A Bloody Review of Dracula been taken away and the new richness is not yet ours.
“The dark night of the soul is when you have lost the flavor of life but have not yet gained the fullness of divinity. So it is that we must weather that dark time, the period of transformation when what is familiar has been taken away and the new richness is not yet ours.” (Loss of Meaning). This quote by Ram Dass may be used to describe Dracula and its suspenseful, powerful, and blood-sucking components but can also be used to describe the author Bram Stoker and the character’s outlook on life. Jonathan Harker, the protagonist of the beginning of the story, travels to Transylvania. He finds himself at a castle owned by the pale and suspicious gentleman named
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Stoker is from Dublin, Ireland and was one-of-seven children. Born on November 8th, 1847. Bram was known as a very depressed and gloomy child, often bedridden through his younger years (bio.com). Stoker was recorded “to be often at the point of death.” (Bram Stoker Books). This explains his gloomy and dark tone in Dracula and other works of horror. Bram Stoker graduated from the University of Dublin with a degree in Mathematics, one of his early passions. His earliest occupation was as a civil servant at Dublin castle where he first started writing columns for the newspaper, reviewing theatrical productions (Bio.com). Through the theatre industry, Stoker met his wife, Florence Balcombe. While working with the theatre, he became very passionate with theatre and even gothic literature …show more content…
In the novel, Count Dracula is prejudice about the West, and how it affects the Eastern beliefs. When studying Dracula, the reader can see that the novel was written “under Western eyes” (N, Janusz). In the novel, Jonathan describes his transition to Transylvania by saying, “the impression I had was of leaving the west and entering the East.” (Stoker, 9). Here, Stoker presents the overall conflict between the east and the west. Dracula pictures the east, with his evil characteristics, and the hunting crew of Jonathan, Mina and the others as the west. Dracula expresses his support for England by telling Mina of his past; “Whilst they played wits against me – against me who commanded nations, and intrigued for them, and fought for them, hundreds of years before they were born – I was countermining them.” (Stoker, 259). In the novel, Dracula is known to be a proud supporter of England who was once the powerhouse of the west. England was known for fighting against the Turks, who once tried to take over the land of the English. Victorian England hated traitors like Dracula because of how he turned his back on his once beloved Western England (Tensions Between East & West in Bram Stoker’s Dracula). Dracula uses this method as an act of pity to Mina, saying he once fought for them before they were even brought to this earth so
Bram Stokers, Dracula, from the late-Victorian era, is one of the best stories of vampire folklore. Dracula was tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious with immense sexual character. His snow white teeth which outlined his rosy red lips made us fantasize of him and ultimately become obsessed. The overwhelming fascination of Stoker’s novel has created individuals to overlook the true metaphoric mechanism behind the story. “Technologies of Monstrosity: Bram Stoker’s “Dracula””, Judith Halberstam points out the metaphor in which Dracula was created.
Unremarkable though it may seem, to affirm the obvious truism that Bram Stoker’s Dracula originates from a century that historians often describe as the most significant in terms of revolutionary ideology, whilst wishing to avoid the clichéd view held, it is undeniable that the more one delves into the depths of this novel the greater wealth of meaning demonstrates significant correlation with Marxist ideology. The 19th Century saw the emergence of revolutionary socialist Karl Marx, who himself used the vampire metaphor to describe the capitalist system as ‘dead labour which, vampire like, lives only by sucking living labour’. Through Stoker’s opulent use of narrative structure, use of setting and imagery, this novel presents a multiple
1)In the prologue, Dracula establishes his deep desire and expectations of a lifelong companion. Despite his claims, he says nothing about anything romantic, or full of love. He pictures him and his partner “staring into the black shadows of the mountains.” The adjective ‘black’ and noun ‘shadows’ suggests he wants nothing but impure, sadistic, and wicked love, he wants nothing but macabre. Through his dialogue, he is also presented as a haughty, arrogant, and self-centred being.
