Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a tale that sets its characters on a path of psychological turmoil and heroic satisfaction. The supernatural nature of the vampire as well as its seemingly human form allows one to analyze these characters as being archetypes of the personal unconscious for the human characters confronting them, particularly the shadow and the anima/animus as postulated by Carl Jung in his text Aion. Furthermore the purely human characters that encounter these vampires, and thus their own unconscious’, by doing so become themselves a hero archetype within their personal narrative as postulated by Joseph Campbell in his text The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This is made evident when comparing Jonathan Harker’s first self-motivated confrontation with Dracula in his sleeping chambers, in which Jonathan cannot vanquish the creature, with the episode in which Arthur Holmwood is successful in destroying the vampire Lucy Westerna. This essay will demonstrate how the interactions between human and vampire in the novel represent a heroic struggle between a person and their personal unconscious.
Carl Jung states “He must be convinced that he throws a very long shadow before he is willing to withdraw his emotionally-toned projections from their object.” (Jung 7) This sentence best describes the state of Jonathan Harker when he first goes to confront Dracula. Dracula is a projection of Jonathan’s shadow and gains power over him because of Jonathan’s ignorance to his own unconscious mind. The text demonstrates that Dracula is a psychological projection and therefore not real through the use of dehumanizing imagery such as referring to him as “filthy leech” (Stoker 83) and as “such a monster.” (84). Jung also notes that examining the ...
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...on when describing the plunging of the stake into Lucy’s heart, it proceeds to explain how her “body shook and quivered and twisted in wild contortions” (254) and describing Arthur “driving deeper and deeper the mercy-bearing stake.” (254) This scene serves as a metaphor for male dominance as can be seen when considering Freud’s notion that subconscious images of wood and sticks represent the phallus in the subconscious. If one continues to follow this reasoning this scene can be perceived as Arthur vanquishing the taboo Lucy with his mighty penis, there by restoring the balance in the universe with man on top. Furthermore, if one considers the phallic imagery used, this scene can be interpreted as the consummation of the engagement between Arthur and Lucy, further establishing Arthur’s dominance, as in the Victorian age the husband was the master of the wife.
This fictional character was soon to be famous, and modified for years to come into movie characters or even into cereal commercials. But the original will never be forgotten: a story of a group of friends all with the same mission, to destroy Dracula. The Count has scared many people, from critics to mere children, but if one reads between the lines, Stoker’s true message can be revealed. His personal experiences and the time period in which he lived, influenced him to write Dracula in which he communicated the universal truth that good always prevails over evil. Religion was a big part of people’s lives back in Stoker’s time.
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. .
Many authors have different ways of building characters and how they look. It is up to the reader to build their perspective from the descriptions given by the author in order to understand books. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, sculpts the readers’ perspective of her monster through powerful diction and emotional syntax. After Dr. Frankenstein finally accomplishes his goal of re-animating a lifeless human, Shelley uses her strong word choice to fully express the extent of horror that Frankenstein had felt, describing his monster as a “demonical corpse to which I had so miserably given life.” (Shelley 45). Frankenstein’s horror is shared with the reader simply from a well descripted sentence. The detail Shelley put into Victor Frankenstein’s perspective is gradually shaping our own, as the reader’s, perspective. Furthermore, the diction being used adds a more definitive appearance to the monster. It helps us imagine what the monster looks like and additionally, how Frankenstein feels about his success.
Shear, Matthew. “Bram Stoker Books: How ‘Dracula’ Created the Modern Vampire”. The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 08 Nov. 2012. Web. 11. Nov. 2013
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
My life, although not without surprises and unusual events, is dictated by predictable and ordinary elements. However, through fiction I am transported into a world of boundless imagination and extraordinary themes. One such example is evident in my response to Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein. Through fiction, Shelley invites the reader to accept the extraordinary. Firstly, we are led to believe that Victor Frankenstein is able to create life by shocking it with electricity, and to this I responded with an imaginative curiosity. But it was the consequences of the creation provoked a stronger response from me. The element of horror Victor experiences and his reaction to the ‘god like’ qualities bestowed upon him as creator is truly extraordinary. Victor, like no other man, experiences the feeling of immense power and responsibility as creator of man, and this provoked a sympathetic response from me. Finally I also accepted and responded to the extraordinary concept of the monster, who, unlike to the majority of humanity, is created without a sense of cultural identity. Additionally, what is extraordinary to me as a reader is the humanity and intelligence the monster displays, despite the disadvantageous of his creation. This made me have sympathy for monster and served to blotch the credibility of Victor. Throughout the novel I was inclined to accept Shelley’s invitation and to explore a deeper view of humanity.
