Dracula Essay: 1. Writer’s effect
Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” is a great example of usages of writer’s effect. The novel features different types of elements from the writer’s effects and it maintains the readers to get the general idea of the whole story yet it leaves the readers with suspension and excitement throughout the book. The first few chapters set the background of the story by introducing the characters and the setting, how they are connected, and where the story would take place.
The first chapter is about Jonathan Harker visiting the castle of Count Dracula. It describes Jonathan’s journey and the people he met during the journey. There is a part saying, “a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but
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thirsty.
(Mem. get recipe for Mina.)” (2), “refresh my memory when I talk over my travels with Mina” (3), in this part the author introduces a new character- Mina, and we could see that Mina has a close relationship with Jonathan that he wants to share his news from the journey with her. This helps the readers to get a basic idea about who Mina is and what her role would be in the book therefore when the fifth chapter opens with Mina’s letter, the readers would know who Mina is from their memory . The part where Jonathan was failing to find where exactly the Castle Dracula was located in creates a tension. It builds up a feeling that something is about to happen in the castle during his stay. The author used the five senses to create the imagery of the things that are new and strange to Jonathan and also to the readers. For example, “began a louder and a sharper howling, that of wolves, which affected both the horses and myself in the same way” (17), where the author used the sense of hearing to make the readers hear the howling of the wolves in their heads and feel the exact same thing as if they were in the scene. It also puts a dark image into the readers’ mind so that …show more content…
the feelings would suit the theme of the novel. In this way, it creates suspension and makes the readers ask questions such as what kind of place was Jonathan heading to and what could be waiting for him when he arrives at the castle. The description of the castle as seen through the eyes of Jonathan, who was visiting the castle for the first time helped the readers to experience the same thing for the first time in their minds. It gave an impression that the readers are part of the story themselves. Chapter 2 is both the continuation of the introduction in chapter 1 and the guide to the next chapters. In this chapter, Count Dracula’s appearance is described in smaller details such as the count’s nose, eyes, teeth and every little thing that can be seen. Also, it shows the way Dracula talked to Jonathan and how he treated him from the moment he arrived at the castle. However, he often smiles, apologizes for the little mistakes he made and explained the things Jonathan found strange and had the qualities of a friendly, honourable man, it is shown that there was something “peculiar” about him. Sometimes, things that are too good could turn out to be way worse than what had been expected. Therefore, as readers go through the conversations between the count and Jonathan, they could predict that Dracula could be the antagonist who has not started showing his dark sides yet. Short sentences such as- “I doubt. I fear.” (28)- are a tension builder. These sentences put an effect of suspense into the readers’ mind as they are read with pauses. The ending of chapter 2- “The castle is a veritable prison, and I am a prisoner!”- leaves the readers with an excitement and an anticipation to find out what happens to Jonathan just after he finds out that he was a prisoner in the castle. Uses of figurative languages, such as, simile or metaphor when describing Count Dracula’s actions were making it easier to approach to the imagery the author was trying to create.
For example, when Jonathan looks out the window one night, Dracula was going down in a “lizard fashion” (51), the word “lizard” itself tells the readers about the movements and the appearance. Jonathan’s curiosity in the part- “and thought to use the opportunity to explore more than I had dared to do as yet” (51)- gives motivation to read more to explore the castle with him. “Great God! Merciful God, let me be calm, for out of that way lies madness indeed” (53), this part would make the readers pray for and with him. When Jonathan encounters three ladies he writes in his journal that he had felt some interest in the ladies but then he writes “It is not good to note this down, lest some day it should meet Mina’s eyes and cause her pain, but it is the truth.” (55), giving the impression of his love for Mina. He is worried if the things he wrote would hurt Mina but he did not want to hide anything from her. From this, the readers could conclude that Mina really is important to him and how he respected her. This relationship between Mina and Jonathan would be a guide to the events in the late
chapters. Writer’s effect plays a big role in any novel. It produces emotions and leads the way to the story. Writer’s language is important, as the words they choose can be either interesting or boring to the readers. In the novel “Dracula” the choice of adjectives and verbs were fit into the genre and the theme of the story. Although the novel consists of different aspects from different characters, it was written clearly enough for the readers to keep in track of the story from the beginning to the end without a confusion but with new experiences within every turns of pages.
The first sense of danger introduced is on page thirty-eight with the three voluptuous women. Harker journals, “I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips. It is not good to note this down, lest some day it should meet Mina’s eyes and cause her pain; but it is the truth. They whispered
...are depicted in many instances in order to draw upon a source of superstition for added affirmation. Finally, original narrative elements are conceived in order to bring together a central theme of unity, which stresses the teamwork by which the protagonists defeated the vampires. Bram Stoker applies these elements to create an enriching, compelling plot in the novel Dracula.
