Symbols And Symbolism In Frankenstein

1359 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Learning the intricate relationship between symbolism and theme/an

Symbolism While reading through any piece of literature, understanding why the author chose the words they use is very important. Through different techniques the author will choose words that have an underlying meaning to them. While it is imperative that you read and understand the words straight from the page, it is equally as important to analyze and understand exactly what they mean. Using external sources to understand the setting and culture in which the author lived, as well as contextual clues in the reading is necessary to get a full understanding of any piece of literature. Specifically, this paper will be looking at Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein through different interpretations. Themes and symbolism are two of the most important aspects that authors use to convey deeper meaning, and is vital to the reader’s full understanding of the literature. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a classic piece of literature that has survived through the ages. Dracula has become a famous villain in countless movies and has been the inspiration for many others. What many people may miss about this book first written in 1897 is the purpose and symbolism behind this famous vampire. To begin to understand the symbolism and theme in the text, first you must understand a little background of the Victorian era in which Stoker lived. Named after Queen Victoria from 1837-190, this era was a time of “…sexual moralism, domestic propriety, and imperialist ambition” (“Dracula & the Fears of Victorian England”). Through these ideals and a declining economy, tensions were on the rise in the working class. Things such as sexual deviance or being improper was seen as a threat to proper Victorian society. Dracula and his mini... ... middle of paper ... ... had vowed revenge upon was dead the creature was overwhelmed with sadness for he had been the only person that he shared any type of relation with. This ending leaving us with the underlying theme of the importance of relationships and the fact that revenge doesn’t always leave us satisfied. Through the close reading and analyzing of literature we can find underlying meaning and symbols to fully understand the text better. Dracula and Frankenstein are two excellent examples of horror stories with famous monsters that, through themes and symbolism can really come to mean much more. A simple story of a vampire can turn into a representation of the Victorian era versus the modern era, and in Frankenstein nature versus science. Analyzing themes and symbolism in literature will bring out the full meaning of the text, as well as bring more enjoyment to reading it.

Show More
Related

  • The Clever Use of Diction in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    Frankenstein is the story of an eccentric scientist whose masterful creation, a monster composed of sown together appendages of dead bodies, escapes and is now loose in the country. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelly’s diction enhances fear-provoking imagery in order to induce apprehension and suspense on the reader. Throughout this horrifying account, the reader is almost ‘told’ how to feel – generally a feeling of uneasiness or fright. The author’s diction makes the images throughout the story more vivid and dramatic, so dramatic that it can almost make you shudder.

    Read More

  • Abuse Of Power In Dracula

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since the 19th Century, Bram Stoker’s Dracula has entertained its readers taking them to heights of excitement in the climax

    Read More

  • Dracula and Women in Bram Stoker's Dracula

    1796 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the 19th century Bram Stoker wrote the infamous novel, Dracula. This novel was composed in the style of letters, journal entries, newspaper articles and telegrams in order to convey to the reader a realistic story. The story of Dracula is about an ancient vampire who moves to London from his native country of Transylvania. In London, Dracula seduces and bites a young woman by the name of Lucy Westenra. When Lucy falls sick, no one knows how to help her because while Dracula has bitten her many times she has always been in a trance. Lucy?s friends decide to join together to combat what ever is ailing Lucy. In hopes of some help, Lucy?s friend Dr. Seward asks an old mentor of his by the name of Dr. Van Helsing to come to London and solve this puzzling illness. When Dr. Van Helsing arrives in London and sees Lucy he is the only one that knows almost immediately what has happened and what they are up against. The character of Dracula rarely appears in the story because this creates suspense and magnifies the fear of the unknown. The theme of good versus evil is developed throughout the book in many ways. One of the most important examples is Dracula and Mina. Dracula is the ultimate evil and Mina is full of goodness and purity. The Victorian view of women was not helpful to the characters in Dracula. For example, every time the male characters in the story decide not to tell Mina some particular type of information, things end up going terribly wrong. Even though Mina ends up being the key to destroying Dracula she is still a women and the Victorian view gets in the way.

    Read More

  • Dracula and the Threat of Female Sexual Expression by Bram Stoker

    1398 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Dracula As an Outsider

    1931 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley´s Frankenstein, an Example of Gothic Romance

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s world renowned book, “Frankenstein”, is a narrative of how Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant chemist, succeeds in creating a living being. Although Frankenstein’s creation is benevolent to begin with, he soon turns murderous after being mistreated by humans. His anger turns towards Frankenstein, as he was the one who brought him into the world that shuns him. The Monster then spends the rest of the story trying to make his creator’s life as miserable as his own. This novel is an excellent example of the Gothic Romantic style of literature, as it features some core Gothic Romantic elements such as remote and desolate settings, a metonymy of gloom and horror, and women in distress.

