As of late, society has stolen the traditional idea of a vampire. These undead creatures are manipulated in countless genres and media, ranging from comedic reliefs and complex villains to sparkly heartthrobs. Songs, video games, movies, books, and TV shows all are guilty of this. Movies in particular have done the most with vampires, and clearly show their evolution in society’s eyes. In the earliest movies such as Nosferatu; directed by F. W. Murnau, and Dracula; directed by Todd Browning and Karl Freund, vampires are used as devices of horror. They are meant to be unhuman and terrifying. As time passes, they become portrayed in sympathetic lights and with more human traits. Emotions such as love, guilt, and fear were added to vampire vocabulary, …show more content…
Bram Stoker’s Dracula has increased the number of vampires in media exponentially, partly because of one man: Vlad the Impaler. He, as well as other various sources, led to what is known as the vampire today. To understand how one person inspired so much, one must start at the life of Vlad III Dracula, famously known as Vlad the Impaler. Vlad was born in Signisoara, Transylvania in 1431 (Goldberg 18). His father, Vlad Dracul, was a knight in the Order of the Dragon under Emperor Sigismund (Goldberg 19). Dracul gained political power, and eventually the throne to Wallachia (Goldberg 25). After failing to help the Turks obtain new territories, they made him give up his throne unless he sacrificed one thing: his sons (Goldberg 31). At the age of 12, he was sent to the city of Adrianople (Goldberg 33) and was raised with violence. Meanwhile, Vlad Dracul’s rule was threatened once again. Local leaders known as boyars (Goldberg 12) rebelled and killed Dracul (Goldberg 13). As a result, Dracula was sent into the Turkish army as an officer and began to thirst for power (Goldberg 41). When Wallachia was temporarily unoccupied in 1448, Vlad Dracula claimed it for two short-lived months and was only 17 when he did this. When the previous ruler returned, it was reclaimed almost immediately (Goldberg 46). Vlad the Impaler took the throne again from 1456 to 1462 (Wertsman 1996). In fact, he attempted and failed to hold onto Wallachia …show more content…
Upon its release, it performed mediocrely, and was not even one of Stoker’s best works (Stepanic 3:38). It was only mentioned briefly in Stoker’s obituary (Stepanic 3:40). Without the events that followed, Count Dracula would have been lost to history, sitting on a shelf collecting dust. 25 years after the novel was published, a German studio adapted the story into the famed Nosferatu in 1922 (Stepanic 3:55). It was a silent black and white film, and was directed by F.W. Murnau (Wertsman 1996). The plot followed Stoker’s novel to a tee, except for the name and some minor events, and because the studio did not pay royalties, they were sued to bankruptcy (Stepanic 3:55). Stoker’s widow, Florence Balcombe Stoker, sought to avoid the copyright issue from occurring again. She gave the stage production rights to a family friend, Hamilton Deane (Stepanic 4:21). Deane’s play was a major hit, and had over 391 performances at the Little Theatre in London (Wertsman 1996). It also played at the Lyceum Theatre and Grand Theatre Derby (Wertsman 1996). The major success could be credited to Bela Lugosi, who played the vampire in the stage production as well as the Universal Studios’ film (Stepanic 4:40). Lugosi’s incredible acting helped make Dracula (1931) known as “the first horror film” (Wertsman
Florescu, Radu, and McNally, R. T., Dracula: A Biography of Vlad the Impaler, 1431-1476 (1973)
Vlad would punish his enemies for not only war crimes but for crimes against God for not remaining pure such as cutting off the breasts of women for not remaining virgins. This was an extreme version of what the Victorian era was about, despite his drastic measures, Vlad and most of the society during this era had the same values. Stoker used the identity of Vlad Dracula to create this monster who lusts for women and men alike for their blood as a way to let out his own sexual frustration. As he was unable to let them out himself due to the type of society he was placed in, where he would be chastised and judged he did this in his own way to let out the inner battle he was facing within himself. From being a war hero in Romania to being a sadist, Vlad Dracula was a real person who became the model of what the Victorian era could use to scare people into remaining
Life is a cruel. It, will attempt to take one down; it will humble one; it will attempt to break many down. In moments one may not know what to do, instead he/she must a find a way to use what they have around them as an advantage to defeat the problems that stands their way. Throughout dark fiction, authors utilise different elements as a tool to defeating the antagonist. the story Dracula uses completely different approaches in taking down the mighty Dracula. In the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker effectively employs the different elements that are used to defeat Dracula. Stoker effectively demonstrates the elements that are used to destroy Dracula through act of Religion, the aspect of Science and the setting.
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.
Hollywood in known for making literary adaptations, and such adaptations will exploit context. Movies bring literary properties to the public that otherwise would not bother to read them. However the "marriage" of literature and film holds their own separate qualities. 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.
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.
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.
Vlad the Impaler was once one of the most ruthless and evil men ever to live. But each crazy and insane ruler has a reason why they are insane. Many factors throughout Vlad III's life contributed to his inanity.
Vlad the Impaler, a.k.a. Vlad III, Dracula, Drakulya, or Tepes, was born in late 1431, in the citadel of Sighisoara, Transylvania, the son of Vlad II or Dracul, a military governor, appointed by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. Vlad Dracul was also a knight in the Order of the Dragon, a secret fraternity created in 1387 by the Emperor, sworn to uphold Christianity and defend the empire against the Islamic Turks. Transylvania, along with Moldavia, and Wallachia, are now joined together as Romania. The name Dracul can be interpreted in two ways, the first translation from Romanian would be "Dragon", but it sometimes also means "Devil".
Evil features in both ‘Dracula’ and ‘Frankenstein’ but the personification of this evil is different in both novels. A feeling of menace and doom pervades ‘Dracula’ because of his supernatural powers. One feels that he has control of the evil and he has the power to manipulate the environment and people for his own ends. ‘Frankenstein’ centres on the creation of a monster made from parts of dead bodies and the fear created by the monster due to circumstance and the ignorance of society. Also, one feels a certain amount of apprehension that the monster is deserted by his creator and loses control without his support and guidance.
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.
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.
One of the greatest horror stories of all time, Dracula, has changed many different people’s lives, including the life of the man who wrote it. The places that Bram Stoker has visited and experiences the he has gone through can be seen in Dracula as well as in several of his other novels. His experiences have led to a novel that is still widely read and has inspired other author’s works. All of this success from a man who was not expected to live long.
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.
The author’s op-ed piece was published in 2009, the very peak of the vampire contagion, where one could find these creatures wherever they looked. This pandemonium that arose from vampires is what drove del Toro and Hogan to pen “Why Vampires Never Die.” Furthermore, the purpose behind this essay is to give an abridged description of the past of vampires for the people who had become fanatics of the creatures. Also, this essay showed how vampires have persisted in pop culture. They suggest that vampires have been remade by diverse cultures at different times, and this change echoes that society's angst and concerns. The novelist’s imply that Stroker’s Dracula may mirror an exaggerated human on a prim...