Dracula - Symbolism of Blood

Blood is a precious liquid not only for humans but also for the dead, especially vampires. It is both a substance and a cultural concept. Blood is a symbol for passion but also destruction, for cultural identity and family, as Foucault said “one is 'of the same blood” (cited in Hughes, 139) and Stoker contributed “Blood is a too precious thing in these days of dishonourable peace; and he glories of the great races are as a tale that is told.”(34) Blood is one of the most powerful motives in Dracula. Stoker used specifically that motive to address the taboo topic of sexuality and homosexuality. The use of blood as a symbol for sexual intercourse comes

Have you ever thought to yourself, what has influenced vampire literature today? Well, neither have I, but it wouldn’t hurt to touch on the subject. Dracula introduces the idea of lust and death within vampirism. Also, there are many connections that I make throughout this essay between Dracula and I am Legend, proving that Dracula was an influence on the book. The opposition of Dracula has had great influences on vampire literature.We see that these two pieces of literature are so much similar than one would think. Both authors even use similar words to describe the similar things, which I hadn’t even noticed until I made further inspection. .The book Dracula, written by

The definition of death is: the end of the life of a person. However, what if a character's death in literature or movies has a significant meaning. Thus, the death of a character is not truly the end of the person's life, but rather the reformation of wrongful acts. The story, Dracula, takes place during the Victorian era, where they believe that women have to be modest. Furthermore, the Victorians believe that they were progressing morally, intellectually, and materially through social and political reforms. Furthermore, they also believe heavily in the Christian value since, throughout the book, the characters use crosses, crucifixes, and other religious objects against the evil vampires. Not only that, they also believe that sins are

Vampires have been around for centuries, they represent the fear of many things such as sexuality, race, gender, etc. and above all, they stand for the fear of diseases. Vampires have once been the symbol of horror due to their terrific depictions and were described as a threat to the humanity. Throughout time, the image of vampire has changed dramatically from a monstrous, inhumanely creature that doesn’t belong to human society to such an attractive and adaptive figure that expresses more of the human side than the evil. They developed human feelings, senses, and live within our society. Modern vampire movies are often more romantic and “sympathetic” comparing to the past. Vampires have abandoned their horror and evolved to a more

Many gothic novels have tried to create an unsettling feeling within their audiences. None have achieved this quite as well as Dracula. The jarring transitions of action, and the sharp cliffhangers create many moments of suspense and unease. Using epistolary format is also a way of creating nervousness in the readers, as it not only make the story “believable”, but introduces many stories woven into one large mystery. However, the transitions of story is not the only factor creating the feeling of apprehension within the book. To create these feelings to his greatest potential, in Dracula, Bram Stoker uses symbolism to reinforce the uneasy atmosphere.

Stoker uses a provocative and seductive tone and diction to express the new hyper-sexual woman. His diction is very detailed in describing the sexual actions of the vampires. The vampire “went on her knees, and bent over [Jonathan],” “lower and lower went her head as the lips went below the range of my mouth and chin and seemed about to fasten on my throat,” and continually moves her tongue along her teeth (Stoker

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).

Stoker creates a fearful and eerie mood for his readers to experience through his diction choice. The novel is centered around the Antichrist, or Dracula, so most of the descriptive language ties back to him. Mina begins by explaining that her awful dreams were all connected to “death”, “vampires”, “blood”, “pain”, and “trouble” (Stoker 304). These words specifically evoke a dark image and feeling of doom. In addition, the words that Stoker uses to describe Dracula help create chills for the reader. He is described as having a “waxen face”, “sharp white teeth”, “red eyes”, and “red lips” (Stoker 305). The red connects to the blood motif, which is what Dracula thrives off of. The

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

Dracula is a novel composed of letters, diary entries, and journal entries. There are also occasionally newspaper clippings in this novel as well. The novel reads as a vampire story in Transylvania. Though Dracula can be read that way, the novel has a “strong religious thrust of this novel has correspondingly been ignored, not to say suppressed…” (Herbert 100). While Dracula often reads as a horror novel and has been interpreted by some readers as anti-religious, it nevertheless contains religious symbols, and Christian themes. This paper argues that Dracula can be read as a salvation narrative.

The Victorian era was known for its values of sexual restraint and low tolerance for any type of rebellion or disruption of social order. Sex and Homosexuality were definitely considered very taboo topics and were never mentioned publicly. Nonetheless, Stoker still managed to incorporate a lot of sexual connotations and even explicitly targets concepts of lust. The sexual references in Dracula are expressed through the symbolism of blood, where blood transfusions or blood sucking indicates sexual intercourse. Considering the sexual symbolism of blood itself and the count exchanging blood with Mina against her will, we can see how this forms an accurate representation of how Victorian men in the Victorian era tried to force emotional and

In everyday life, as in literature, there will always be an opposing force to evil. In the novel “Dracula,” by Bram Stoker, Professor Van Helsing acts as Dracula’s main antagonist. An antagonist is the character who acts against the main character, which increases the conflict of the story and intensifies the plot. Through the use of theme, characterization and specific events, the author shows readers how Dr. Van Helsing effectively fits the role of Dracula’s most threatening adversary.

Bram Stoker’s use of characterization and imagery to convey one of his many themes in the book Dracula. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the author uses characterization and imagery to convey the theme, Follow your instincts.

First, blood is a reference of honor, and this occurs when Duncan sees the injured sergeant and says, "What bloody man is that?"(1.2.1). This is symbolic of the brave fighter who been injured in a valiant battle for Scotland. The sergeant

While in Stoker’s novel, the alluring Count Dracula spends the nights continuously feeding on the blood of the innocent, the villagers all the while living in fear. He sucks the life from young maidens, transforming them into his unholy minions.