Dracula- Bram Stoker.
Dracula- Bram Stoker In my opinion, this is one of the greatest horror books that have ever been written. It is excellent. The book begins with Jonathon Harker- one of the main characters, writing in his journal. From this we see that he is on his way to Transylvania, 'one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe' where he is visiting one of the clients of the accountants firm that he works for in his castle, Castle Dracula. From Budapest, he travels to Bistritz where he stays in the Golden Krone Hotel. The next day he is to travel to the Borgo pass by coach where Draculas carriage will meet him. There are early signs that all is not right: He has queer dreams whilst staying in Budapest, people are very wary of telling him anything of the count or his castle, when he asked the hotel owners what they knew of the Count 'both he and his wife crossed themselves and, saying that they knew nothing at all, refused to speak any further', people try to warn him off going to the castle, the landlady wouldn't let him leave the hotel until she had placed a cross around his neck, even the people on the coach he is taking to meet the counts carriage begin talking of evil things; Satan, vampires, hell... But this is soon forgotten as he journeys, he is absorbed in the beautiful landscape, oblivious to everything else. As they near the Borgo pass he finds that the other people
Explain in detail the classic story of Dracula by Bram Stoker.
English Literature Assignment The Classic Novel of Dracula by Bram Stoker For my assignment I am going to explain in detail about the classic story of Dracula by Bram Stoker. I will explain about the characters and then write in detail about the plot. Finally I will explain the way the novel is written. Characters Dracula Count Dracula is the central character around which the novel is based. This man is a Transylvanian nobleman who is a vampire. At the beginning of the novel Dracula is described: 'His face was a strong - a very strong - aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils'. Dracula is said to have a 'rather cruel - looking' moustache and 'peculiarly' sharp white teeth which are shown up by his red lips. The man is said to have a domed forehead with hair growing around the temples and bushy hair that 'seemed to curl in its own profusion'. Dracula is described as being welcoming and charming when Harker meets him for the first time. It is only later on in the novel when his true evil powers and capabilities are shown. This nobleman is centuries old and has to feed on the blood of the living. As the book goes on Count Dracula becomes younger and his powers increase. Vampires are the evil undead who live on by sucking the life out of innocent human beings. If one of the vampire's victims is contaminated by one of these
How does the writer create an atmosphere of fear and horror in the opening chapter of Dracula?
How does the writer create an atmosphere of fear and horror in the opening chapter of Dracula? The novel of Dracula is written by Bram Stoker It was written in the early 19th century and at this time there was much mystery and suspicion surrounding such places as Transylvania where the book is set. The book's form is that it's written as a journal by the main character, Jonathon Harker. The fact that it's written as a journal makes the whole book seem more believable, and it's as though he's actually writing his experiences as they're happening, and his thoughts and feelings make it seem more personal and seem more realistic. The opening chapter begins with a naïve traveller, not knowing a lot about where he is and where he is heading. This is shown in the book when Harker comments, " I was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle of Dracula". This creates an atmosphere of fear as Harker knew as little about what was happening/going to happen as the reader, creating suspense and making the reader want to read on, as they want to know what will happen. Jonathon Harker seems uneasy very early on in the book. This is depicted in the book when he writes, "I did not sleep well, though my bed was comfortable enough, for I had all sorts of queer dreams". This hints to the reader that Harker is subconsciously worried and creates even more
How does Stoker present men and masculinity in Dracula?
