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Dracula's humanity
Key gothic features in dracula
The gothic in dracula
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Dracula is a popular novel published in 1897. It is a well-known piece of literature and resembles a great deal of characteristics associated with gothic literature. Dracula, by Bram Stoker, and my short story, The Crow, share many characteristics that make them a gothic tale. Three main components of gothic literature used in Dracula, as well as my short story, The Crow, are forces of nature, the supernatural, and isolation. Forces of nature are used throughout Dracula. In Dracula, the wolves share an important role when it comes to forces of nature. Dracula has a particular power over the wolves that controls when they come and go. “All at once the wolves began to howl as though the moonlight had had some peculiar effect on them.” (16, Stoker) In my short story, The Crow, Mr. Acker shows this characteristic a little when he opens the door …show more content…
Dracula’s castle is far from humanity, as John Harker states, “I have not yet seen a servant anywhere, or heard a sound near the castle except for the howling of wolves.” (22, Stoker) Similarly, in my short story, Egor explains how he, “didn’t see anything remotely close to where they were.” Egor is also alone for most of his life, as an orphan. He is, in a sense, a prisoner to Miss Hindley in the orphanage, and is stuck there without being able to escape. John Harker, in Dracula, is also a prisoner in Dracula’s castle with no way of escaping. “This castle is a veritable prison, and I am a prisoner!” (28, Stoker). Isolation is a key factor in gothic stories, because it causes fear of being alone with no help. Looking at the entire perspective of both Dracula and The Crow, they are very similar in many ways. The three main components that connect these two stories are, forces of nature, the supernatural, and isolation. These three ideas are used numerous times throughout each story, and give them a gothic
The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker has plentiful examples of key concepts we have examined in class including: Purity and impurity, magical thinking, strong emotions such as disgust and shame, , formalization, and myth. In this essay I will summarize events that take place within the novel when the protagonists deal with Dracula and then relate these events to the key concepts to demonstrate why the characters view him as dangerous, and therefore something to be avoided completely.
In the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, there is much evidence of foreshadowing and parallels to other myths. Dracula was not the first story featuring a vampire myth, nor was it the last. Some would even argue that it was not the best. However, it was the most original, using foreshadowing and mood to create horrific imagery, mythical parallels to draw upon a source of superstition, and original narrative elements that make this story unique.
The late nineteenth century Irish novelist, Bram Stoker is most famous for creating Dracula, one of the most popular and well-known vampire stories ever written. Dracula is a gothic, “horror novel about a vampire named Count Dracula who is looking to move from his native country of Transylvania to England” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Unbeknownst of Dracula’s plans, Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, traveled to Castle Dracula to help the count with his plans and talk to him about all his options. At first Jonathan was surprised by the Count’s knowledge, politeness, and overall hospitality. However, the longer Jonathan remained in the castle the more uneasy and suspicious he became as he began to realize just how strange and different Dracula was. As the story unfolded, Jonathan realized he is not just a guest, but a prisoner as well. The horror in the novel not only focuses on the “vampiric nature” (Soyokaze), but also on the fear and threat of female sexual expression and aggression in such a conservative Victorian society.
Dracula, a gothic novel by Bram Stoker, prominently displays three gothic motifs -- the supernatural, entrapment, and nightmares. Throughout the entirety of the novel, the main characters were being harmed or attempting to destroy the vampire, Count Dracula. Without this supernatural character, there would not have been a plot line to the story. Count Dracula makes his victims feel physically entrapped as well as entrapped in their own minds. The characters in the novel that had direct interaction with Dracula seem to confuse reality with nightmares, making it hard for them to understand what was happening to them.
It can be argued that the theme of light VS darkness is used to good
Throughout many types of literature, violence exists to enhance the readers interest in order to add a sense of excitement or conflict to a novel. This statement withholds much truthfulness due to the fact that without violence in a piece of literature such as Dracula by Bram Stoker, the plot would not have the same impact if it was lacking violence. Dracula's power and evilness led to the violent happenings which began with the conflict of Jonathan's inner struggle, as compared to the conflict which blossomed later on with good versus evil.
Bram Stoker (1847-1912), a fan and friend of the playwright Henry Irving, he wrote dramatic criticism and glowing reviews of Irving's work for the local papers and finally became business manager of Henry Irving's Lyceum Theatre. During these years he wrote his greatest novel, Dracula. Stoker wrote numerous novels, short stories, essays, and lectures, but Dracula is by far his most famous work and perhaps the most well known horror novel.
