In Dracula by Briam Stoker, Dracula himself challenges the idea on sanity and insanity throughout the book. The use of hypnosis and sleep deprivation can be the cause of many incidents that occur during the story. Dracula is one of the most inhumane characters in throughout the book but cause the human characters to experience a loss of sanity. “God preserve my sanity, for to this I am reduced.’(Stoker, 60) this quote was said by Jonathan Harker towards the beginning of the book. Harker has already come in contact with Dracula and is observing the different character traits that the townspeople pointed out to him before his arrival. I think that this quote could set the tone for the rest of the story. Hacker is praying to God for his sanity, because without it the balance between what can be considered good and evil becomes blurred.
Hypnosis is one element that challenges this idea.
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Throughout the book he tends to keep a calm demeanor until something does not go his way. “As I opened my eyes involuntarily I saw his strong hand grasp the slender neck of the fair woman of the fair woman and with giant’s power draw it back, the blue eyes transformed with fury, the white teeth champing with rage, and the fair cheeks blazing red with passion.” This was said by Harker. As I observed in the book Dracula has his way of weaning his way in and out. He does one act, and then leaves as it falls into play. Lucy is an example of Dracula’s plan falling in place. He bites her, and then she becomes and over sexualized vampire, all to the benefit of Dracula. But just like the other character in the book, when something does not go his way he can be just as insane as the other characters. He did not plan on Harker escaping his castle.to Dracula; the goals he has set in place for himself will be accomplished no matter what feelings get in the way of his
There is a classic "good versus evil" plot to this novel. The evil of course being Count Dracula and the Good being represented by the Harkers, Dr. Seward and Lucy, Arthur, Quincy and the Professor. It is the continuing battle between Dracula and the forces of good. Good in this case is the Christian God. The battle is foretold by the landlady where she says, "It is the eve of St Georges Day. Do you no know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?" and she hands Harker a crucifix (p 12).
If one wants to be powerful, the only way is through the right path because with deceiving and tricking it only leads to problems, which is what happens to the count. Stoker life showed signs that he believed in this since he followed in his father’s footsteps and was very close to family, which was one of his keys to success. What Dracula was lacking was the trust between him and the other vampires. If he followed good practices like Helsing he would be all powerful, but then again ‘good’ Dracula, is an oxymoron. Stoker lived in a changing time period where there was a mix of different feelings and ideas coming about.
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.
evil, where a young woman loses her youth when she encounters the wicked Dracula. The vampire story essentials always include a victim of Dracula, that is a young women. In this novel there are two women that are victims of Dracula’s actions. The first lady is Lucy who is not very innocent as she is secretly married to three men, but chooses one, Arthur Holmwood to live with forever. Lucy starts sleepwalking and is caught by Dracula in the night. The other victim Mina, sees Lucy in the dark and says “There was undoubtedly something, long and black, bending over the white figure…I could see a white face and red, gleaming eyes” (Stoker 98). Mina sees Dracula bending over Lucy and that’s when he bites her. Lucy now becomes a victim of Dracula and turns into a vampire. The other victim stated before is Mina, who is innocent and married to Jonathan Harker. Dracula goes to hunt her and Jonathan, and when he sees them he makes Mina drink blood from his chest and makes her a victim. Mina is the real victim in this novel because of her past by displaying the values of a Victorian woman more than Lucy. The theme of good versus evil is apparent throughout the whole novel and is the main theme of the book. Dracula represents all evil in the novel and has become a main villain in many other novels and movies. The other characters in the novel represent the good. Jonathan is the first to encounter Dracula and brings Mina and
Through the gothic writing of Stoker, there was a huge intimidation of Dracula coming forth from it. “Stoker spared no effort to present his demonic vampire as dramatically as possible” (Leatherdale 105-17). With this sinister presence of death, people start to panic. As a vampire hunter, it was Helsing’s job to help notify people on how to rid themselves of this demon. Stoker portrays survival in the form of teamwork between the men and women of the novel. These characters soon take survival into their own hands. “‘We must trace each of those boxes; and when we are ready, we must either capture or kill this monster in his lair; or we must, so to speak, sterilize the earth, so that no more he can seek safety in it’” (Stoker 373). At this point in the novel, the characters know about the existence of vampires. The consequences are also put on top priority. The men know of the consequences, yet still want to go after this demon. “By chasing Dracula, the men risk being sentenced to an immortal life as a vampire. This immortality is endless time lived in physical form” (Poquette 35). Knowing the risks of hunting a vampire, the characters ignore them to protect their loved ones. A vampire hunter is an important factor in the novel because without one, the other characters wouldn’t know what to do. Stoker chose right in including
In the novel, Dracula, Bram Stoker puts together a variety of characters with several characteristics that are unique and somewhat alike in many ways. One way that some of the characters are similar is that they show signs of being a degenerate. A degenerate is a person who has sunk below a former or normal condition and lost normal or higher qualities. These people most likely have mentally and sometimes physically become deteriorated to the point where they no longer can think and function as a normal person would. Two characters in the novel that stand out as degenerates are Dracula and Renfield. Both are degenerates in their own ways and also have characteristics that are in some ways the same. They follow most of the traits that degenerates contain and portray it throughout the novel.
