Final Essay Different depictions of vampires are commonly exhibited in vampire folklore in past and present literature and film. The diversity of different variations of vampire legends are prominently seen in most literature, but the main ideas and attributes are generally the same. This is not that case when focusing on specific novels discussed in class. The novels I Am Legend by Richard Matheson and Fledgling by Octavia Butler are two contrasting works of vampire folklore. The novels are about different societies of vampires. They both emerged in different ways, the survive and feed in contrasting ways, and they both represent completely different forms of vampires. This essay will examine the characterizations of the contrasting the vampire species in both I Am Legend and Fledgling, as well as, investigating how these different species of vampires relate to human species. The generalization for vampires has been displayed in films and literature for hundreds of years. The stereotypical versions of vampires are that they have long fangs, sleep in coffins during the day, and suck the blood out of humans. Both novels contradict those stereotypes in different ways. To understand the diversity of the vampires described in both novels, one must examine the characteristics that the vampires display and the meaning and purpose behind them. David D. Gilmore’s book “Monsters” analyzes monsters and other mythical creatures. Gilmore describes why humanity invented the idea of
The glamorization of vampires has reinvented the depiction of the notorious monster. Vampires are not fully human, nor fully animal, neither fully alive nor fully dead. In a variety of aspects, they are superior beings. Vampires are immortal creatures portrayed as sexy, powerful, and mysterious beings of the night. Today’s vampire possesses immaculate beauty along with untamed
A key element of the fantasy / horror / gothic genres is to fascinate and intrigue readers through stories that pose the “what if” questions, thereby teaching us something new about the society we live in. Sometimes these stories are helpful in explaining difficult concepts of good and evil, science and religion. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, the mythical horror creatures, the vampires, have many differences in their mythical abilities, functionality and origin; however, they both serve to underline themes that remind the reader of what makes us human and what defines us as ultimately good or evil. Stoker’s Count Dracula is the product of a religious strike against the antagonist whereas the vampires in I Am
Since the beginning of time vampires have been categorized into different "types” and are portrayed in different ways throughout several books. This paper will focus on three vampires from the following books: Dracula by Bram Stoker, and I am Legend by Richard Matheson. Dracula is considered to be the traditional vampire, where it all started, and the vampires in Matheson’s book, follow somewhat Stoker’s concept, but is more of a modern “type” of vampires. Certain vampire elements have been presented, but others have been completely removed or altered. In addition, elements along with appearances are used to infer if the vampire is a form of “the other”. There are two types of vampires; the traditional or modern vampire which can be distinguished based on the elements present in their storyline.
The following paper illustrates the cultural function of vampire legends and beliefs in the context of literature and pop culture of the 1950s. Using the following film and novel, Curse of the Undead (1959) and I Am Legend (1954) to analyze the cultural function of vampire during this era. The paper uses historical references of 1950s to depict hidden meanings portrayed in the novel and film.
The article discusses the different depictions of the vampire phenomena and the model of the vampire as a Gothic romance hero who is not evil. The article is examining the idea that a vampire is no longer a villain, but it is a hero. This source is beneficial to my research because it addresses the vampire as a romantic character which women desire and it goes back to my argument that the vampire is the new Prince Charming.
When the image of a vampire is brought to mind one imagines a tall, thin and pale European aristocratic man dressed in fine clothes and displaying a set of pearly white fangs. However neither the aristocratic status nor the fangs can be found in folkloric accounts of vampirism. The true image of a vampire is a difficult thing to describe due to the influence that different cultures have had on the development of the myth. The depiction of vampirism in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend differ from one another and while these depictions stray from the folkloric accounts of vampires both find their roots in legend.
Vampires in the past are known as an undead and a scary monster. They are called scary monster for a number of reasons. Vampires are depicted as human corpses that revive their lives from the graves, harm living people, and seduce women. They are bloodthirsty, animated monsters that created in the folklore. According to the article “Vampire Gentlemen and Zombie Beasts” Angela Tenga and Elizabeth Zimmerman demonstrate that, “Today’s vampire is ‘a lonely immortal longing for love, family, and approval” (76). To be more specific, this monster was first created as vampire with the horror look that comes back from death, he harms human by biting and draining blood. Vampires often target lust in women's sexuality. He represents fears and desires that humans are so hesitating to approach but also attracting to vampires. Over time, vampires have evolved differently and tremendously from the day that they were born till today.
