Throughout the world, humans in various cultures have shared well-known myths and legends that are passed down from generations. These oral folklores are often quite entertaining, but they also recount a history of origin or culture. For example, some of these story-like legends can be linked to actual mysterious events that have taken place in a specific time period or a certain place and therefore can be quite realistic. Dracula, a well-known “real-life legend”, is preferably one of the more dark and gothic novels in literature that primarily focuses its attention on the fears and horrors of the audience. Bram Stoker’s manifestation of evil was written in the Victorian era and is full of latent content about the roles of men and women in …show more content…
Dracula may be blood-curdling but he is not that frightening, to say the least. Just as Jonathan Harker (a lawyer) entered the barren castle in the outskirts of Transylvania, a strange but unique looking man answered the door, and here are Harker’s thoughts: “Within stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere” (Stoker 20). As one can see, Stoker really is trying to emphasize his notion of vampire qualities. Once again, Jonathan recollects his thoughts saying:
His face was a strong – a very strong – aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils; with lofty domed forehead, and hair growing scantily round the temple but profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth, so far as I could see under the heavy moustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years. For the rest, his ears were pale and at the tops were extremely pointed; the chin was broad and strong, and the cheeks firm though thin. The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor. (22-23)
After reading this, going back to what one would visualize when someone says the word “vampire”, this man is
Alexia doesn’t recall much of her developmental history.Alexia reports that obstacles that occurred in her life have caused her to omit essential memories from the past. Alexia was born and raised in Avoyelles Parish, in Mansura LA. She is the only girl and the youngest of her 5 siblings. Chris, Bryan, Steven and Chad share the same mother and father. Alexia describes her relationship with her siblings as being dysfunctional. Her mother name is Louella St. Romaine and her father name is Craig St. Romaine. Her father was an average type of man and had occasional drinking binges. Alexia parents relationship was fair , they met at their High School homecoming dance.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula remains one of the more recognizable novels of its genre despite being published in 1897. A classic horror story which has been retold and produced over and over again since its original publication, Dracula was especially disturbing when it originally was released because of how Stoker attacks Victorian era social mores and norms throughout the entire novel. Stoker subverts traditional 19th Century social mores and norms in Dracula through the portrayal of sexually aggressive and assertive females, Jonathan and Mina’s relationship, and the inverse of Maternity.
Are there still connections between Bram Stokers famous novel Dracula and modern day society? In Dracula, Stoker expands on many themes that indeed exist today. Not only does he touch on the most obvious theme, sex. He expands on gender division and good versus evil. Some say since times have changed the themes I introduced have changed as well, leaving connections between then and now irrelevant. However, I feel that although times have changed they still have roots from the time of the novel to now. In this essay I will expand on the themes of this novel while connecting them to modern day society, the critical texts I have chosen and will mention later on in the essay are a good representation of the commonalities between the chill, dark Victorian days in which the era that Dracula was written in and modern day.
Vlad Dracula was born in the winter of 1431 in Sighisoura,Transylvania. Vlad’s father who is Vlad II came from a family of princes from the state of Wallacia. In the same year Vlad III was born, his father traveled to Nuremberg, Germany and became a member of the Order of the Dragon. The Order of the Dragon was select group of European royalty appointed by the head of the Holy Roman Empire, Emperor Sigismund ,who held power over most of Western Europe. These men were dedicated to crusading against the Ottoman Turks, whose faith was Islam, and defending the Empire in the name of the Cross . Sigismund made Vlad II head of the Order and promised that he would be Prince of Wallacia when he returned . After this day, Vlad II became known as
In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Dracula is representative of the superhuman ideal that man is striving to achieve. Dracula is a strong willed, powerful, brilliant masculine figure, and through these characteristics he appeals to the contemporary reader. The 1992 production of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, highlights the contemporary appeasement in satanic creatures, through the justification of Dracula and the corruption that follows, reducing if not entirely diminishing the malice of in Dracula’s character. By the late 20th and early 21st century, the representation of the demonic creatures as transformed to present endless happiness and immortality on earth as a morally neutral possibility. Instead of viewing the
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 1897 Dracula is a novel that condemns liberated female sexuality, presenting it as volatile and threatening to the established patriarchal order of the Victorian Era. By examining the varying level of sexuality among Stoker’s female characters and their narrative outcomes, the novel’s attitude that female sexuality is hostile becomes apparent.