Throughout ‘Dracula’, Stoker presents the idea of ‘foreigner’ through the characterisation of Count Dracula and Professor Van Helsing, who are the two main outsiders in the novel. Dracula, being a supernatural creature, is of Transylvanian descent which makes him such a poignant character. On the other hand, Van Helsing is a Roman Catholic, and is of a Dutch background, which also highlights him as a foreigner within ‘Dracula.’ In this essay I will explore how these two characters are represented and the intention behind the idea of ‘foreigner.’
In a world with ghosts, monsters, demons, and ghouls, there is one being that resonates in everyone’s mind. The idea of these creatures can be found in almost every culture on the planet in one form or another. They prey on the weak and they feast on the blood of their victims. They are compared to a fox for being quick and cunning, but also rather seductive in their nature. With their unholy existence one can only describe them as almost demonic. So what is this horrid creature? Well it is none other than the vampire, a creature as old as time itself. Throughout history there have been many different variations of the vampire, each with their own unique abilities. But one cannot help but mention
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.
To set the tone in the story the author had to describe the surroundings of the characters. For example the author states, "with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit." when giving a detailed response of how he feels about the house. This helps show that the author himself feels depressed when in sight of the building and gives the reader a thought of how the house looks. Other textual evidence in the passage also shows a feeling of suspense like the quote, "There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart - an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. " which is how the author feels when he thinks about the house. The author cannot bear to imagine the house because he has a dark and negative imagination with different fears he thinks can come to life because of how unsettling the house makes him feel. While suspense is a direct indication of a depressed and dark tone, some other Gothic elements can be used indirectly to describe negative values in the story.
The fact that it is set in a castle is not only typical of a gothic genre, but it builds suspense by saying "in which the young. duke died. This makes the reader feel that death is imminent. It heightens tension as it makes the reader feel as if the narrator will die at the end of the story. Dialogue is also used by the author to create tension.
For a writer, stylistic devices are key to impacting a reader through one’s writing and conveying a theme. For example, Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates use of these stylistic techniques in his short stories “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The former story is about a party held by a wealthy prince hiding from a fatal disease, known as the Red Death. However, a personified Red Death kills all of the partygoers. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is about a man who visits his mentally ill childhood companion, Roderick Usher. At the climax of the story, Roderick’s twin sister, Madeline, murders him after he buries her alive. Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories employ the stylistic decisions of symbolism, dream-like imagery, and tone to affect the reader by furthering understanding of the theme and setting and evoking emotion in readers.
...econd reason for the lack of stylistic means to convey the narrators persuasiveness is probably more important and has to do with the frame structure of the novel. Frankenstein offers a reversal of an older novel structure, in which a written document is at the center of a novel surrounded by an oral narrative. In Frankenstein the Monster’s and Frankenstein’s originally oral reports are not only framed by Captain Walton’s written story, but also transformed into written language. This technique is used to exclude Captain Waltons’s sister and the reader from the horror of the narratives, building a barrier to the seductive power of the spoken narratives that does not work any more in the medium of written language. Thus the domestic tranquility of Walton’s sister and her family is saved and not destroyed like the one of Frankenstein’s family in the center of the novel.
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.
That morning he is to leave, a crowd is awaiting him and muttering strange things. Harker says, "I could hear a lot of words often repeated, queer words" (Stoker 6) to address his confusion about what was going on around him. He Count Dracula, a hermit who lives on a cliff, detached from society, strikes at night to find anyone alone--whom he considers easy prey. A prime example of one of these victims is Lucy Westenra, who ends up outside in the middle of the night after she sleeps walks to the town square. When Mina Murray finds her, she describes the discovery, “There was undoubtedly something, long and black, bending over the half-reclining white figure.”
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.
I’ll Have My Blood Low Fat and Carb Free, Please. Gothic imagery and themes include castles, coffins, monsters and strange lands and pose the background to the classic Gothic novel. The Gothic element is synonymous with the horror and uncanny- a feeling rather than form, in which transgression is the central topic (Wisker 7). The vampire is a figure that transgresses society’s limits to form the central dynamic of the Gothic. “We enjoy seeing the limit transgressed-
In the examination of Northanger Abbey and Frankenstein one comes to very different conclusions as to why their authors used gothic elements. The two authors had very different purposes for their stories. Powerful emotions are often an element of gothic literature as it was a genre that took Romanticism to excessive extents. While Austen used this gothic element to satirize the gothic novel, Shelley used it to display a deeper point about the evils of ambition. Both authors exhibited characters severe emotions to show the importance of rationality instead of extremes, but ultimately had a different purpose in presenting this view.
The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker has plentiful examples of key concepts we have examined in class including: Purity and impurity, magical thinking, strong emotions such as disgust and shame, , formalization, and myth. In this essay I will summarize events that take place within the novel when the protagonists deal with Dracula and then relate these events to the key concepts to demonstrate why the characters view him as dangerous, and therefore something to be avoided completely.