Vampire have been made out to be a lot of thing over the years of history. Vampires are evil mythological beings who roam the world at night searching for people whose blood they feed upon. They may be the best-known classic monsters of all. Most people associate vampires with Count Dracula, the legendary, blood-sucking subject of Bram Stoker’s epic novel, Dracula, which was published in 1897. But the history of vampires began long before Stoker was born. (History.com Staff A+E Networks, 2017). Many people also believed that vampire’s legends came from bats “vampire bats” but the legends and myths go much deeper and older.
The vampire is an embodiment of society 's deepest fears. Throughout literary history, the vampire has always been characterised as a vile figure of pure evil. However the depiction of the vampire is affected by the social, historical and political context of the time. As context shifts, so does the collective fear of society, with the portrayal of the vampire following suit. Dracula, I Am Legend and Twilight, three extremely popular books of vampire fiction created during vastly different periods in history, are representative of this shift. In Dracula, the titular character is depicted as an anti-christ figure by the author, Bram Stoker, who attempts to warn people about the dangers of straying from traditional Christian ideals. I Am Legend, a nineteen-fifties post-apocalyptic novel, emphasises the dangers of a world ravaged by environmental destruction. The wasteland, that was once earth, becomes populated by animalistic, brutal vampires that have been created as a result of an environmental plague. Finally, Twilight is a teen-angst novel written by Stephenie Meyer in 2005 and adapted into a movie of the same name in 2008. In a day and age where more people have begun to adopt humanitarian views, society has put a strong emphasis on rehabilitation and redemption. Contrary to this ideology, Edward Cullen, the main vampire, has a deeply ingrained fear that he is beyond saving thus reflecting society 's fears that one can inherently be beyond redemption.
In this article it shows how the vampire started as a bloodthirsty monster in stories and how the eventually evolved into the modern envisage seen in media. What makes this important for the thesis, is the evolution form the first stories that spurred this villain in the shadows. The evolution of the vampire across the cultures is a very important aspect for research within this paper in order to fully describe how this creature was first envisioned in the early folklore to what we see today in the recent adaptations. Attempting to describe this progression without bringing to the forefront the classics such as Bram Stokers would be a large disservice to this paper.
which has the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a winged
As we look at vampires from any given time period we see what people thought was frightening, or maybe we would see what they thought was sexy, or forbidden. Although the novel Dracula, authored by Bram Stoker, is over a century old, it still impacts our culture and societies view on vampires today. Many writers have begun to try and recreate the “vampire” in a new, modern light. For example, in Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, the vampire’s image is altered from the attacker to the protector. This is due to the fact that one of the main characters, Carlisle Cullen, turns people who were in life threatening situations into vampires and raise them to do good and to prey on animals rather than humans.
Vampirism and what it entails has always taunted us. The idea of coexisting with an unknown creature it is engrossing, though the desire to adjust it to an unreal reality. This blood-craving creatures helped build up American sci-fi cinema, providing every necessitated tool to accumulate numerous “believers”. The nineteenth century gave birth to the first vampires (ferocious creatures feared by humans) and their popularity has done nothing but increase steadily. Their fancy clothes and luxurious lifestyle continues impressing the public…wealth too; since literature describes them as wealthy princes and lords. With the listed qualities and perks being a vampire sounds illustrious. The cinematographic industry retains the responsibility for this
The truly shocking and terrible, blood-sucking-monster we once knew have now changed into beautiful, perfect,and healthy human beings. This paper will discuss the change and the reason why the change of idea many still accept and like the modern picture of vampires.In order to answer this, I will examine the differences between Bram Stoker's Dracula , the typical figure of horror before, and the soft light just before sunrise or after sunset's Edward Cullen, the obvious example of the 21st century vampire. From this, I will be able to decide out what changed in the features of the vampires we know today.Many would think about Edward Cullen as a "shockingly disrespectful behavior of the vampire old example" (Mole).
The legend of the vampire has emerged countless times within human imagination over the past few centuries. The first available representation of the mythical creature in prose fiction can be found in John Polidori’s “The Vampyre” (1810). It was not until eight decades later that Bram Stoker popularized the existence of this figure with the publication of “Dracula” in 1897. The folklore of the vampire has come a long way since and can be found in today’s popular media more frequently than ever before. However, with due course of time, the representation of the creature has taken alternate routes and today’s vampires are noticeable different – socially and physically – from their predecessors. One effective path to trace this