“He speaks in perfect English and welcomes Harker inside, shaking his hand with an ice-cold, vice-like grip” (Dracula, 55). Dracula explains to him that he will no be able to make the trip to London, but one of his trusted servants will be going along with Harker back to London. After supper Jonathan analyzes Dracula and notices one very strange feature, his mouth is thick and white; they cover sharp white teeth, which stick out over his lip. What Jonathan does not know is that those teeth are canine teeth only found in animals. There are exceptions, for instance, vampires have these teeth so they can puncture the human’s carotid vessel in their neck and suck their blood. The first time that Jonathan sees Dracula’s cannibal teeth grow is when Harker starts shaving. He accidentally cuts himself and Dracula leaps for his throat so he can suck his blood. Harker touches his crucifix and Dracula’s “demonic fury” vanishes. The strangest event that Harker notices in Dracula’s castle is “Dracula emerge from his room on the floor below, slither out, head downward, in lizard fashion, with his cloak spread out around him like great wings” (Dracula, 179). This shows that “Dracula is not a person. He is a presence, an absence that requires concealing” (Wolf, 368). This tells Harker that something is very wrong with this man. He recalls how the peasants behaved
In 1897, Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, the story of a monstrous Transylvanian count who terrorized local villages and fed on the peasants who lived in them. The book is today widely recognized as a historically significant literary work, and its importance has caused many scholars to debate whether Bram Stoker’s main character Dracula was actually inspired by real historical figures. Although all evidence used in the debate is somewhat unreliable, it can be established that Bram Stoker based his character Count Dracula on historical figures to a certain extent.
While reading Dracula, by Bram Stoker, readers are transported into the Victorian Era through the pages of great, mythological, literature. Not only does Stoker place emphasis on the gender role issues circulating the 1800’s, but focuses on controversial topics such as religion and sexuality, while masking it behind a riveting fictional work. The book takes place between a series of letters and journal entries written by the characters. Dracula, the antagonist, is depicted as a blood-thirsty vampire, who transforms wholesome men and women into the like. Throughout the book, Stoker covers many feminist theories, while primarily focusing on female sexuality, showing the perception of women during the 1800’s.
Expository Essay Mary Arnold For centuries, vampires have been depicted in various cultures and throughout literary history as both bloodsuckers and vampire lovers. A good example is they’ve been portrayed as both monsters, comedic villains, and romantic figures. The film industry has represented many incarnations of vampires on the big screen for decades. Let’s begin with the first vampire film, Nosferatu (monster), up to the latest vampire film, Twilight (lover).
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”.
Vlad III Dracula was born in the year 1431 in Târgovişte, Transylvania. Sighişoara, Transylvania, but it is not certain that Vlad III was born there, but his father, Vlad II Dracul, owned a residence there. Dracula was the second child born out of four brothers born into the noble family of Vlad II Dracul. Vlad III’s nickname, Dracula, simply means “son of Dracul”. The family received this surname after Dracula’s father was inaugurated into the Order of the Dragon that was the Defense for Christian Europe. Vlad III’s father, Vlad II owned a residence in
When people hear the term vampire they usually go into certain directions with their thoughts about them. Some people may think of the sparkly, secluded vampires from Twilight or attractive, moody vampires from Vampire Diaries. In Aubrey Sherman’s book “Vampires: The Myth, Legends, and Lore” she says, “When you hear the word vampire, probably the first image that comes to mind is that of a tall, dark, handsome man with luminous eyes, clothed in a fine black tuxedo enveloped by an exquisite opera cloak” (Sherman 19). Here it’s pretty clear that she is going in the direction of Dracula, a seductive, well-dressed Vampire. When I read this it really made think about vampire’s images and how they have been distorted so much in time. There are the ones in their different cultures that are meant to be scary and
The amount of crazed vampire stories within this world continuously grows despite the amount of creativity that can go into the description, and characterization of said vampires being quite limited. There would only be so many possibilities for scenes, situations, and character designs if authors went by nothing more than the characteristics of the vampires in Bram Stoker 's Dracula. Because of this, authors continue to create more and more ridiculous scenarios as well as more and more advanced vampires. The comparison of the way vampires look, respond to environmental stimuli, and act in social situations in books like Dracula or The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, as well as book series such as Blood Lad and Twilight, is quite drastic.