Foreshadowing, Mood, Mythical Parallels, and Narrative Elements in Dracula
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.
Anyone who has ever seen one of the several adaptations of Dracula as a movie will know that it was intended to be a horror story. Stoker goes to great lengths in order to create an atmosphere of terror and villainy, while hinting at exciting things to come. Straight from the beginning of the book, foreshadowing is utilized to hint at horrifying future events. As Jonathan Harker was about to depart for Castle Dracula, an old lady accosted him and said, "It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know that to-night when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?" (Stoker, 4). However Harker leaves anyway, despite the warning. Thus the reader is fully aware that something awful is going to happen to him. This quote makes one's mind think of possible future events, thus creating imagery. Every writer aspires to create good imagery, and Bram Stoker is particularly good at doing so.
Another example of foreshadowing unfolds when Harker is being transported to Castle Dracula by the mysterious and tenebrous driver. "Then, as we flew along, the driver leaned forward, and on each side the passengers, craning over the edg...
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...are depicted in many instances in order to draw upon a source of superstition for added affirmation. Finally, original narrative elements are conceived in order to bring together a central theme of unity, which stresses the teamwork by which the protagonists defeated the vampires. Bram Stoker applies these elements to create an enriching, compelling plot in the novel Dracula.
Works Cited
Birge, Barbara. "Bram Stoker's DRACULA: The Quest for Female Potency in Transgressive Relationships." Psychological Perspectives. 1994. 22-36.
Gutjahr, Paul. "Stoker's Dracula-Criticism and Interpretation." Explicator. Fall 1993. 36-40.
Holland, Tom. "A Sure Fang." New Statesman. Feb. 19, 2001. 40-42.
Keats, P. "Stoker's Dracula." Explicator. Fall 1991. 26-29.
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Tom Doherty Associates: New York, 1988.
The crucifix and the empty cross are symbols of fear, loathing and danger to Dracula. There is a certain irony here as the cross is the ultimate symbol of redemption to all Christians. Sin or rather the dark side of humanity's turning from God is recognized and can be redeemed by coming to the cross. The cross is also a symbol of resurrection. The resurrection is the gift of eternal life through Christ to which all Christians can aspire. This is opposed to the Un-Dead nature of Dracula. He is immortal but it is not an eternal joyful thing. Indeed the eternity is always under threat by the very normalcy and goodness of people like the Harkers.
The union’s naval blockade against the South led to a gradual decrease of the shipment of war material and necessary supplies to the South and affected the export of Cotton the South’s most acceptable collateral (Beringer 54). Historian E. Merton Coulter wrote, “without a doubt the blockade was one of the outstanding causes of the strangulation and ultimate collapse of the Confederacy (Beringer 55). “None of the confederate generals ever understood the facts of modern war, that war and statecraft were one piece…. the northern generals were able to employ new ways of war (Donald 41). When the war began there was 23 northern states fighting for the union and only 11 confederate states fighting for the confederacy. (Robertson jr. 7). The population of the North was 22,000,000 people and the South’s population was 9,105,000 people. The North also had more men fight in the army than the South did (Robertso...
he is leaving is the night when "all the evil things in the world will
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.
Stevenson, John Allen. A Vampire in the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula. 2nd ed. Vol. 103. N.p.: Modern Language Association, 1988. JSTOR. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. .
The story of Dracula started long before Brahm Stoker wrote his famous novel. Vampires have been in the minds of people since the early ninth century and, perhaps, even before that. The fact that the stories are still common after all these years brings out the question of, why? What makes these vampire stories so popular? The answer may be in the material itself. Taking a wide selection of vampire stories, including Brahm Stoker's classic, reveals a long list of similarities. Of course, not all stories mirror the others in all aspects of images but the images that do repeat are the ones most people readily associate with vampires. I propose that the reason Dracula and other stories of vampires are still so widely known is because they have those steady characteristics that make them easily recognizable. A picture of one culture's vampire will be very similar to another vampire of another culture, thus making it a popular character.
