Good by Evil

Bram Stoker’s Dracula expressed the nature of good and evil. An English realtor, Jonathan Harker, journeyed to Transylvania in order to complete a sale for a residence in London to a Transylvanian vampire, Count Dracula. What Harker did not know was that Dracula wanted to move to England so he can expand his power, creating a new monarchy of vampires.

In his search for Dracula's boxes, Harker bribes nearly everyone he encounters; "A half-crown tip put the deputy's knowledge at my disposal" (252) and another man provides information because Harker treats him "wery 'an'some" (251) and gives him half a sovereign. Harker's behaviour during this pursuit of Dracula differs greatly from the beginning of the novel when he travels to Transylvania. While journeying to Dracula's castle, Harker does not bribe the local "peasants" for information about the Count, even when they begin acting suspiciously whenever Harker mentions to where he travels. He only receives his money in the middle of the book, so perhaps Harker does not feel as though he may control the lower-class people as he does later in the novel.

Jonathan Harker starts off the book with his journal of his travels to meet count Dracula, and begins to regret ever leaving home soon after. Jonathan is very observant, noting details throughout his journey; he remembers foreign words to look up, many details of the journey to the castle, and sees “a faint flickering blue flame” many times off in the distance

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

Bram Stoker’s Dracula does not follow the norm of the nineteenth century novels, that is, it is not written in a straightforward narrative but instead comprises of a collection of letters, journal entries and diary scrawls. Apart from that, it also includes a ship's log, numberless clippings from newspaper and also, a "phonograph diary.” This form of writing invariably helps in developing the “mystery” aspect of this horror novel since it either gives us no information about a particular thing or gives us information from various points of view so that it is impossible for the readers to come to one conclusion and they keep playing with different possibilities in their minds.

In Bram Stoker’s novel, he creates the first ideal look of a vampire. At the beginning of the story, Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to go the Count’s castle on business. Jonathan along the way has strange encounters with townspeople about where he is traveling. Stoker early in the book draws from our reference of the now traditional vampire and states in

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a story of horror, suspense, and repulsion. The main antagonist, Count Dracula, is depicted as an evil, repulsive creature that ends and perverts life to keep himself alive and youthful. To most onlookers that may be the case, but most people fail to see one crucial element to this character. Dracula is a character that, though it may be long gone, was once human, and thus has many human emotions and motives still within him. Let us delve into these emotions of a historically based monster.

The commentary on Victorian ideals stems from the differences between England and Transylvania. While England was characterized by Protestantism, education, technological innovation, and Victorian culture, Transylvania was entirely different with a dated technology and a balance between Catholicism and more superstitious beliefs. These distinctly different cultures initially collide as Harker travels to visit Count Dracula. As Harker moves further to the East, the mood shifts from unfamiliarity to more evil and depressive. This is evident as he describes the darkness of his surroundings as “the road was cut through the pine woods that seemed in the darkness to be closing down us, great masses of greyness produced a peculiarly weird and solemn effect" (Stoker, 9). This unfamiliarity and anxiety in Harker illustrates that he is entirely

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.

“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

Dracula is a well-known Gothic classic. Its representation in film and play adaptations made Dracula famous worldwide. Stoker wrote Dracula to challenge the views of the late 19th century era. Sexuality and its references were seen as taboo in The Victorian Era. Stoker’s background including childhood sickness, college athletic career, and interests in the supernatural found in the various folklore along with influence from his mentor Walt Whitman and the Enlightenment Era lead to strong characteristics in main protagonists such as Van Helsing. While his contrasting views on sexuality by describing it in a violent manner and emphasizing the desiring and lustful feelings of humanity.

villainy in Stoker’s Dracula compare to that of Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This Extended Essay comparing the depravity in nature of the antagonists in these classic literary works will provide a better understanding of what constitutes ‘evil’ in society. Further analysis of the villains will reveal how the authors use them as representations of repressed human nature. My own fascination with the topic, as well as my rapport with gothic classic literature, led me to pursue this research topic.

This is much different form the novel version of the Count, who Harker describes as a monster will wants to “satiate his lust for blood, and create a new and ever-widening circle of semi-demons to batten on the helpless” (Stoker 53) Another difference that is different in Dracula’s film version is how he is killed. In the book, Harker slits his throat after a climatic chase and battle, and immediately turns to dust (Stoker 325). This battle still occurs in Coppola’s version; however, he is eventually killed by Mina and the act is seen as one of compassion and kindness. Stoker does not explore this idea in his novel. Stoker does not explore this idea in the novel, as doing so would have taken away from the frightening, undead character that he was trying to create. This is not to say that Coppola was wrong to go this route, however, only that the perception of vampires had shifted and he needed something to fit along with this shift.

The Vampire in Dracula threatens the very existence of Victorian England. Stoker constructs the vampire as an embodiment of threat by surpassing his Gothic novelist predecessors to bring the threat of the Gothic home to Victorian England (Arata 119). This in turn crosses the boundary between what is foreign and what is national; and dually East and West. Dracula is open to many