Stoker chooses to lay some clues out for the readers in order to help them interpret Dracula. The distinct warning presented on the page before the introduction saying the narrators wrote to the best of their knowledge the facts that they witnessed. Next is the chapter where Jonathan Harker openly questions the group’s interpretations of the unsettling events that occur from meeting Dracula, and the sanity of the whole. Several characters could be considered emotionally unstable. Senf suggests that Stoker made the central normal characters hunting Dracula ill-equipped to judge the extraordinary events with which they were faced. The central characters were made two dimensional and had no distinguishing characteristics other then the...
Ideas abound of what true heroism is in this day and age. To some, a true hero may be the person that led their favorite sports team to a championship. To others, true heroes are the doctors that helped a loved one get better from a serious illness. Some even see the person that gives them inspiration on a day to day basis as a true hero. To many, however, a true hero is so much more than that. To many, a true hero is the one that goes the extra mile t follow a strict moral code, both at home and in the public eye. A true hero is the one who will stand up for what he or she believes and what is right, no matter what the consequences may be. A true hero gives hope for humanity to the masses. Atticus Finch, from Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is one who possesses all of those attributes of heroism and more.
Within Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the reader is introduced to two “men”, a term that is applied loosely, whom come to represent the realization of the dying days of the Victorian Era. Heart of Darkness’ Kurtz comes to be the representation of the realization in that he sees what is required from him, as well as the rest of humanity, in order for them to survive. Dracula, in contrast, is the idealization of what has to be done in order to survive. Furthermore, Dracula comes to represent the next step, in almost evolutionary terms, in that he starts to attack England on its home soil, going to so far as to transplant his own soil onto England. This reverse colonization by Dracula is the resultant action he takes based on the fact that he was able to do that which Kurtz is seemingly unable to do, sacrifice the last of his humanity to become a monster.
It has been nearly one hundred and seventeen years since Bram Stoker published his ground breaking novel entitled “Dracula” and only twenty-two years since the movie “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, a film based upon the novel, was unleashed upon the world. The book and the movie were a success and influenced the creation of a genre that still is seen today in pop culture. Though many raved about the story, no one ever explored the source of this fantastical tale of blood shed. To understand where his inspiration took flight, one would have to look back five hundred and eighty-three years ago, when a notorious Romanian prince inflicted fear upon the masses. Vlad III, also known as Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler, was a ruthless warrior with an intense blood lust and the sort of person Stoker would have drawn from to create his masterpiece. In exploring why Vlad would make such a likely candidate for Stoker, one need only take a peek into his blood-stained past and it would become quite clear.
While the character of Renfield is ostensively extraneous to the central plot of Dracula, he fulfils an important role in Stoker’s exploration of the central themes of the novel. This paper will examine how Renfield character is intertwined with the three central themes of invasion, blood and otherness. Firstly, through Renfield’s inner struggle we learn that he is ‘not his own master’ (Stoker, 211). The theme of invasion is revealed by the controlling and occupying powers of Count Dracula. Secondly, the recurring theme ‘the Blood is the Life’ (Stoker, 121), is portrayed throughout the novel and has been interpreted through Stoker’s character Renfield. Then finally, a look at the social construction of the ‘other’ in Dracula and how, through Renfield, who is ‘unlike the normal lunatic’ (Stoker, 52), the Count emerges as the ‘other’ of all ‘others’.
‘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.
What is a hero? Why are they recognized in our society? A hero is someone who sacrifices and strives to help others, even if their lives are at risk. Heroes aren’t afraid, irresponsible, or frail. They don’t just lag around when problems are happening; they stand up for what is right and just for others. These role models inspire and protect others through the hardest times. Some major role models in our society today are Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Welles Crowther, and Nancy Gianni. These people don’t hesitate to stand up for the right cause though many trials rise before them. They aren’t afraid of the unknown path they are taking.
A Heroless Story You can’t have a good story without a good hero, Fitzgerald did the exact opposite of that in “The Great Gatsby”. The Oxford dictionary defines a hero as “a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities” (Oxford). There are no heroes in “The Great Gatsby”. When you think of heroes in the story, the first person you would claim to be the hero would be Nick Carraway, but he is not a hero. Nick Carraway is a liar, but he only lies a certain way, through omission.
... much he himself resembles the monster that he despises, Dracula does encourage readers to see ourselves in the novel, to recognise our connectedness with the Other.” Readers continually return to Dracula because they recognise in the novel desires that, as Jonathan remarks in the film “[we] dare not confess to [our] own soul[s]”