Monsters in Literature

952 Words2 Pages

We live in a world where creatures have abilities that can blow our minds, however we are ignorant of this. We live in a world where a constant power struggle is occurring between these secret species, a struggle that most human beings have no inclination of. We live in a world where people who know the truth are sworn to secrecy, and those proclaim this truth are considered crazy and locked away; to be sane is to be ignorant. Well, that is what I would love to be true. In actuality, I am fascinated with the topic of monsters; I love them all: lycanthropes, Frankenstein’s monster, witches, fae, necromancers, zombies, demons, mummies, and my favorite: vampires. This fetish has been manifested in the movies I view, the televisions shows I watch, and the books I read. When my obsession with reading is crossed with my obsession with monsters the result is a bookshelf containing more vampire novels than most people would consider healthy. I have discovered that every vampire novel varies vastly; no two books are ever alike. For example, the Twilight Series, the Anita Blake Series and the Vampire Chronicles Series have different legends and lore, different relationships between vampires and society, and different genres, theme, and purpose; this array of novels display most clearly the range of audience for vampire genre can cater. The Twilight series is a bestselling series written by Stephanie Meyer that has captivated millions of teenage girls. Twilight diverges from the vampire lore quite a bit and contains very little information about any other supernatural beings. Most vampire stories stress that vampires are night dwellers; that they cannot remain “alive” when the sun rises. Nevertheless, Twilight ignores that known ... ... middle of paper ... ... are thought to be demons by the people who catch glimpses of them. It takes place over a two hundred year span showing how a vampire remains hidden. It displays how humans are viewed from a vampire’s eyes and how vampires view each other. This series was such a phenomenon because it is from the vampire’s point of view and shows all of the good and bad things about being a vampire. It also exhibits how a vampire feels about living for eternity. The vampire genre is one that is so widely exploited because anything can be done with it. It can be made into a horror story made to induce nightmares, into a story that displays humans can be just as monstrous as the monster, or into a romance that proves that love conquers all. The mystery and sensuality that shrouds vampires allows for a vampire story to be anything and everything the writer or reader desires.

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Two Vampires

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    Vampires have been viewed with fear and fascination for centuries. Of all the vampires in literature, Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula is probably the most prominent vampire. Recently, there has been an upsurge of public interest in socially acceptable vampires, like the Cullens in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. This essay will contrast Stoker’s Dracula with Carlisle Cullen, one of the newer vampires from the Twilight series. They will be examined in terms of their origins and how they dealt with immortality.

    Read More

  • Dracula the Impaled Reputation

    1993 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beresford, Matthew. From Demons to Dracula: the Creation of the Modern Vampire Myth. London: Reaktion, 2008. Print.

    Read More

  • Comparison Between Dracula by Bram Stroker and Twilight by Stephen Meyeres

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    The legend of the vampire has emerged countless times within human imagination over the past few centuries. The first available representation of the mythical creature in prose fiction can be found in John Polidori’s “The Vampyre” (1810). It was not until eight decades later that Bram Stoker popularized the existence of this figure with the publication of “Dracula” in 1897. The folklore of the vampire has come a long way since and can be found in today’s popular media more frequently than ever before. However, with due course of time, the representation of the creature has taken alternate routes and today’s vampires are noticeable different – socially and physically – from their predecessors. One effective path to trace this transformation is to compare arguably modern day’s most famous representation of the vampire, Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” with “Dracula”, the foundation from which a large number of modern works draw inspiration. Examining this comparison closely, one finds that a new socially acceptable, sexually abstinent and desirable creature is fast replacing the fearsome and sexually voracious monster, as depicted in early tales of the vampire.

    Read More

  • Critical Criticism Of Dracula

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dracula has been doled out to numerous abstract classes including vampire writing, repulsiveness fiction, the gothic novel and attack writing. The novel addresses subjects, for example, the part of ladies in Victorian culture, sexual traditions, movement, imperialism, and post-expansionism. In spite of the fact that Stoker did not design the vampire, he characterized its present day shape, and the novel has produced various dramatic, film and TV

    Read More

  • Vampire Lore In Dracula

    1871 Words  | 4 Pages

    When the vampire came about the thought of the monsters themselves were terrifying, and to view one they were ghostly pale with dark sunken eyes, large nose similar to that of the stereotypical witch, pointed ears like an elf and dark hair usually dark brown if not black. The original folklore on vampires showed a terrifying creature that you would know if you would see it out and about during the night. Today’s films and novels want to present you with an attractive vampire, like dying and becoming an immortal being is something a human would want to do because they would become more attractive. But also in today’s depiction of the vampire they have no obvious tells that a person is a vampire until they get angry and the fangs elongate. The idea of the vampire has shifted so drastically over the course of time, from fear to an admiration of a creature that could kill you in seconds. In the popular culture of today, the vampire is something attractive that girls pine after and want to be since there are a multitude of romance novels printed today with the male leads being portrayed as a

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Bram Stoker's Dracula And Dracula

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    From Transylvania to Hollywood, vampires have transformed from unfamiliar, mysterious personalities to one of the most dominant monsters in the horror genre today. Vampires are one of the oldest and most noted creatures in mythology, with many variations of them around the world. Although the most famous version is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, many variants have come before and after telling of the same legend with their own added ideas and modifications to relate to their cultures. Today, there is a multitude of literary and film works that convey and resurface peoples’ fear of vampires. As gothic works like Dracula, by Bram Stoker and Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire directed by Scott Jeralds share certain traits reflective of the genre; These factors include setting, actions of each vampire, the initial reactions to news of them, and how their presence affects the people who live within the region the vampires inhabit.

