Amanda Loyd DiGiacomo English IV Honors: 2nd Block. 27 March 2024 Dracula: From Beginning to End by Bram Stoker. All authors have their own way of writing and how they might influence others in the community. Bram Stoker was not any different, by using literary devices and repetition to show a parallel between his life and his written works. He includes evidence of social customs and cultural environment within his works. Stoker was very influential, including his influence on others and how other works influenced him; he was able to add plenty of characterization and plot development into all his works, his most popular being Dracula. Themes and characteristics can also be found within Stoker’s works, including the theme of Good vs. Evil …show more content…
Proverbs, Psalms, and pieces pulled from scripture or out of the Old Testament Prophetic works, and religious mentions inferred an entire host in Dracula, as a story that exists from a wide collection of other works (Pordzik). A reader vulnerable to deeds of total faith, Paul of Tarsus, like a resident is to presuppose, originated of all biblical or analytical power outside the novel (Prodzik). Many references from the Bible were constructed and intertwined throughout his writings. “‘The just shall live by faith’” (Rom. 1:17): underestimated sacred self along with relapsing completely on his/her resources (Pordzik). The instruction of a firmly orderly structure of religious faith, according to an encapsulated literary world is formed which makes one confess that the pieces of composed or translated works are used, however, numerous references to the scriptures and the preachers fixed the matter regarding records (Prodzik). Biblical references are used throughout his works in places most people do not notice. These references can be found if read in the deeper meaning of Stoker’s texts. While still deemed one of the absolute masterpieces in the horror category, Dracula was balanced favorably with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) following its release (Means). Popular for his main presentation in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the place where he encountered the performer, Sir Henry …show more content…
“Full vermillion lips were the exception to his pale pigmentation, along with razor white teeth, crimson eyes, dressed in black starting at head to toe, and a smooth-shaven, towering, aged man,” he appeared to be, deciding to disregard the sequence of awful cautions by Harker, followed the encounter, at the time, with Dracula (Burt). Dressed in black from head to toe, beardless except for a lengthy pale mustache and a towering, aged man he is narrated as, Harker encounters the count once at the fortress (Stade and Howard, 386). Using his fangs to puncture them in their sleep, females are assaulted by male bloodsuckers. The story has a continual implication, even though intimacy is unclear (Karbiener and Stade). Smelly breath with a cemetery stink, razor teeth sticking out underneath a long pale mustache when he undoes his evil mouth (Snodgrass). His build is a distortion of manhood, with its light skin, bushy brows, vibrant red eyes, pointed ears, hairy hands, and a dagger-sharp nose (Snodgrass). Every description has the same details about his long nose, pointy fangs, pale skin, and red lips. For any personal or animal need, lengthy fingernails make them impractical, along with sharp ears, Orlok is towering, bony, and humpbacked (Stade and Howard, 375). The sequence of the serpent, Dracula, was the name held by
Bram Stoker’s Dracula includes themes of death, love, and sex. Stoker’s use of empiricism utilizes the idea that everything is happening “now”. The book offers clear insight into who is evil without explicitly saying it. Stoker’s interest in empiricism uses British womanhood as a way to distinguish between good and evil.
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.
... 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.
Bram Stoker was born into a lower-class Irish family in late 1847. He grew up with six siblings, at least four of which were brothers. Throughout his childhood, Stoker was an invalid, sickened with an unknown disease. Many days were spent listening to his mother tell stories of Ireland. It is thought that her stories played a large role in his writing (Stoker 5). Perhaps due to Stoker’s childhood illness and relationship with his brothers, his writing in Dracula exhibited a great deal of homosociality, the idea of same-sex relationships on a social level, rather than romantically. In the novel, Stoker introduces the idea of homosociality by creating a friendship and camaraderie between the main male characters.
Throughout most of the novel, Bram Stoker keeps Dracula?s character in the shadows because it creates apprehension and uncertainty for the reader.... ... middle of paper ... ... Stoker also portrays the common view of Victorian women in two ways.
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.
Dracula, as it was written by Bram Stoker, presents to us possibly the most infamous monster in all of literature. Count Dracula, as a fictional character, has come to symbolize the periphery between the majority and being an outsider to that group. Dracula’s appeal throughout the years and genres no doubt stems from his sense of romanticism and monster. Reader’s no doubt are attracted to his “bad-boy” sensibilities, which provide an attraction into the novel. Looking first at his appearance, personality, and behaviour at the beginning of the novel, we can easily see Dracula’s blurred outsider status, as he occupies the boundaries of human and monster. Related to this is Dracula’s geographic sense of outsider. For all intents and purposes, Dracula is an immigrant to England, thus placing him further into the realm of outsider. To look at Bram Stoker’s Dracula as solely a monster in the most violent sense of his actions would to be look at a sole aspect of his character, and so we must look at how he interacts with the outside world to genuinely understand him.
On the surface, Dracula is a story of the battle of good and evil, however it has many other attributes. Christian Redemption, science and technology, and sexual expression, among many others, are ideas that Stoker explores in his book. The themes that Stoker chooses to portray are representative of the Victorian Era ideals. The many themes that are present in Dracula are brilliantly entangled within the plot.
The novels were written in the 19th century, ‘Frankenstein’ was first published in 1818 and ‘Dracula’ was first published in 1897. In this century there was a fanaticism with Gothic horror stories and these novels reflect this. In the last century, a wide audience would have appreciated these novels, although they are not great literary accomplishments, people of that period enjoyed reading this type of story, filled with horror, suspense and intrigue. The very idea that such an evil and frightening creature could exist shocked and aroused the curiosity of many people at this time. Society in the last century was extremely corrupt and immoral, the novel ‘Frankenstein’ reflects this, in which an innocent creature is shunned by society because of it’s abnormal and somewhat shocking appearance.
Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., 26 Mar. 2007. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Podonsky, Amanda M. "Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Reflection and Rebuke of Victorian Society."
During the Romantic Era, Bram Stoker created a timeless monster in his novel, Dracula. Stoker uses a series of letters and journal entries to tell the story form a first person point of view. The Count, for whom the book is named, seems to be invincible to mere man. Stoker uses his character of Dracula to reflect the elements of romanticism through his supernatural powers, a fascination with youth and innocence, and imagery.
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.
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.
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.
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.