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The importance of Van Helsing in the novel Dracula
The cultural importance of Dracula
The cultural importance of Dracula
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Recommended: The importance of Van Helsing in the novel Dracula
Throughout the Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, one is presented with the presence of many Christian ideals and symbols throughout the text. Count Dracula’s appearance and actions seem to display the perversion of various Christian ideals and symbols and Dr. Van Helsing uses various Christian symbols to defeat Count Dracula. Given that Van Helsing and his posse are able to use the Christian imagery to drive Dracula back to Castle Dracula and eventually defeat him, Stoker might be suggesting that the power of the Christianity and the Christian God will always prevail in a match against evil and the devil.
In the Christian religion, the devil is the not-as-powerful antagonist of God. There are many ways in which Count Dracula could be observed as either a symbol or incarnate of the devil. First, one may take into account Dracula’s name. In Romanian, the language of the country of Dracula’s origin, the word “drac” means devil or evil person, this word can also be taken to mean dragon (En.bab.la). In the biblical book of Revelation, the devil is described as a dragon. The book of Revelation states “The giant dragon was thrown down out of heaven. (He is that old snake called the devil or Satan, who tricks the whole world.)” (New Century Version, Rev. 12:9). Furthermore, the pseudonym that Dracula assumes in England is an even more blatant reference to the devil. Whenever the men are attempting to find who the owner is of the property in Piccadilly, the men find that “the purchaser is a foreign nobleman, Count DeVille” (Stoker, n.p.). “DeVille” is a simply the word devil with the accents in the incorrect position on the word. Therefore, both of these names, by which Dracula is called, point to how he might represent the devil.
Dracula’...
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...r of God will always prevail over that of the devil or any perversion of Christian ideals. Given the names that Dracula has, his appearance, and his action, one could properly argue that he represents the same evil that the devil presents in Christianity. Furthermore, one is able to note that the actions that Van Helsing and the others perform are able to weaken Dracula so that he eventually is powerless against them. The use of these Christian objects allows them to rid the world of Dracula and perhaps implies that in the struggle between the Christian God and the devil, or possibly even good and evil, that God, or good, will always succeed.
Works Cited
New Century Version. Ed. Caroline Christina Brown, et al. Fort Worth: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005. Print.
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. G Books, 1897. Kindle AZW File.
“Drac.” En.bab.la. Bab.la, n.d. Web. 3 May. 2014.
Throughout ‘Dracula’, Stoker presents the idea of ‘foreigner’ through the characterisation of Count Dracula and Professor Van Helsing, who are the two main outsiders in the novel. Dracula, being a supernatural creature, is of Transylvanian descent which makes him such a poignant character. On the other hand, Van Helsing is a Roman Catholic, and is of a Dutch background, which also highlights him as a foreigner within ‘Dracula.’ In this essay I will explore how these two characters are represented and the intention behind the idea of ‘foreigner.’
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The story of Dracula has many components of it used in the film The Lost Boys. The comparison’s begin with the vampire. Dracula is centered around the main vampire, Dracula. Dracula has many powers and ways he can alter reality. In the novel Bram Stoker's Dracula we see that there is a power struggle. In all of the universe, no one being has complete control over another. In Dracula God, Dracula, Nature, and Humanity have some form of dominance over another, whether it be direct control or as the instrument through which another must exert its power. In this paper we will examine the different ways that control and power are used.
Life is a cruel. It, will attempt to take one down; it will humble one; it will attempt to break many down. In moments one may not know what to do, instead he/she must a find a way to use what they have around them as an advantage to defeat the problems that stands their way. Throughout dark fiction, authors utilise different elements as a tool to defeating the antagonist. the story Dracula uses completely different approaches in taking down the mighty Dracula. In the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker effectively employs the different elements that are used to defeat Dracula. Stoker effectively demonstrates the elements that are used to destroy Dracula through act of Religion, the aspect of Science and the setting.
The most important religious comparison in Frankenstein, are the outstanding similarities between Victor as God and the monster as Lucifer. This idea is proven by the monster in the quote where he states, " I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed." Broken down, this quote shows us that the monster feels that he is the neglected creation and that he has been created to be unhappy, although he has committed no wrongdoing, and he doesn't deserve to be mistreated by society. As it goes in the bible, God created Lucifer as the most brilliant and beautiful angel in the sky with good intentions, but Lucifer turned his back on his creator and began a notorious streak of evil as the "malignant devil." Now if the role of God is switched with that of Victor, and the role of Lucifer is switched with that of the monster, the story is retold in almost the same context. Now to prove that this is not just farfetched speculation, the monster even says in his quote that he ought to be Adam, God's successful creation, rather than the fallen angel (Lucifer). Among other quotes in which the monster deigns Victor as [his] creator, this is a powerful novel reference and this quote beautifully shows the direct motif of religious role-playing in Frankenstein.
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Carol A. Senf uses a critical theory lens when she picks apart Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The majority of literary critics interpret this popular myth to be the opposition of good and evil, they turn a blind eye to the more specifically literary matters such as method of narration, characterization, and style. Carol Senf’s critical essay “Dracula: the Unseen Face in the Mirror” she believes that Stokers novel “revolves, not around the conquest of Evil by Good, but on the similarities between the two” (Senf 421). Her argument is as follows:
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‘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.
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