In Dracula: The Unseen Face in the Mirror, written by Carol Senf’s, is a critical analysis of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. There are many points that are made throughout the critical analysis of this beloved novel. One point, on the basis of the unreliability of the narrators. For instance, Senf states, “…Stoker provides several clues to their unreliability and encourages the reader to see the frequent discrepancies between their proposed beliefs and their actions” (Senf 423). Carol Senf argues in her essay, that Jonathan Harker, could have been prejudice against the customs of the Transylvanian lifestyle. Whether it be the way he documented in side notes, the peculiar recipes, or the way Harker would
Bram Stoker's Dracula is highly acclaimed and has received many different interpretations which deal with complex symbolisms and metaphors. These interpretations often require a great deal of knowledge in psychology, political science, anthropology, and other non-literary disciplines. These interpretations may be valid, as they are related to the disciplines on which their arguments are based, but the true power of the novel is due to a very simple theme that lies beneath the other, more convoluted interpretations. This theme is the universal concept of identity: us versus them. This criticism sets aside outside disciplines and focuses on the literary motif of identity. John
The novel takes place in the Victorian Era, a society centered on logic and science. However, the supernatural still remains and Dracula, a vampire count of remote Transylvania, is attempting to take control of England. In a series of letters and journal entries, Bram Stoker narrates the actions of a group of characters in
Pollution and Redemption in Dracula, written by Anne McWhir, a Professor Emerita at the University of Calgary, analyzes the complex relationships between characters of Bram Stoker’s, Dracula. McWhir acknowledges seemingly opposing themes within Dracula, “Dracula is remarkable for its blurring and confusion of categories. Modem and primitive, civilized and savage, science and myth are confused; so too are other categories-good and evil, clean and unclean, life and death” (31). She explains the purpose of hunting Count Dracula is to restore the characters, giving them a chance at redemption, “The pollution or dangerous power that disappears at the end of Dracula means that the characters can return to a world of clear categories and
Bram Stoker 's novel, Dracula was written during the late nineteenth century and is commonly classified as a horror novel. Further analysis, however, has brought to light the buried symbols and themes of sexuality that the novel holds within it. Due to its female sexual symbolism, the novel draws the attention of most men, as exploring these female forbidden themes were more of a fantasy for them than reality. As Dracula was set in the Victorian culture, it is shown to encompass all the beliefs and prejudices of the society, especially in regards to the social gender roles of men and women. Women were known to be suppressed and put down socially while men were lifted up and known for the authority and freedom they possessed. Through the
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.
“What Manner of man is this, or what manner of creature is it in the semblance of a man?” (Stoker 23). In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, decrepitness is shown by a creature that is slowly decaying and the only way to be youthful or to be rejuvenated is to take the life of others and send them to an endless life of decay. This creature, Dracula, preys on the weaker, perfect Victorian. In the epistolary novel, Dracula, Bram Stoker drills an image of decay and destruction into the audience to show juxtaposition between Victorian ideals and Dracula.
Bram Stoker, our author, was born in Clontarf (an area near Dublin), Ireland in early November of 1847. He was accomplished in many fields, including athletics, but he was, and probably still is, seen as the most
In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, we are introduced to the monster that is Dracula. Throughout his Stoker touches on several themes of Dracula’s monstrosity. This paper will explore Bram Stoker’s Dracula under the theory of, “The Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference” The rejection of modernity, sexual expression, and the xenophobic threat from Old World Europe are all gates of difference that Stoker touches on.
The play-script book “Dracula”, adapted by David Calcutt, is a captivating reword of the iconic epistolary horror novel of a same name which was written by Bram Stoker, The author outlines the power struggle between good and evil in the text through messages and symbols. The author focuses on Dracula and a group of friend’s actions and emotions in which he uses narrative conventions to convey key messages in the book. The messages I found that were prominent were “evilness is an infection”, “greed is consuming” and “good always prevail”.
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
Bram Stoker’s ingenious piece of work on writing Dracula has set the expectation for gothic novels all over the world and time to come. The mindset of writing Dracula through the Victorian Era really sets the tone for the reader by creating a spine-tingling sensation right through the novel. With this in mind, Stoker wouldn’t have been able to succeed his masterpiece without the effective uses of symbolism, imagery, foreshadowing, and its overall theme.