Instead she married a simple middle class man and lived a middle class life. All the while she dreamed of living the life of the rich. With beautiful gowns and glittering jewelry. Oh how happy she thought she would be. Then one day it happened that she and her husband where invited to a dinner ball. Her husband, Mr. Loisel thought this would make his wife so very happy since this is what she spent all of her time day dreaming of. Here it was, the thing that consumed her finally at her door step, but she was not happy. In fact, Mathilde was even more distraught because it brought to her attention that she had nothing proper to wear. Mr. Loisel sympathized with his wife and knowing he had money set aside for a new shot gun, he gave her 400 francs. This was enough money for a pretty dress, not too fancy, but pretty because he knew this would be a rare occasion.
In gothic literature, many characters seem to not understand the abnormal things that happen throughout the novel. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the character Dr.Seward ignores the odd things that happen. He ignores the evil activities of Dracula and the people he bites. In Dracula, Dr.Seward adds to the gothic elements by ignoring the irrational events that happen right in front of him.
“It 's better to live alone in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife” (Proverbs 21:19, New Living Translation). In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace” (n.d.), poor Loisel learns this lesson the hard way by marrying the arrogant, self-absorbed, ungrateful Mathilde. As Mathilde dreams of a life of fame and fortune and frets about her perceived poverty and inadequate life, Loisel, who is rather content, works tirelessly to make her happy. Throughout the story, the ongoing theme is the continuous torment that Mathilde puts herself through as she laments what she sees as the dire state of her existence. She goes so far as to blame others for this dissatisfaction, never considering that she may be the cause of the turmoil
Over the years people have given new out looks on the original vampire, Dracula. He was a tall non-attractive looking man who would never come out during the day. Hollywood however has made new vampire stories such as Twilight, True Blood, and The Vampire Diaries/The Originals that have new ideas of a vampire. These novels/books all have differences, but some still have key characteristics of the original vampire.
Foreshadowing is a fundamental element in “The Veldt.” A good example of foreshadowing is the veldt itself and the voracious animals inside it. “The nursery was silent. It was as empty as a jungle glade at hot high noon. ‘Did you hear that scream?’ she asked. ‘No’ ‘About a minute ago.’ ‘Sorry, no.’” (Bradbury). This is the first instance of foreshadowing in the story that predicts the event where the parents themselves will soon be screaming, meaning they will die. “Moreover, his (Ray Bradbury’s) description of the veldt also conveys an atmo...
However, the former description speaks about the monster rising from the cemetery deep in the night and sucking people’s blood in bed. This is what informed the legend of Dracula (Cohen 12). The cornerstone upon which all the monster characters now trace their attributes was laid by Bram Stoker in Dracula the novel. It came with hints of deep sorrow or alienation from the time and place in which the monster finds himself.
In one part of the story, imagery is used to show that Loisel is unhappy with what she has in life and constantly complains about not living a wealthy life. Loisel aspires to the wealth and prestige of the upper classes, and is frustrated by her lower-middle-class husband and plain surroundings. Loisel felt as if she “suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born to enjoy all delicacies and all luxuries. She was distressed at the poverty of her dwelling, at the bareness of the walls, at the shabby chairs, the ugliness of the curtains. All those things, of which another woman of her rank would never even have been conscious, tortured her and made her angry.” Throughout the story, Maupassant identifies that Loisel is unsatisfied with her life because she grieves for endless hours about how she does not have the life she feels that she deserves. The imagery that he uses shows that Loisel is always in a constant state of unhappiness, frustration, and distress because she incessantly mourns over the fact that she did not have all the luxuries that she wanted. This reveals that she is portrayed as materialistic and relies only on the appearance, because she believes that appearance will make her worthy of greater things, which leads her into taking things for granted. Maupassant used imagery to show that you should be appreciative of what you have in life, in addition, he also uses conflict to show that you should not take what you have in life for
The first place where Stoker sets up a chilling atmosphere is when Harker first gets to Dracula’s castle. Harker gets dropped off at the castle in the dark and is outside all alone. He is trying to figure out how to address the Count that he is there because there was no sign of a bell or knocker. Suddenly, Harker heard heavy steps approaching on the other side of the door. “Then there was the sound of rattling chains and the clanking of massive bolts drawn back” (17). This description of the sounds that Harker heard sends a chill down the reader’s spine,
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