The Expectation Of Blood In Bram Stoker's Dracula

Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish author, most famous for his novel Dracula. After working as a daily paper writer, Stoker started composing his realistic novel and incorporated the written work abilities he learned. In order to make the novel more genuine, he included journal sections, letters and telegrams to enable the reader to dive further into his characters. ‘Dracula’ is still today a standout amongst the best-known horror stories composed and is considered a classic. Therefore his life will be investigated since it affected his style and tone of the story, and in addition why ‘Dracula’ is viewed as a classic text.

Humans for centuries have been drawn to vampires. From sitting around the fire in the time before the industrial revolution, to sitting around the table and in modern times watching it on the big screen. The folk tales of the undead that hunt at night, sucking the blood of the innocent has haunted and intrigued the human psyche for as long folklore has been in existence. Being afraid of what is being told to them, yet being unable to pull away. The pull and push affect that these mystical monsters have on the human aura is undeniable. Modern day vampires have a cult like following. When the Twilight series came out, the people where divided between team Jacob and team Edward. Teenage girls would swoon over these monsters, dangerous yet alluring.

When a person mentions the novel Dracula, the first thing that comes to mind is an image of a pale skinned creature in human form that lives off of the blood of innocent people who do not know they are in danger until he flashes his long white fangs at them. The second is how long it takes to get to the point that Dracula actually comes into the story and begins to horrify every word of the novel. Bram Stoker uses foreshadowing throughout the first one hundred pages of Dracula so that readers can get caught up in all of the anxiety and horror that comes with meeting The Count. Bram Stoker’s infamous foreshadowing in his novel Dracula leaves readers anticipating the moment when the dreaded Count Dracula will arrive in England and what kind of havoc he will wreak on its people.

Why does Bram Stoker and many authors alike make vampires out to be voluptuous and sexy? Is it because it brings light to our darkest desires? Not in the sense that we desire to feed on another humans blood. But in more of a dark and sinful kind of way. In society back then and now, sex is still kind of weird to talk and be open about. Although, sex is more accepted nowadays it is still something you usually do not discuss. So I believe what drew a large crowd in for Dracula was the fact that it went against the norms of society. For example, the Jonathan Harker describes the encounter with the three sisters as "ecstasy" (Stoker 42). He said that they had

Bram Stoker’s Dracula does not follow the norm of the nineteenth century novels, that is, it is not written in a straightforward narrative but instead comprises of a collection of letters, journal entries and diary scrawls. Apart from that, it also includes a ship's log, numberless clippings from newspaper and also, a "phonograph diary.” This form of writing invariably helps in developing the “mystery” aspect of this horror novel since it either gives us no information about a particular thing or gives us information from various points of view so that it is impossible for the readers to come to one conclusion and they keep playing with different possibilities in their minds.

Bram Stoker`s “Dracula” is one of his most prominent work, originally published in 1897. Forming part of the gothic literature; the novel focuses, through the character of Dracula, on the theme of Supernatural and Religion in an era largely dominated by Science and Rationality. This critical essay, will therefore demonstrate how Dracula, portrayed as the “other,” is essentially different from the rest and, how he subtly manage to incite people and challenge values and ideals of the British Society.

The story of Dracula is well documented and has stood the test of time since it’s Victorian age creation. More times than not, literature writings are a reflection of the era from which they are produced. In the case of Dracula, Vampire literature expresses the fears of a society. Which leads me to the topic I chose to review: sexuality. The Victorian Era was viewed as a period diluted in intense sexual repression and I believe that Dracula effectively exploited this as the fear of sexuality was commonplace in the society. In this paper I will examine Bram Stoker’s Dracula and highlight his use of sexuality. I will analysis the female sexuality that is prevalent throughout the book, the complexities are at work within the text, and the

Blood is the symbol of human passion, the source of all passion. I think that is the main subtext in our story. We've tried to depict feelings so strong they can survive across the centuries, like Dracula's love for Mina/ Elizabeth. The idea that love can actually give back to the vampire his lost soul" (Holte 82).

Despite the plot’s complete failure in inciting interest within me, I was intrigued by Stoker’s style and storytelling capabilities. I was constantly curious as to why Stoker was revealing a vast amount of information about the scenery and internal feelings of each character while developing the plot in such a dull manner. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that Stoker is attempting to use rich imagery about both settings and the characters’ emotions to emphasize Count Dracula. While reading each chapter, clear mental images of the settings and the characters’ feelings are formed. Through the story being told from extremely

    Perhaps no work of literature has ever been composed without being a product of its era, mainly because the human being responsible for writing it develops their worldview within a particular era.  Thus, with Bram Stoker's Dracula, though we have a vampire myth novel filled with terror, horror, and evil, the story is a thinly veiled disguise of the repressed sexual mores of the Victorian era.  If we look to critical interpretation and commentary to win support for such a thesis, we find it aplenty "For erotic Dracula certainly is.  'Quasi-pornography' one critic labels it.  Another describes it as a 'kind of incestuous, necrophilious, oral-anal-sadistic all-in-wrestling matching'.  A

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a story of horror, suspense, and repulsion. The main antagonist, Count Dracula, is depicted as an evil, repulsive creature that ends and perverts life to keep himself alive and youthful. To most onlookers that may be the case, but most people fail to see one crucial element to this character. Dracula is a character that, though it may be long gone, was once human, and thus has many human emotions and motives still within him. Let us delve into these emotions of a historically based monster.

Dracula modernly and controversially touches upon subjects of sexuality, gender roles and religion, and there are some forthcoming arguments that Dracula even serves as an autobiography of Stoker himself (Belford). Overall, the story behind Dracula is as mysterious as the story of the novel itself, which is why it is considered to be one of the most memorable pieces of literature in history. The novel consists of multiple diary entries, newspaper articles, telegram’s and so forth

In one of the most dramatic scenes in the movie, Professor Van Helsing discovers his most compelling evidence proving, once and for all, that Dracula is a vampire. In this scene, John Harker opens a cigarette box with a mirrored lid, and, much to the amazement of those in the room observing the phenomenon, the Count’s reflection is nowhere to be found. When Van Helsing brings this to Dracula’s attention, the Count understands that his cover is blown. This grand reveal is not the first sign that a vampire might be causing the chaos in London though. Earlier, Lucy’s deceased body is found, and no obvious cause for the unnatural amount of blood loss she sustained exists. The only abnormalities discovered are two wounds with red centers on her neck. Additionally, Van Helsing’s analysis of a blood sample and Renfield’s reaction to the herb Wolfsbane lead the professor to conclude that a vampire is

Bram Stoker's Dracula is a true Gothic novel that belongs on any gothic literature course. Focusing in on the recurring themes, characters and settings used throughout the novel one sees how Dracula has set the standard for Gothic literature today.

Dracula, by Bram Stoker, is quite the epitome of the gothic novel. Towards the beginning of the story, the setting takes place in an old and ominous castle, which is highly characteristic of gothic literature. Harker’s tribulation begins when “the driver was in the act of pulling up the horses in the courtyard of a vast ruined castle,” (Stoker 18). There is also a gloomy and menacing tone given to the setting of the novel, as in most pieces of gothic literature. This gloom is evident early on in the novel, as it reads, “Then a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road--a long, agonized wailing, as if from fear.”(Stoker 16). Also coinciding with the nature of