The people of the Philippines believe in a creature called the mandurugo, a vampiric creature that takes form of a beautiful girl by day, but grows wings and a hollow, thread like tongue used to suck the blood of the sleeping at night. The Cape region in Africa has the folklore of the impundulu, which has the ability to transform into a large taloned bird that can control thunder and lightning. Vampires are seen in stories and folklore throughout civilizations and generations. Even though people knew of vampires, Bram Stoker’s novel made people fear them by terrifying his reader’s with his persona Dracula. The Count has been known to be a very complex character with many odd quirks and traits. Nowadays these have been changed or kept by our new generation of authors to fit different types of bloodsuckers, but Dracula has been the starting point for all.
All vampires have the craving for the blood of humans. Without this blood they could not survive. In Dracula multiple vampires drank human blood, and one was even using children to quench her thirst. The new generation of vampire is given an alternate food source to control their inner hunger. Bill Compton and other vampires from the True Blood series have been provided with an organic substitute called Tru Blood. Other famous vamps have been known to use animal substitutes. The “vegetarian” vamps of the Twilight series and Angel from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series overcame their craving for human blood and drank from deer and rats.
Dracula is not human, and Stoker gave his night stalker many superhuman abilities. The character Jonathan Harker witnessed Dracula climbing down a wall head first. This is implies super strength. Van Helsing also gave a list of Dracula’s ...
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...r a group of vampires. In Twilight the main vampires belong to a “family” or coven, also they have an over ruling group of Vampires called the Volturi. The True Blood vampires have system similar to our government; the leaders created laws that all vampires must abide to or be severely punished. The new generation of vampires live in groups. This could be that they cannot not measure up to Dracula‘s power.
Henry David Thoreau once said, “Things do not change, we change.” This is a reasonable explanation for the change of vampires today. Readers now want a new kind of vampire; the ruthless bloodsucker Stoker created is no longer the main interest in the new world of vampires. This new generation of vampire novels are keeping people interested, just as Dracula did. Even though they have different qualities; they all have a little piece of Dracula to start with.
If one wants to be powerful, the only way is through the right path because with deceiving and tricking it only leads to problems, which is what happens to the count. Stoker life showed signs that he believed in this since he followed in his father’s footsteps and was very close to family, which was one of his keys to success. What Dracula was lacking was the trust between him and the other vampires. If he followed good practices like Helsing he would be all powerful, but then again ‘good’ Dracula, is an oxymoron. Stoker lived in a changing time period where there was a mix of different feelings and ideas coming about.
In a world with ghosts, monsters, demons, and ghouls, there is one being that resonates in everyone’s mind. The idea of these creatures can be found in almost every culture on the planet in one form or another. They prey on the weak and they feast on the blood of their victims. They are compared to a fox for being quick and cunning, but also rather seductive in their nature. With their unholy existence one can only describe them as almost demonic. So what is this horrid creature? Well it is none other than the vampire, a creature as old as time itself. Throughout history there have been many different variations of the vampire, each with their own unique abilities. But one cannot help but mention
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.
First a major difference is sunlight does not affect the vampires in Twilight. The only thing the sun does to them is making them glow like glitter is on them. In Dracula the vampires are very weak when they get into the sun. Next big difference that you usually do not see in vampires is in Twilight they show up in pictures and mirrors. In Dracula it is shown when Jonathan was shaving that Dracula could not be seen in the mirror (29-30). The final difference between Dracula and Twilight is Holy items do not harm the vampires in Twilight. In Dracula however the items either burn the vampires, they just do not go near them. They usually just try to find an alternate solution around the object. This is shown when Draula used the wolf from the zoo to break the window open to get inside to suck on Lucy’s blood
While Bram Stoker’s Dracula has been described as the “quintessence of evil creatures we meet in our everyday lives” and “the Darkness” in the hearts of men (Herbert, 2004, pp. 62), Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight
Dracula is a mythical creature designed to wreak havoc on the lives of mortals through the terror and intimidation of death by bite. Vampires are undead beings that kill humans for their blood to survive. Human blood is the vampire’s sustenance, and only way of staying alive. Throughout time, humans have come up with ways to repel vampires, such as lighting jack-o-lanterns on All Hallows Eve, placing garlic around the neck, a stake through the heart, sunlight, etc. Both beings have a survival instinct, whether it be hunger or safety, both are strong emotions. In the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, the characters Lucy, John, and Van Helsing strive for survival, therefore killing Dracula.
While studying the diabolical figures in the devil, the idea of presenting Dracula came to mind. Dracula represents the devil in many similar ways. Dracula remains as a character in many diabolical movies and films. For instance, Van Helsing provides a good interpret of how Dracula remains noticed in the past and in present day. Although Dracula’s character obtains different views in every movie and film, he plays an important role in Stephen Sommers Van Helsing movie. In the movie, he acts as many different things. Demonstrating both the kind and evil inside, Dracula portrays his character as a mystery. Different views of Dracula throughout the movie include harsh, strong, powerful, evil, the devil, and unstoppable. The studies of Dracula
bout Dracula as the class system. Changing into a vampire could represent the changing of social class. Being involved with someone of a different social class was rarely done, and looked down upon. As well as that, it was nearly impossible to change classes once in one.
He is an undead centuries-old vampire who sleeps in a coffin in the basement, can assume the form of animals, control the weather and is stronger than twenty men, he cannot come into a house unless invited, he cannot walk in water and his favorite meal is human blood, which these traits are consistent with his portrayal in both the novel and the movie (Stoker). Although the novel and movie share many likenesses with Count Dracula’s character there are some unique qualities that are slightly different the book describes a shadow coordinated with Count Dracula’s body while in the movie his shadow works separately from his body movements (“Dracula (Universal Classics)”). Another feature of Count Dracula’s character in the novel is that he cannot be in or near the sunlight or it will kill him, but in the movie, he meets Mina in the daytime and it does not harm him (Bram Stoker’s). Nevertheless, in the book Dracula is a pure evil, terrifying blood hungry monster that wreaks havoc on anyone he meets and feels the need to take life or end life with his arch nemesis being with anyone who wants to preserve life (Stoker). But in the movie when he meets Mina on the streets of London, he pursues her, starts a courtship with Mina and he falls in love with her so when he
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.
Dracula, by Bram Stoker, is a classic tale of Gothicism. Traditionally, gothic tales only carried single theme of horror. Through Dracula, Stoker breaks this single theme barrier. The theme throughout Dracula is clearly displayed through the characters as they step from ignorance to realization in this tale of horror.
The Count is the benchmark of the vampire archetype as the monstrous Other that “announces itself as the place of corruption” (Anolik and Howard 1). Dracula is associated with disruption and transgression of accepted limits—a monstrosity of great evil that serves to guarantee the existence of good (Punter and Byron 231). The “Otherness” Dracula possess 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
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.
In Bram Stoker's "Dracula", Dracula is portrayed as a monster made evident by his gruesome actions. An analysis of Dracula shows that: shows his evil nature in his planning, brutally killing Lucy Westrenstra causing a violent response from Dr. Seward and others, and how his evil ways lead to his downfall. To characterize Dracula in one way, he is a ruthless, cunning monster who uses tricks, torture, and wits to manipulate people to his will. However when he trifled with some courageous people, he had no knowledge that it would be his undoing.
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...