Dracula Essay on Men and Masculinity Daniel Malone How does Stoker present men and masculinity in Dracula? You should consider... * The degree to which he stereotypes and differentiates between his characters. * How his own, Victorian concept of masculinity contrast or compares with our own. * The idea of heroes and heroism. Within "Dracula", Stoker clearly presents the male characters in the book as heroes, without over emphasising this by giving them extraordinarily strong powers. They are portrayed as normal human beings with faults and weaknesses. This can be seen when Van Helsing suffers from hysteria, but despite this still plays an important role in the chase for Dracula, and brings confidence to their quest at desperate times. He describes the "Band of Brother's" as those ", who are willing to peril even our own souls for the safety of one we love-for the good of mankind, and for the honour and glory of God". A similar comparison could be made to fictional characters/super heroes in comics such as Superman. They save the weak and bring down the villain while also leading normal lives. But despite doing this, these super heroes still posses certain vulnerabilities, in the instance of superman, he possesses a weakness to kryptonite. In the same sense, members of the brotherhood have their own weaknesses. Therefore, it is fair to say that there is some presence
The central emotion of the Gothic is to horrify and terrify - Do you agree that the primary aim of the Gothic novel is to horrify and terrify?
The central emotion of the Gothic is to horrify and terrify. Do you agree that the primary aim of the Gothic novel is to horrify and terrify? The central emotions evoked by Gothic literature are horror and fear for non-gothic people, but I feel that the principal aim of Gothic literature is to express the individuality of this resilient subculture. Every novel has the Gothic elements of an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, supernatural or inexplicable events, excess of emotions and the metonymy of gloom and horror. These elements do try to evoke fear of the supernatural; however, the usage of these characteristics is to portray a deeper purpose rather than just to scare the readers. The difference between Terror and Horror is the difference between awful apprehension and sickening realization: between the smell of death and stumbling against a corpse. Devendra Varma has distinct horror and terror by saying," Terror thus creates an intangible atmosphere of spiritual psychic dread, a certain superstitious shudder at the other world. Horror resorts to a cruder presentation of the macabre: by an exact portrayal of the physically horrible and revolting, against a far more terrible background of spiritual gloom and despair." The works of terror create a sense of uncertain apprehensions that leads to a complex fear of obscure and dreadful elements. It stimulates the imagination
Dracula. How Does Bram Stoker Create an Atmosphere of Fear and Horror?
How Does Bram Stoker Create an Atmosphere of Fear and Horror? If this was scary in 1897, it's not very scary now but I can see how the Narrator is trying to get a picture in your head to spook you. Bram Stoker wrote it in 1897; it was scary at the time but not as much as it is now. The simplest way in which Stoker tries to scare his readers is by having his narrator, Jonathan Harker, keeps telling us how scared he is? "I grew dreadfully afraid", many times Harker writes something inn his journal. The repetition of this idea builds build's up a picture of fear in the reader's eyes. Another method is seen in the description of Harker's journey to meet Dracula at the Borgo Pass. The horses and the other passengers show a "Strange mixture of fear-meaning movement and make the sign of the cross". Obliviously they are terrified of meeting the Count, because they know him to be a vampire. The coach part is the scariest part of the story. The driver I racing through the pitch dark night, they go in as fast as they can. They go flat out to get there before Dracula. The driver and passengers are clearly scared of meeting Dracula and this is passed onto Jonathan Harker. When I saw Dracula, the film and the book, I was not a bit scared, however in 1987, I could imagine the scene it caused especially Jack the Ripper on the run in London, some people were starting to think that
What elements in the first six chapters make it clear that Dracula is in the gothic genre
What elements in the first six chapters make it clear that 'Dracula' is in the Gothic genre? Does it also have elements of the horror Genre? Novels of the Gothic genre, like 'Dracula', are often set in big old castles or ruins. In this novel there is the setting of Dracula's castle. This is an old castle in the middle of 'one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe'. It is on the edge of a precipice and seems to be very grand. Harker describes it in his journal, 'The castle is on the very edge of a terrible precipice. A stone falling from the window would fall a thousand feet without touching anything!' This description of the castle makes it seem very quiet, rural and frightening. The sheer height of the castle would scare people. Stoker chooses his adjectives very carefully in 'Dracula', here he uses the adjective 'terrible' which sums up the gothic nature of the setting. There is also part of the novel set in a Whitby. Here there is a big ruined abbey and an open coastline. It is a dramatic seaside town. Stoker obviously chose it carefully to stress the full force of the weather and uneasy feelings of Mina. The weather in itself creates a scene of a gothic genre. There is a big storm approaching in chapter six and at the end of the chapter we get the very beginning of the storm. The weather was not easily explained at the time when 'Dracula' was written so
Dracula - Nosferatu Comparison.
