by the end of the book they destroy him, preventing him from terrorizing the people of Europe once and for all. Stoker explores several significant themes in this book, including the theme of deception. In Dracula, Stoker uses the theme of deception with the characterization of Dracula,
5. Describe the appearances Dracula makes throughout the novel. What does Stoker achieve by keeping his title character in the shadows for so much of the novel?
At first glance, the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker appears to be a typical gothic horror novel set in the late 1890s that gives readers an exciting look into the fight between good and evil. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that Dracula is a statement piece about gender roles and expectations for men and women during the Victorian age. Looking at the personalities, actions, and character development of each of the characters in Dracula bring to light startling revelations about Victorian society and how Stoker viewed the roles of men and women during this time period.
Everybody knows the classic tale of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is most famous for its introduction of the character of Count Dracula into both deep-rooted and contemporary literature and media. One critic claimed,” Bram Stoker set the ground rules for what a vampire should be.” It follows the story of Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor who visits Count Dracula in his castle in Transylvania – soon realising that he is being kept as a prisoner. Dracula forms a liking to the character of Lucy which ultimately leads to her death. Dracula learns that the group are plotting against him and feeds Mina his own blood to control her. In the final fight, humanity wins over the creature as they can kill him and Mina’s mind from his “spell.” The premise
A battle between good and evil is a common plot to Dracula. The forces of evil, Count Dracula and other vampires (the un-dead), try to take over Britain. The novel heroes Dr. Van Helsing, Dr. John Seward, Johnathan Haker, Quincy Morris, and Arthur Holmwood are the first responders for this evil invasion of the British Empire. In the novel the characters Dracula and Van Helsing play a major role for being the leaders of their respective groups, therefore they controlled the actions of their groups. Dracula’s actions in the novel have the purpose to flourish the rise of the un-dead, while Van Helsing’s actions aim to preserve and protect the human race.
How far would you go to save someone you love? Would you throw away your human identity for them? These are the types of questions that the director of the lore episode “They made a tonic”, Darnell Martin, asks the audience. Ms. Martin is a well acclaimed director, having many of her projects nominated for prestigious awards such as Cadillac records, Firelight, and I Like it Like That. Martin also won best new director in 1994, with her release of I Like it Like That. Most recently, Martin directed the season seven episode of the Walking Dead, “Go Getters.” The tone of this Lore episode, as well as that Walking Dead episode, is extremely different than other Darnell Martin projects. Darnell Martin’s Lore episode “They made a Tonic” includes fast-paced, intimidating music, black and white imagery, the use of the narrator Aaron Mahnke, and a surprise twist ending to produce a frightening and entertaining episode of Lore.
Characterisation of Dracula and Meyer’s vamps in these two books is entirely different. Through Stephanie Meyer 's novel vampires are illustrated as inhumanity attractive, powerful almost human creation. Her vampires have major advantages over Stocker 's they are described almost without any weaknesses. Despite of vamps ' reputation they can consume garlic and drink animal blood which is enough for survival, cannot transform into a bat or wolf but some of them have special talents as reading in others minds (Edward), steering emotions (Jasper) or see the future (Alice). Also they do not sleep in the coffin or burn in the sunlight. 'Twilight ' blood suckers do not sleep, in the sunlight they shine like diamonds. These characters seem to be normal forever young teens with bizarre feeding habits. In the same time Dracula is presented with some super powers as hypnosis, telepathy, shape shifting (when he changed into a wolf) and super strength. In the opposite to the ‘Twilight’ vamps Dracula has more then call of blood problems, he is sensitive to garlic, holy water, stakes and crucifixes. Also he is not able to stay alive over the sunny day because of the light which can
These vampires encompass one of the major sub-themes of the Novel - sex. This topic was considered rude to discuss in public and could only be propagated through the medium of writing. These vampires are portrayed as “air, as fair as can be, with great masses of golden hair and eyes like pale sapphires. (!!!)” The simile used here helps us picture an extremely beautiful girl with deep blue eyes and golden blond hair. This is a very vivid comparison to Count Dracula who is described to have a long pointed nose and hair in the center of his palms with a very bad breath. Thus, here we see a stark difference in the theme of violence in Dracula. On the one hand, we have the demonic Dracula who seen as the epitome of physical strength and hunts down his victims as prey and on the other we have the inviting lustful eyes of these female vampires who would lure in their prey. This instills a greater fear since the reader would expect a horrid image for a blood-sucking villain but rather we have this picturesque lady forcing the reader to redefine “monster”. Thus, the second category of Stoker’s violence is evident here – the visual aspect. The female vampires, with an immaculate mix of violence and sex, entrance their victims and prey on them. This seems to be a frightening portrayal of a “monster” since we do not expect a monster to attract the victims in using their beauty. However, it is for the same reason, that Stoker’s theme of violence has to be
In Bram Stokers novel “Dracula” there’s a battle between good and evil. The good uses Christian references to ward off evil. This starts a holy war. Stoker’s novel is an obvious ‘good versus evil’ kind of story. We all know that Dracula is going to get defeated, but how? What will the other characters go through to defeat Dracula? The good start a holy war against the evil. Throughout the whole story there’s multiple conflicts between the good and the evil.
