Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476)
If Dracula was ever to truly walk the earth as a creature of flesh and blood rather than a figure concocted in books and on the big screen than that person who deserve that terrible title would have to be Vlad Dracula, other wise known as Vlad the Impaler, or simply put, Dracula. Feared by thousands of people cause of his ways of cruel and unusual punishment and unquenchable thirst for blood, Vlad the Impaler ruled Walachia, now part of Romania, through the years of 1456 and 1476. But what exactly is it that separates him from other tyrants, killers, and rulers? The legend of Dracula actually isn't that far from the truth.
Born in 1431 in Transylvania to a military governor named Vlad Dracul, Vlad Dracula would be raised to be a ruler. The elder Dracul, who was ruler of Walachia, was a member of the secret fraternity, Order of the Dragon, which was created in 1387 by the emperor to uphold Christianity and defend the empire against the Islamic Turks. Dracul in Romanian means devil, and adding an "a" to the end of it means "son of", so Dracula literally means "son of the devil". With his strict upbringing in a chaotic environment where battles were constantly being fought, Dracula soon gained pleasure in other people's pain and wanted nothing more than to become a ruler of a country just like his father. In 1447 Vlad Dracul's throne was over took by the boyars of Tirgoviste. Dracula was captured in the coup, but managed to escape and from then on would plot his revenge on Trigoviste's and try to regain the throne that used to be his father's. In 1456 after having put together an army of soldiers, Dracula over took the throne and gained his title, Prince Dracula, ruler of Walachia. It is during this time period of his ruling that his reign of blood and terror began. Construction of a new castle was started right away for Dracula and many slaves lost their lives to unfavorable work conditions. Dracula loved seeing weaknesses in his fellow man and would to anything to exploit it even more. One day Dracula decided to clean up his Kingdom and rid it of all people that were handicapped, poor, lazy, born with an illness, or somebody he simply did not like.
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.
Florescu, Radu, and McNally, R. T., Dracula: A Biography of Vlad the Impaler, 1431-1476 (1973)
First off, in Stoker’s Dracula the reader’s suspension of disbelief is lower as compared to folklore tales. He is a tall creepy old person when first revealed, but later on in the novel he is shown to be more sinister. This creates a sense of mystery and confusion. Another reason is that he is a well developed antagonist. Often times he outsmarts the main characters creating a sense of suspense and irony because the readers know what is going to happen but the characters do not. But the most important reason of them all is the fact that Count Dracula takes elements from folklore and builds upon it. Stoker uses classic folklore to create a foundation for Dracula, for example; Dracula’s powers give him the ability to live forever, or shapeshift into other creatures as well. They also give him weaknesses such as: holy objects and daylight which mitigates his powers. These powers regularly add to the mysterious tone in the book. Count Dracula climbing down the castle wall upside down or moving slowly across a yard as a cloud of vapor makes the reader question what is happening. He has the ability to control the weather and animals as well. Stoker gives him powers from legend to make him a formidable force in the story. Although his appearance is unpleasant, he is quite the seductive character. He uses this to his advantage when trying to turn Mina and Lucy into vampires. Dracula preys on ‘weaker’ beings in a hierarchical system where he feasts on the women and once the women have turned to vampires, they feed on children. He can also use telepathy to tell where other vampires are, however, this works against him in the final chase of the book. In short his powers are unique and interesting and help to make the Count a powerful
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.
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.
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
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 took the legend of Vlad Tepes and used it as an idea for Dracula. He was the ruler of an old country called Wallachia. He is most famous for impaling his enemies on sticks around his castle. He taught himself how to miss vital organs in the body, causing the victim to die a slow painful death. This is why people consider him an ancient vampire. What people don’t know about him is that the rich loved him, but the poor hated him. To anyone that didn’t have to seal to make it by he was great. But to the poor people who couldn’t buy food, they were always in fear of him. He was abused as a child, and this is what is thought to have caused his behavior. (Melton 1053)
In one of William Shakespeare’s most renowned and celebrated plays, the story of a General named Othello unravels in tragic form as he falls victim to the lies created by Iago. Once revered as a war hero and wed to the beautiful Desdemona, Othello’s life spirals downward with the untimely death of his beloved in his own hands, ultimately ending with his own demise. Love is the force behind this tragedy. Tragedy is the main driving force that brings happiness and tragedy to the characters within the play. But even as such a prominent force, it lacks clear definition. Love has a different meaning to the characters in the play. Characters like Othello, Desdemona, and Iago all have different perspectives on love, which informs their behavior in different ways.
“If we fail in this our fight he must surely win; and then where end we? Life is nothings…but to fail here is not mere life or death. It is that we become as him; that we hence forward become foul things of the night like him–without heart or conscience, preying on the bodies and the souls of those we love best” (Stoker 253). With these words Van Helsing explains that it is a human impulse to destroy the other out of fear of becoming the other. Dracula’s otherness frightens Van Helsing because he represents the destruction of human moral. If he does not kill the other, he will ultimately become the other capable of infinite evils. If we are to remain as moral individuals we must beat “the other” which seeks to destroy us. In essence it is the notion “kill or be killed”. To save ourselves, we must kill the other.
In the book, Dracula by Bram Stoker there are many characters that display qualities of good verse evil. The Count Dracula is a mysterious character who appears as an odd gentleman but the longer the story goes on Dracula shows his true self. Dracula started infiltrating the lives of anyone who crossed his path and he was not stopping his destruction of others’ lives. Many people were affect by Dracula’s actions but there were two people that Dracula caused an impact on during his rampage. Dracula is an evil, cunning, and selfish character who harms the life of a young man and ruins the future of an innocent woman.
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.
In act 2 scene 6 and act 3 scene 6 of the play ‘Dracula’, the
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.