Vampires, they have sharp teeth, black capes, perfect skin and black hair, one of the key inspirations to how we see the vampire today is Bram Stoker's book Dracula, written in 1897. Over time the idea of a vampire has evolved from the standard can't go out in the sun and can only drink human blood to sparkling in the sun and can live off of a animal's blood. Either the change occurred from the evolution of writing styles or just written in a way to make a book as popular as possible. This essay will explore the idea of a vampire before and after the book Dracula was made as well as the key inspirations for the book itself. Including comparisons of how we see vampires today versus how they were seen back when Dracula was originally written. …show more content…
This writing technique gave the vampire or Dracula clear characteristics, allowing readers to have one of the first stories containing a vampire as the main antagonist. Before Dracula became published there was no book preexisting that gave the clear definition of an vampire leaving vague answers to how an vampire acted or what their characteristics would've been like. The very first book to include a vampire in it was written by John Polidori the book was simply called Vampyre. After Dracula was written it brought the idea of an vampire forward due to Stoker focusing on adding details and life to the vampire as well as specific and defined characteristics. These characteristics are still shown in today's vampire from the white teeth, perfect skin, red lips, and the thirst for blood. Dracula being the first vampire book to bring life and detail to the concept of a vampire the inspirations for Bram Stokers vampire are easy to identify, Vlad The Impaler and Elizabeth Bladtory to Varney the vampire and Transylvania superstitions all the examples were either living people or written works made before Dracula was …show more content…
This writing style further pushed into the gothic style of the time due to the personal views and opinions written throughout the book. In comparison to today’s writing style, most commonly a single character view is used portraying only one character's thoughts or feelings such as the one used in twilight. That particular type of writing does not give the reader any extra insight into more than one character leaving the reader with a feeling of curiosity. Leaving us to wonder about the mysterious vampires and the bridge between them being predatory creatures or just normal, not dangerous creatures. The way writing styles have shifted has left the characteristics of an vampire open to change, comparing the Victorian and gothic style writing into today's writing.
Overall Dracula has been a massive inspiration to how we see vampires today with the pale skin, dark hair, red lips and drinking blood. Dracula brought the concept of a vampire to life through the definition in his writing style and details in the description of an vampire. There were several living and written inspirations for his vampires in the story. Although todays vampire may have changed into a more human and less dangerous idea the same basis on what we think of vampires today is all originated from
... period where there was a mix of different feeling and ideas coming about. Religion was the core of his tale, and also modeled it. On one side were the humans and on the other Dracula. Through their struggles to defeat the monster they experienced changes in gender roles, which was also present in real time. Women were becoming more free and working. The only way this change happened was because of the trust and the love between family members; that led to good stable home and ultimately success in life. Stoker wrote Dracula later on his career, this way he had more experience and knowledge of life and grew to believe in common universal truth. Dracula was a hit because it had truth and history in it, and it turned the ordinary good beats bad story into a compelling and interesting narrative, and if readers read carefully they could even find themselves in the book.
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.
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)
The legend of the vampire has emerged countless times within human imagination over the past few centuries. The first available representation of the mythical creature in prose fiction can be found in John Polidori’s “The Vampyre” (1810). It was not until eight decades later that Bram Stoker popularized the existence of this figure with the publication of “Dracula” in 1897. The folklore of the vampire has come a long way since and can be found in today’s popular media more frequently than ever before. However, with due course of time, the representation of the creature has taken alternate routes and today’s vampires are noticeable different – socially and physically – from their predecessors. One effective path to trace this transformation is to compare arguably modern day’s most famous representation of the vampire, Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” with “Dracula”, the foundation from which a large number of modern works draw inspiration. Examining this comparison closely, one finds that a new socially acceptable, sexually abstinent and desirable creature is fast replacing the fearsome and sexually voracious monster, as depicted in early tales of the vampire.
From Transylvania to Hollywood, vampires have transformed from unfamiliar, mysterious personalities to one of the most dominant monsters in the horror genre today. Vampires are one of the oldest and most noted creatures in mythology, with many variations of them around the world. Although the most famous version is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, many variants have come before and after telling of the same legend with their own added ideas and modifications to relate to their cultures. Today, there is a multitude of literary and film works that convey and resurface peoples’ fear of vampires. As gothic works like Dracula, by Bram Stoker and Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire directed by Scott Jeralds share certain traits reflective of the genre; These factors include setting, actions of each vampire, the initial reactions to news of them, and how their presence affects the people who live within the region the vampires inhabit.
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.
The “Otherness” Dracula possesses 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 280). Differences Between Dracula and Twilight The similarities between the two novels are namely Gothic imagery and theme, but the Gothic mood predominates in Dracula over Twilight and it is this difference that makes Twilight not belong in the vampire canon. Horror is the element that Dracula possesses that Edward does not, and it is crucial in the interplay between transgression and limit.
Comparing the 1931 version of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, with Frances Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula 1993 version yields some similarities. Both films are of the same genre: Horror. Both films are set around the same time period. Also, both deal with a vampire coming to England and causing disruptions in people's lives. Beyond these few similarities are numerous contrasts.
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.
It is precisely the point that Hollywood distorts and corrupts serious literature for the entertainment pleasures of a mass audience. In the task of comparing and contrasting the novel of "Dracula" to film extracts of "Bram Stoker’s Dracula", values, meaning and context discovered lie between discrepancy and similarity. The change from differing mediums, novel and film, reveal characteristics and possibilities of narratives. Through the advancement of technology, modern writers have gained a cinematic approach to their writing. However Dracula, written in 1987 by Abraham Stoker, where the introduction of technology was gradual, forging inventions such as the typewriter and phonograph, made reference to in the novel, had no anticipation of what technology would have an effect on such writings. With society’s fascination with the supernatural, and love of technology, Dracula’s many adaptations, film, stage, have ensured its survival through the passage of time.
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.
When the word “vampire” comes to mind, people think of the traditional pale-faced, malicious bloodsuckers, sporting a cape and killing people when they’re sleeping. Wrong! Nowadays, the image of a vampire is a handsome, polite, and loving person who protects humans. The new cultural phenomenon Twilight is building a new degrading image for vampires that slaps the face of all previous authors, directors, writers, etc. who contributed to giving the monster its unique image in the past.
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.
The vampire genre is one that is so widely exploited, that 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.