Dracula is about vampires in general, the myth, the mystery and the horror. Even though Dracula wasn’t the first vampire story, it was the first really popular one. Throughout the novel, the author, Bram Stoker, portrays many different aspects of women's roles in the 19th century. With the use of imagery and symbolism, the theme of sexuality and gender roles has an enormous presence in the novel. Social gender roles of women and men during the Victorian Era were very strict and looked upon differently than any other time period. One of the many characteristic features of the Victorian culture was its patriarchal ideas about women. This culture looked upon sexual activity as a negative matter amongst women. The theme of sexuality is very significant
The presentation of Good vs. Evil is one of the main themes in the novel, Dracula. The portrayal of good and evil is seen in each character throughout the book. The characters considered “evil” in the novel are Dracula and his vampire brides. Dracula converts humans into vampires and has immense power over certain individuals. Everything he does demonstrates that there is no good in him at all. His vampire brides assist to Dracula’s dark deeds. What they all have in common is that they prey upon humans. On the other hand, the characters that are considered “good” in the novel are Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, John Seward, Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood. Throughout the novel, the good characters are constantly doing generous deeds to save others from Dracula.
What would it be like to be a vampire? What would it be like to have a vampire in one’s life? What were the vampires of folklore like? These topics will be reviewed throughout this essay by comparing four of the vampire books and movies. All the vampire movies have some similarities and differences but four literature pieces in particular will be gone through in this comparison. The four pieces of literature to be compared in this comparison are Dracula by Bram Stoker, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola, Nosferatu (1922) by F.W. Murnau, and Dracula (1931) by Tod Browning. In these works of fiction, there are answers to what it would have felt like to be a vampire, what it would have felt like to have a vampire in one’s life,
In Stoker’s novel Dracula, Renfield is a patient in Dr. Seward’s mental asylum who has a desire to gain the life of small, living organisms (e.g., flies, spiders, and rats) by consuming their souls. Although the purpose of Renfield’s character may be considered irrelevant to the central plot of Dracula, it is of utmost significance. To elaborate, the Renfield sub-plot functions as an “abstract representation for a better understanding” and in-depth knowledge to the character of Count Dracula through Renfield’s actions (Dracula). According to Gray, the character of Renfield “parallels aspects of Dracula 's livelihood,” such as his need to consume life. The dark relationship that Renfield and Dracula share is evident in the scene when Renfield
During the Victorian period in which Dracula was written, morals and ethics were often strictly enforced. Some of the morals that were upheld had to do with personal duty, hard work, honesty, as well as sexual proprietary. It was very important during this period that one was proper in their sexual behaviors and conventional in whom they had sexual relations with. However, during this period, many authors sought to challenge the ‘norm’ with ideas of reform and change and Bram Stoker was no exception to this. In his novel, Dracula, Stoker provides a critique of this rigidity in his portrayal of Dracula and Dracula’s relationship with Jonathan Harker. Though he could not be explicit in his representation of homosexuality or queerness, in the
The essay I chose to compare Dracula with was “Kiss Me With Those Red Lips: Gender and Inversion in Bram Stoker’s Dracula” by Christopher Craft. The essay explains the sexuality in Dracula, desire, gender, and even homosexuality. Craft mentions his essay gives an account of Stoker’s “vampire metaphor” (Craft 108). He highlights certain and very valid points in the story of Dracula that breaks the Victorian gender role, writing, “a pivotal anxiety of late Victorian culture.” (Craft 108). Craft examines the usual roles of the Victorian men and women, passive women especially, requiring them to “suffer and be still”. The men of this time were higher up on the important ladder of that era. Craft believes the men are the “doers” or active ones in