Over the course of cinematic history, many filmmakers have attempted to recreate the chilling, unprecedented world of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Arguably very few have succeeded, for the majority of directors tend to avoid the pervasive sexuality inherent in the novel. It is a difficult task to achieve, considering the blatant imagery surrounding sex and vampirism, such as the reproduction following a vampiric encounter and the phallocentric nature of the violence committed both by and against these creatures: penetration is involved in their hunting, and one must impale them with a stake in order to destroy them. Readers are thereby forced to admit that Dracula is, in fact, a highly eroticized piece of literature, though whether or not Stoker himself was aware of this suggestiveness, we cannot be sure. The most successful effort at capturing that sexual energy on film has been Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 movie, Bram Stoker's Dracula. In fact, it has often been proposed that Coppola’s version is too carnally focused in comparison to the original work, which leads a viewer to wonder about the purpose in this overt sexualization. It can be concluded that adding copious amounts of eroticism to the film is directly related to Coppola’s strive to depict Count Dracula as more human rather than monster, and sexuality in his film serves as a balance so that the lines between good and evil are blurred. Evidence for this deduction is found in three scenes in particular: Jonathan’s seduction by Dracula’s vampiric wives, Lucy’s demonic transformation, and Mina and Van Helsing’s relationship during the climax of the story.
In the story “Dracula”, composed by Bram Stoker, the literature of psychology is well presented. “Dracula” was composed in 1897, the time in which psychology was first being introduced. The novel “Dracula” was written into an epistolary formation known as a series of letters, newspaper clippings, and diary entries. Jonathan Harker, a young lawyer, travels to Transylvania to presume a real estate transaction with the Count Dracula. Amongst his arrival he suspects peculiar activities occurring. Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” symbolizes the functions of the human mind and how paranoia affects characters, which marks the beginning of the psychological era.
Dracula seems to possess unexplainable supernatural powers. When Jonathan Harker is traveling to castle Dracula, he is unaware that the driver of his coach is the Count himself. During the nocturnal journey, the coach is circled by wolves, not knowing what to do Jonathan calls for the coachman and in return “heard his [Dracula’s] voice raised in a tone of imperious command, and looking towards the sound saw him stand in the roadway. As he swept his long arm, as though brushing aside some impalpable obstacle, the wolves fell back and back further still” (23). This unnatural power over the wolves is Stoker’s first way of showing Dracula’s power over nature. Harker also describes in his journal that one evening “I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over that dreadful abyss, face down with his cloak spreading out around him like great wings… I saw the fingers and toes grasp the corners of the stones… and inequality move downwards with considerable speed, just as a lizard moves along a wall” (43). This tr...
Dracula’s peculiar actions begin when Johnathan Harker takes a Journey to help Dracula with some business. When Harker was getting
As Jonathan Harker enters the East, he immediately faces a warning of the evil that awaits him, as a Transylvanian woman offers him a sign of protection on the train. The situation occurs when he is assisted by a woman obtaining much knowledge on the danger of that area, as he explains, "Taking a crucifix from her neck, she offered it to me" (Stoker 9). Harker instantly notices not only a change between the scenery of the Eastern and Western cultures of Europe, but also the importance of superstition to the East and the dangers of evil versus the savior of the good. If Dracula were an ordinary human that created danger, the crucifix would not be such a necessity. However, through the English men's discovery of Dracula, they suggest the vampire as an unclean being that does not belong on Earth, and is shunned by God. After being attacked, Mina places a piece of sacred wafer on her forehead to be cleansed through God and His holiness, displaying the salvation of God. Dracula presents a dangerous threat as an Anti-Christ like figure because he is prevented through the crucifix and Christian icons, and contradicts the safety and lovingness of God. His thirst for blood however, relates to the drinking of the blood of Christ in mass; a sign of respect and love for God. In relation to God the almighty, Dracula wishes to be praised like a god as he contains his highness in Transylvania and dreams of more power “in the
Dracula's foreign nature and supernatural presence proceeds his perception as other, being a vampire from Transylvania seeking to invade England.In conversation with Jonathan Harker, Dracula emphasizes his abnormal ways professing his foreign identity. “‘Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things. Nay, from what you have told me of your experiences already, you know something of what strange things there may be.’”(Stoker 42) Dracula not only confesses to his strange nature he owns it while confirming with Harker from his early experience traveling to the castle. This statement by Dracula indicates his foreign nature
The first part of Dracula's insanity to address is his devious planning throughout the novel. Even at the start of the book, he holds Jonathan Harker hostage inside Castle Dracula. For example, he has no care for Jonathan when he is staying at his castle. He replies to the vampires saying, “Well, now I promise you that when I am done with him you shall kiss him at your will. Now go! Go! I must awaken him, for there is work to be done" (Stoker 105). This shows Jonathan as just a part of Dracula's plans. This is what makes Dracula ...
From his “..long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot” (Stoker, 1897, Ch II pg 2), black being a symbol for evil, to the tone Dracula used when welcoming Harker into the castle, we are being pulled further away from the exciting adventurers of a young businessman, and into a world of darkness. By the close of the second chapter, Harker realizes that he is a prisoner in Dracula’s castle, “ The castle is a veritable prison, and I am a prisoner” (Stoker, 1897, Ch II pg. 19)! The symbolism of the castle as a prison, and Count Dracula, a man with no reflection, who does not eat, and is visibly obsessed with blood, all represent factions of the Christian faith. We later come to realize that the only thing Dracula consumes, is blood, which in Christianity is the symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ, which represents eternal life (Starr, 2012). Dracula is Stoker’s perverted representation of what it means to live
“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).