    Read More

  • Compare Dracula And Twilight

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Twilight, Edward Cullen presents the question; “ But what if I’m not the hero? What if I’m the bad guy?” The role of vampires is very controversial. Back in the day they were evil, soulless monsters and people genuinely feared them. However, in the present day it seems that we have grown to love them and even hope to one day be them. There are a plethora of vampire stories and many of them have become immense hits. With so many vampire stories, it is not uncommon that readers are able to identify a vast amount of similarities. Although similar in aspects, there are still many differences between the classic and modern day vampires. Two highly popular stories, in which we can easily identify similarities and differences, are Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight.

    Read More

  • Sacrifice In Bram Stoker's Dracula

    2045 Words  | 5 Pages

    Bram Stoker's Dracula is a staple of the Gothic Horror genre. It is a novel that has been scrutinized by countless readers over the years. It has spawned an absolutely massive following that still persists to this day, more than a hundred years after it was initially published in 1897. While Stoker's novel is certainly not the first example of a piece of gothic horror, or even the first example of a gothic horror story focusing specifically on vampires, it still managed to fully capture the attention of the public. But not only did Dracula enthrall the readers of its time, but it continued to be a mainstay of the gothic horror genre, and was continually discussed over the following years. The myriad of ways this novel has been interpreted over

    Read More

  • Dracula's Influence on 'The Vampire Diaries'

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bram Stoker’s fiction novel Dracula is an iconic literary work that still greatly influences the portrayal of vampirism in modern television. For example, aspects of the CW’s drama TV series, The Vampire Diaries, are loosely based on Dracula’s plotline and character constructs. The show is an adapted interpretation of L.J. Smith’s young adult novels, The Vampire Diaries. Both the TV show and the book series feature renditions of original ideas in Dracula that have become popularized, such as the concept of a supernatural, vampiric love triangle. Through the intentional character development of three main protagonists, Elena, Stefan and Damon, as well as reoccurring thematic narratives, the writers of The Vampire Diaries illustrate a universal

    Read More

  • Dracula Gothic Analysis

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    The “Otherness” Dracula possesses reinforces our own norms and beliefs through his transgression that separates him from society and the polarity to Western norms and ideals makes him an effective device for extorting revulsion and horror. Stoker’s novel employs Gothic tradition, providing “the principle embodiments and evocations of cultural anxieties” from which the very Gothic mood and horror is produced, establishing the baseline used to distinguish the modern vampires, as part of vampire mythology within the Gothic (Botting Aftergothic 280). Differences Between Dracula and Twilight The similarities between the two novels are namely Gothic imagery and theme, but the Gothic mood predominates in Dracula over Twilight and it is this difference that makes Twilight not belong in the vampire canon. Horror is the element that Dracula possesses that Edward does not, and it is crucial in the interplay between transgression and limit.

    Read More

  • Dracula Compare And Contrast Essay

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    Similar to Dracula, Twilight’s vampires have many of the same characteristics. The vampires in Dracula and Twilight both are very pale. People in both books often mention how pale the vampires are. Along with pale skin their skin is usually very tough. This meaning that it is very strong and does

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula

    1804 Words  | 4 Pages

    ‘Dracula’ is a novel that probes deeply into people’s superstitions, fears and beliefs of the supernatural. The creature Dracula is an evil being with no concern for others, he kills for his own ends and cannot be stopped, and this is what makes ‘Dracula’ truly frightening.

    Read More

  • The Allure of Vampires and Immortality

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    Humanity has always been fascinated with the allure of immortality and although in the beginning vampires were not a symbol of this, as time passed and society changed so did the ideas and perceptions surrounding them. The most important thing to ask yourself at this point is 'What is immortality?' Unfortunately this isn't as easily answered as asked. The Merriam Webster Dictionary says immortality is 'the quality or state of being immortal; esp : unending existence' while The World Book Encyclopedia states it as 'the continued and eternal life of a human being after the death of the body.' A more humorous definition can be found in The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce:

    Read More

  • The Twilight Saga: Redefining the Vampire

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...e people and love the living. Next, since when have vampires protected humans? Vampires are supposed to be creatures that prey ruthlessly upon humans, not cold-blooded creatures that assure the safety of humans. Along with that, what type of vampire refuses to drink human blood? Isn’t that what the most basic and well-known trait of a vampire? Apparently, Twilight has changed the most fundamental and defining trait of the monster called the vampire, the thirst for human blood. What do you call a vampire that doesn’t drink blood. This change has led Yabroff to say “Twilight especially pushed the vampire myth to it’s extreme”(Yabroff par.7). Thus, there are many differences with the original vampire and the new Twilight version. The past work of all fictional writers, movie directors, etc. have all been spat on by the new refined vampire image from the Twilight Saga.

    Read More

  • Critical Rhetorical Analysis: “Why Vampires Never Die”

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author’s op-ed piece was published in 2009, the very peak of the vampire contagion, where one could find these creatures wherever they looked. This pandemonium that arose from vampires is what drove del Toro and Hogan to pen “Why Vampires Never Die.” Furthermore, the purpose behind this essay is to give an abridged description of the past of vampires for the people who had become fanatics of the creatures. Also, this essay showed how vampires have persisted in pop culture. They suggest that vampires have been remade by diverse cultures at different times, and this change echoes that society's angst and concerns. The novelist’s imply that Stroker’s Dracula may mirror an exaggerated human on a prim...

    Read More

More about Monsters in Literature

Open Document