The genre of gothic text tends to emerge in times of great social stress or anxiety. For many years, authors have described vampires as wealthy, culturally sophisticated, aristocrats who live decadent lifestyles. Today however, average Americans are faced with hard economic times, and are struggling to provide basic necessities for their families. When watching the movie Twilight by Stephanie Meyers, several details in the story seems to enhance these harsh cultural anxieties of today’s social world, such as, the excessive lengths people will go to achieve financial stability, the lavish life style of the modern vampire, and how themes of the economic issues society is facing, impacts and stresses basic human instinct that society has an unlimited wants.
Bram Stoker wrote his infamous novel, Dracula, during the turn of the century in 1897, and the Victorian era novel is heavily influenced by the time in which it was written. Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula is influenced by the period in which it was produced, and it diverges from the novel in the sexualisation of women, the humanization of Dracula, the representation of friendship, and the depiction of science. Dracula is a classic story that can represent the current era’s fears and desires. Although the story changes in Coppola’s Dracula, in comparison to the original, it is not the first time Dracula has been adapted according to the era, and it will not be the last.
Gothic imagery and themes include castles, coffins, monsters and strange lands and pose the background of the classic Gothic novel. The Gothic element is synonymous with the horror and uncanny- a feeling rather than form, in which transgression is the central topic (Wisker 7). The vampire is a figure that transgresses society’s limits to form the central dynamic of the Gothic. “We enjoy seeing the limit transgressed- it horrifies us and reinforces our sense of boundaries and normalcy” (Halberstam 13). Assuming that Bram Stoker’s Dracula sets the archetype of the vampire, it is clear that modern vampires have demonstrated a decrease in the Gothic horror despite similarities in the Gothic imagery
Dracula, as it was written by Bram Stoker, presents to us possibly the most infamous monster in all of literature. Count Dracula, as a fictional character, has come to symbolize the periphery between the majority and being an outsider to that group. Dracula’s appeal throughout the years and genres no doubt stems from his sense of romanticism and monster. Reader’s no doubt are attracted to his “bad-boy” sensibilities, which provide an attraction into the novel. Looking first at his appearance, personality, and behaviour at the beginning of the novel, we can easily see Dracula’s blurred outsider status, as he occupies the boundaries of human and monster. Related to this is Dracula’s geographic sense of outsider. For all intents and purposes, Dracula is an immigrant to England, thus placing him further into the realm of outsider. To look at Bram Stoker’s Dracula as solely a monster in the most violent sense of his actions would to be look at a sole aspect of his character, and so we must look at how he interacts with the outside world to genuinely understand him.
Dracula is truly a masterpiece of gothic literature. It encompasses all aspects that are vital to Gothicism and executes all perfectly. Stoker adds the element of darkness which clearly intensifies the foreboding ambience and he reflects it on every aspect of the book. The theme of superstition and the supernatural that centres on the villain creates an air of ambiguity and uncertainty concerning Dracula. This uncertainty causes a fear in the reader which enhances the gothic genre of the novel. Finally, the same uncertainty that clouds the supernatural elements of the novel drift into the characters understanding of what is real and what is not. This doubt amplifies the gothic foundation of the novel. Though these themes and examples, it is clearly seen that the widely read and respected book, Dracula is an exemplary form of gothic literature.
From the whispers of townsfolk spreading legends and tales of what goes bump in the night to the successful novels, plays and film adaptations, the story of the vampire has remained timeless and admired. One of the main writers responsible for this fame and glory is Bram Stoker with his rendition Dracula, written in 1897. Dracula follows the accounts of Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Dr. John Seward, Lucy Westenra, and Dr. Van Helsing, through their journal entries and letters, newspaper articles, and memos. Bram’s vision for Dracula is both terrifying and captivating as the reader follows a small group of men and women led by Dr. Van Helsing through their attempt to retaliate against Count Dracula’s efforts to spread his undead chaos and blood lust across England.
Bram Stoker and Sheridan Le Fanu’s texts, Dracula (1898) and “Carmilla” (1872), use gothic tropes in similar ways to captivate readers with horror and terror. This essay will illustrate how, in comparison, both texts include gothic tropes: the New Woman, sexuality and setting, in order to provoke emotions and reactions from the readers. To achieve this, this essay will focus on the women that challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes, and deconstruct each text in regards to the very strong undertones of homosexuality; specifically between Carmilla and Laura, and Dracula and Harker. By discussing the harshness and darkness of the environments described, including ruined castles and isolated landscapes; this essay will also explore the
Dracula, the most famous vampire of all time, which readers were first introduced to by Irish author Bram Stoker in 1897 with his novel Dracula, which tells the story of the mysterious person named Count Dracula (Stoker). The book is an outstanding masterpiece of work, which is why it has been a prototype for various movie releases over the decades. Whenever a film director decides to make a movie on behalf of a novel the hope is that the characters concur from the novel to the movie, which leads to the exploration of the resemblances and modifications between the characters in Dracula the novel by Bram Stoker and Bram Stoker’s Dracula 1992 movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola.