INDEPENDENT NOVEL STUDY
Vaani Ladhar
Dracula (Bram Stoker) & Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
How could Dracula be interpreted as a tale of “Forbitten Romance?”.….........2
Make a Skit/Video about a part of the book………………………..……….3 Choose a Controversial issue from the text and take a stand on ONE SIDE of the issue……………………………………………………………...…...4 – 5 Art Piece #1: Frankenstein and his Bride………………………………......6 Art Piece #2: Dracula (Bela Lugosi from the 1931 movie)………………...…7 Question #15: FORBITTEN ROMANCE
A forbidden romance is to be forbidden from the one you love, in other words to be separated. This is a pattern shown many times throughout the book with the proposals, illnesses, death and so on. There’s a lot of space for forbidden romance to make it’s way into their lives.
The first example of forbidden romance is with Lucy and her three lovers. As you know, Quincey Morris, Jack Seward, and Arthur Holmwood all proposed to her. Obviously, they all admired her to the point where they wanted to marry her, that is pretty clearly love. She could only say yes to one of the three proposals, she chose Arthur. This represents forbidden romance as the rejected men, Quincy and Jack, were taken or separated (forbidden) from the one they loved.
The other example of a forbidden romance is between Arthur and Lucy. Although Lucy said yes to Arthur’s proposal, they didn’t last long enough to get married. They were forbidden, separated and taken from each other
The scientific revolution, also known as “The Age of Enlightenment” was a certain period of a time which changed people's thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives on religion, technology, and various other human philosophies. Long before the scientific revolution took place, there were rules that society followed where all humanity had the same, or similar thoughts and beliefs, and they were often told all the things they had to do by priests, churches, and other of the kind. This went on until approximately the 1550 to 1700’s, when the “The Age of Enlightenment” took place and changed everyone’s mindset on the aspects of human philosophies. The scientific revolution is represented in several different ways and humans don’t realize that the scientific revolution occurs everyday globally and affects us all the time. I am going to be telling you how the scientific revolution is represented in the both Dracula and Frankenstein, which are captivating, gothic horror novels.
Gothic literature is dominated by gothic horror, for instance dark and mysterious objects or events. It is a type of literature that combines fiction, horror, and romanticism. As Bram Stoker wrote his famous novel, Dracula he makes sure to include many different characteristics of gothic literature. Three important motifs that are stated in Dracula which also fit into the gothic literature category would be; blood, dreaming or nightmares, and superstition. This particular novel has many gothic motifs, but these are three that I believe really stand out.
romantic love celebrated in songs and romances of the Medieval Period. Moreover, being a code
Henry Clerval- Victor’s childhood friend; seemingly the opposite of Victor; cares about humanity and morality; killed by the monster;
In Pyramus and Thisbe, Ovid says, "They longed to marry, but their parents forbade. Love, however, cannot be forbidden," (947). In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare writes, “My only love sprung from my only hate!/Too early seen unknown, and known too late!/Prodigious birth of love it is to me,/That I must love a loathed enemy," (1.5.138-141). The parents of the two teens did not support the relationship and didn't want them to be together. In Romeo and Juliet, the hatred between their families kept them from seeing each other. Lord and Lady Capulet wanted Juliet to marry Paris, but she was in love with and married to Romeo. In Pyramus and Thisbe, their parents did not want them to be together and wouldn't let them see each other. The classic forbidden love element was very much included in these two timeless tales and was represented in these families’
Romance can be a part of someone’s life, but it isn’t always the main focus. In the article “I Can’t Think About Kissing: Strong Female Protagonists and Romance in Dystopian Young Adult Fiction”, university student Mollie Hall discusses romance in dystopian novels: “Romance is pursued, but it is a side pursuit in the female protagonist’s journey instead of the goal.” (Hall 5). This statement is true in the novel Blood Red Road by Moira Young. Saba is a girl with a plan, who has had her brother stolen from her own home. She vows to get her brother back and sets off on a journey, meeting many interesting, villainous, and kind characters. That being said, Saba finds a bit of romance. This, however, is not her main goal. This is evident during Saba’s first meeting with Jack, her need for help, and her thoughts on her relationship with Jack. To begin, the initial meeting between Saba and Jack demonstrates a romantic viewpoint in the novel. Upon seeing Jack, Saba instantly feels a sense of love from her heartstone, a necklace charm that heats up when you are near your heart’s desire:
Geoffrey Chaucer, in the text Canterbury Tale describes the love triangle by different types of how should be love, and I saw some similarities compared to now in how people see the love and how they show love to others.
The moment Skyler's blood touched her tongue Adriana was lost. The sweet nectar that flowed through her lovers veins washed over every sense the old vampire had. She drank deeply as the warmth washed through every inch of her body. It was the first time in ages Adriana had felt such heat coursing through her veins. Her lover, her wolf tasted like madness and haven all at the same time.
Evil features in both ‘Dracula’ and ‘Frankenstein’ but the personification of this evil is different in both novels. A feeling of menace and doom pervades ‘Dracula’ because of his supernatural powers. One feels that he has control of the evil and he has the power to manipulate the environment and people for his own ends. ‘Frankenstein’ centres on the creation of a monster made from parts of dead bodies and the fear created by the monster due to circumstance and the ignorance of society. Also, one feels a certain amount of apprehension that the monster is deserted by his creator and loses control without his support and guidance.
A noticeable difference in the way movies have changed over the years is evident when comparing and contrasting two films of different eras which belong to the same genre and contain the same subject matter. Two vampire movies, Dracula and Bram Stoker's Dracula, present an interesting example of this type of study.
The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer around 1386, is a collection of tale told by pilgrims on a religious pilgrimage. Two of these tales, "The Knight's Tale" and "The Wife of Bath's Tale", involve different kinds of love and different love relationships. Some of the loves are based on nobility, some are forced, and some are based on mutual respect for each partner. My idea of love is one that combines aspects from each of the tales told in The Canterbury Tales.
Today we have different customs about dating and marriage. Some things that will be talked about in this essay are the age differences between Romeo and Juliet, how older people don’t usually date people that much younger than them, and how usually people don’t want marriage commitment after only one day. In the story people don’t usually think about the age difference between Romeo and Juliet. Most people would just assume that they are the same age or at least close to it, maybe a year or two difference.
Evil never conquers because good always overcomes it. A good example of this is the book Dracula by Bram Stoker because the author expresses the nature of good vs. evil. Dracula wants to come to London because he wants to turn everyone into vampires. The basic background of the book Dracula is when Jonathan Harker, a realtor who is sent to Transylvania to complete a transaction with Dracula so he can come to England. What Harker does not know is that Dracula has a plan for world domination. Well, while Harker is on a train to Transylvania he enters “the east, a section of Europe whose peoples and customs will be for the most part, strange and unfamiliar” (Dracula, 20). Harker arrives at Bistritz on the eve of St. George’s Day,
It’s strange trying to think about these original film properties—Frankenstein and Dracula, respectively—as serious pictures, void of camp and cheese. However, most of this comes from age. It’s interesting then, watching the Hammond-era films, and trying to view them as anything remotely serious. They aren’t. However, they do, at times, manage to disguise themselves as such. In reality, these movies are no Rosemary’s Baby, but rather the birth of a new brand of gothic horror—the gore filled, B-movie, spin-off franchise films; a weird series of twisted exploitation reboots, upping the ante and upping the ridiculous names. The two things that immediately came to mind when watching these films is the obvious influence they had on the work of Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro, and Kate Bush’s song “Hammer Horror” — I admire both artists greatly, so I went in the Hammerverse with my eyes wide open.
The epistolary form of the novel consists of a narrative based on letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documentary records. It helps to bring realism into the narrative by lacing it with personal and historical references. It helps to add believability by incorporating a variety of perspectives on the events and characters in the novel. This form works for Dracula because the log of the ship captain and the diary entries of Jonathan Harker provide personal witness accounts to prove that the events are real as opposed to imaginary. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster are a novel composed nearly entirely of letters by the orphan Jerusha Abbott to her benefactor John Smith. The form helps to record the growth of the character over the years.