25/11/2002 Dracula-Nosferatu Comparison. I have recently watched clips from the beginnings of two vampire movies. The two films were, of course, very different things. One was 'Nosferatu' a product of the 1920's. I am lucky to have seen it considering how it was banned by a judge of the time and all copies ordered destroyed. Of course as attitudes change in cinema and with the introduction of the BBFC 'censorship' system it was released again. The other movie though was a completely different kettle of marine life; it was 'Bram Stokers Dracula' and bore about as much resemblance to Bram Stokers story as myself to a chimp. If it was named 'Parody Of Bram Stokers Dracula', 'Allegorical Tale Featuring Characters Based On Bram Stokers Dracula', I would understand. Maybe even 'Shameless Cash In On The Name Of Bram Stoker' would be more appropriate. The reason for the differences? It seems to me that movie has changed due to social reasons as well as technological reasons (I will return to this subject later). Monsters are out - antiheros are the new black. So what surprise is it to us that by the beginnings of the nineties Dracula was less a monster and more a tortured soul? Why are the Jewish style garb and appearance of 'Orlock' (the Dracula equivalent from Nosferatu) gone only to be replaced with a Dracula who answers the door looking strangely like one of the good Chairman
How Stoker, Poe, Wells and Conan Doyle Have tried to make their stories Horrifying
How Stoker, Poe, Wells and Conan Doyle Have tried to make their stories Horrifying Writers have several ways of making the stories they write, horrifying. One way in which they do this is through the atmosphere they create through the use of descriptive language. The writers can make everyday occurrences seem scary to suit the mood of the story such as weather and the time of day. Whenever something horrifying happens it always seems to be at night with bad weather! This all adds to the atmosphere. Writers also use the setting to their advantage; this is one of the most important things in a story. Very insecure places are often chosen to build up tension in a story. Writers contrast places in their stories from a safe, secure place on a sunny morning to an isolated place at night. Writers also use Characterisation to make the story horrifying. Some writers use an unlikely killer like a polite American and others use a stereotypical person who would commit a murder but make the reader want to find out how the murder carried out. The Squaw- By Bram Stoker Bram Stoker has several ways to make his story horrifying and one of them is the way his characters develop the story to unravel the supernatural side of the Squaw. Stoker uses the typical gentleman (the narrator) to make the American seem like the bad guy of the story when he shows the Americans reaction when he kills
Compare and Contrast The Use of Gothic Conventions From Pre-1914 and The Twentieth Century
Compare and Contrast The Use of Gothic Conventions From Pre-1914 and The Twentieth Century By Gabriel Clark The word gothic is a noun and an adjective describing an era of fashion. This fashion can be seen through people in what they wear, buildings, writings, music and images. Gothic fashions are meant to shock and scare people into a state of insecurity, it does this by following certain "stock features" (rules it abides to). In this study I plan to concentrate on Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Daphne Du-Maurier's Rebecca, and The Woman In Black (author unknown). I will look at four certain "stock features" and find the similarities and differences between Dracula, Frankenstein (pre 1914), and Rebecca and The Woman In Black (the twentieth century). The features that I will be looking at are, buildings, quests and journeys, letters/diaries, and the use of the externals such as weather (pathetic fallacies). In all four of the gothic novels included in this study buildings play a big part. In Frankenstein and Dracula the main characters in each go to stay in huge, isolated buildings. In Dracula Jonathan Harker is working, as a solicitor and trying to move Dracula to London, and in Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is creating his immortal monster in his rather overly huge student home. In the films of Dracula and Frankenstein we can see that in