    Read More

  • Dracula - Symbolism Of Blood

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Bram Stoker's Dracula, the most blatant and powerful symbol is blood. He takes the blood that means so much to the believers of this legend and has it represent more than even they could imagine. Blood is the main object associated with vampires and vampirism. From a mythical standpoint, it is the basis of life for the vampires as they feed off of the blood of young, vibrant souls. From a more scientific standpoint blood is what would drip out of the corpse's mouth when family members would dig up their dead kin to check for the dreaded disease. Stoker takes the significance of this symbol and puts his own unique twist to the meaning of blood. He combines the traditional folklore of vampirism and the immense sexual undertones of the Victorian era to create a simply horrific tale which completely confuses the emotions of his readers. Stoker knew bloods importance in vampire history and used the overwhelming symbolism to convey his own personal lust and sexual obsessions. The scenes where Lucy is receiving transfusions; first from Holmwood, then from Seward, and the unforgettable vampire baptism between Dracula and Mina all have these very erotic, sexual feelings associated with them. What makes these so powerful is the combination of violence and sex. As a reader, you know that what Dracula is doing are horrific and wrong, but because they are so sexually described and associated you think you should enjoy them, but you can't. This is the confusion which stoker implements into his readers minds, especially ones of the Victorian era. This is why stoker used blood as the most important symbol in the novel; to create an intense horror that was not just in the words of the book, but in the minds of the reader.

    Read More

  • Gender Deviation In Bram Stoker's Dracula

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Victorian era women were expected to be either a mother and a wife, or a pure, innocent girl. Any other deviation from the set path resulted in punishment, both physically and socially. Deviation can vary as women being over sexual to resembling men in their actions. Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, is no exception in its representation of Victorian ideals. For his purposes, Stoker uses symbolism, tone, and diction throughout to convey the standard Victorian British perception of themselves. Through this conveyed standard to express his belief that gender roles are essential and relevant to Victorian society and that there are consequences if strayed from.

    Read More

  • Dracula the Stereotypical Homosexual

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    Podonsky, Amanda M. "Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Reflection and Rebuke of Victorian Society." Student Pulse: The International Student Journal. N.p., 2010. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein Irony Analysis

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    For this paper, I will be taking a formalist approach to looking at what type of irony, tone, and symbolism Mary Shelley uses in her novel Frankenstein. Most may think this book is about a monster named Frankenstein that goes around and kills for fun, but in reality, this monster name is not Frankenstein but it is his creator 's name but the word “Frankenstein” makes people think of a big groaning, green zombie with screws in his throat, a square head, dark hair, and does nothing but kill and cause people to run in terror because his freaky height and looks. Although his scary looks may be a bit similar to the real thing, the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is actually a monster that wants to learn and be loved. This example of irony

    Read More

  • Dracula

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein and the Gothic Genre

    2205 Words  | 5 Pages

    As can be seen Frankenstein utilises many of the conventions of the gothic genre and can thus be considered a gothic novel. Its links to the Romantic movement are also evident. The stereotypical settings, characters and plots, interest in the sublime, emphasis on suspense, the production of excessive emotion in the reader ( particularly that of terror and horror), the presence of the supernatural and the notion of the ’double’ are all features of Frankenstein that illustrate this.

    Read More

  • Walton's Use Of Symbols In Frankenstein

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    Symbolism, a powerful way to illustrate and depict themes in literature, is seemingly prevalent in novels. In the fictional novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses symbols to represent central ideas and qualities in the novel. Throughout the novel a number of characters, such as Victor, Walton and the monster experience the quest and desire for knowledge and discovery. Victor is intrigued with finding out the mysteries of life, while Walton is traveling to the North Pole in order for discovery. Although there is a huge advantage from discovery, the further these characters grow in wisdom, they will understand the disadvantages that comes along with this knowledge. In the novel, knowledge and discovery can by symbolized as light, while the downsides

    Read More

  • Monster Symbolism In Frankenstein

    312 Words  | 1 Pages

    After Justine is executed due to being wrongly accused of killing William, and Victor being at fault for unleashing the monster that had done the heinous crime, he cannot help but feel great remorse and anguish for the fact that Justine was killed for a crime she did not commit and he instead was free to live. He uses imagery when describing the blood flowing through his veins, and it is symbolic of the life that is actively present in his body. By bringing this up, Victor intends to question the integrity of his life because he feels that he should not be the one living, and bears tremendous guilt for aquiring life when Justine can not due to the cause of his own actions. Victor further emphasizes his anguish when he describes all of the emotions playing with his inner self; using a simile to compare himself to a wandering evil spirit.

    Read More

  • Sex Symbols In Dracula By Bram Stoker

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dracula, one of the most memorable works of gothic fiction remains relevant today due to the frequent use of sex symbols and the episodic plot structure. Dracula birthed the vampire story which lead to the creation of the hundreds of vampire films and the cultural phenomenon known as Twilight. Without the recurrent use of sex symbols the novel probably would not have the relevance it has today. It is impossible to read the text without recognizing the appalling and at times, disgusting sex symbols placed all over the novel. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the shock value provided by the countless number of sex symbols enhance the reading of the text separating it from other works of gothic fiction.

    Read More

More about Symbols And Symbolism In Frankenstein

Open Document