The Transition of Vampires from 1897 to 2006
Anai Rios Alcala
English IV
Mrs. Proctor
May 8, 2017 What are vampires? Well there are many myths out in the whole world of vampires. Vampires are creatures that are dead yet still walk among the living; all vampires have fangs, they are afraid of the sunlight, they can shape-shift and they drink the blood of their victims. People say vampires are human corpses that return from the grave to harm living and others say they are not humans at all that vampires are supernatural, demonic creatures and not human form. What is evil? Evil is what is morally wrong, sinful, or wicked. Vampires can be categorized as evil as said in the article “What’s Evil, Anyway?” by Cole Bowman. Vampires
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In this novel Dracula’s interaction with other humans is not great because he never goes out of his castle unless he has an evil plan against someone. Dracula has been described in many ways as a young man or even as an old grumpy man. In this book, Bram Stoker described Dracula by stating, “Within, stood all man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere”. He described a man who looked neat and clean but with no color as in he looked pale. As we get to know more of Dracula’s appearance in this novel he seems more unique and not so much like a human. (Stoker 160). The writer also stated, “His face was a strong-a very strong-aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils.... cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth”. (Stoker 18). Back in the old centuries people really did not know how vampires looked but now in modern days as we hear the word vampires we imagine a man dressed in black with pale skin and sharp teeth. Count Dracula was seen an evil creature who bit people and took their soul. What is the description of a perfect man? A perfect man is someone who cares about his love one and protects his more precious person in the world. In the book “Twilight” Edward Cullen can be described as a perfect man by Bella. When Bella and Edward met, she did not know who he really was. They both had a connection towards each
Bram Stokers, Dracula, from the late-Victorian era, is one of the best stories of vampire folklore. Dracula was tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious with immense sexual character. His snow white teeth which outlined his rosy red lips made us fantasize of him and ultimately become obsessed. The overwhelming fascination of Stoker’s novel has created individuals to overlook the true metaphoric mechanism behind the story. “Technologies of Monstrosity: Bram Stoker’s “Dracula””, Judith Halberstam points out the metaphor in which Dracula was created.
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
To start off, the manner Arnold Friend and Dracula 's facial and physiological traits are described allow us to compare how monstrous they really are. The Count is said to be a tall thin old man with a shaved face, except for his heavy mustache. His face is a strong aquiline with a high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils. Stoker notes that his ears are pale and pointed, his chin is broad and strong and his cheeks firm and thin. There is an insistence on Dracula 's mouth that is fixed and cruel-looking with sharp white teeth that protruded over his vital-looking lips. His eyebrows are massive, almost meeting over his nose and he has bushy hair that grows around his temples and his lofty domed forehead. Another element that is focused on in Stoker 's novel is the vampire 's extreme pallor. This description is not particularly frightening since we immediately know the character is a monster : he does not look human at all and is not hiding it. There is no place for
The illumination of cues and clues regarding Dracula begin following Harker’s declaration: “I am a prisoner!” (32). Firstly, the question of Dracula’s curious actions and presence is prevalent. According to Harker, he has “not seen the Count eat or drink” during his entire stay (31). This is particular, and when tied in with Dracula’s “demoniac fury” and the fact here was “no reflection of him in the mirror” when Harker cuts himself shaving present an image of a creature which the Transylvanian peasantry warned against earlier (31). However, this idea is quickly repressed when contrasted with Dracula’s humanistic attributes of education and culture. The reader then questions Dracula’s motives in learning about England and his want to blend, not to be known “for a stranger” (26). The immediate impression is that he wants to adapt and become independent in the new society and, being that independence is considered important, his goals are thought to be good. Secondly, “the story of his race” is peculiar
In the novel Dracula, Dracula is supposed to be a fictional character. A character who came out of a person’s dream or a nightmare. Dracula is a character who is technically dead and is most powerful once the sun has set. He lives only by drinking the blood of humans. In addition, he also kills them and transforms them into a vampire. He is on a mission to conquer England by making people into vampires. In the film version of Dracula, Dracula says to Mina “I have crossed oceans of time to find you” (Coppola). In the movie, Dracula becomes a vampire after his wife commits suicide by jumping into a river. As a result he was heartbroken. He nails his sword on the holy cross and asks God to live only on blood. After centuries he comes back to life after he is dead to find his
Parts of this description may fit what is projected in ones mind when picturing the count, but other parts are quite different. For example the pointy teeth, red lips, and pale skin are expected. However, the Dracula in the movies is not often sporting a thick moustache. As the book continues, the count begins to frighten Jonathan. Dracula is always absent during the day, and once while Jonathan was shaving Dracula came in and startled him resulting in a cut on Jonathan’s cheek. At the sight of the blood Dracula attacked him only stopping when he saw the crucifix hanging on his neck. Strange events continue to occur throughout the book. Jonathan finds Dracula in a box during the day either asleep or dead. Three women try to drink Jonathan’s blood but Dracula gives them a baby instead. Then, the next day a woman comes to the castle wailing for her baby and gets eaten by wolves. Jonathan is
Dracula may be blood-curdling but he is not that frightening, to say the least. Just as Jonathan Harker (a lawyer) entered the barren castle in the outskirts of Transylvania, a strange but unique looking man answered the door, and here are Harker’s thoughts: “Within stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere” (Stoker 20). As one can see, Stoker really is trying to emphasize his notion of vampire qualities. Once again, Jonathan recollects his thoughts saying:
Another theory I would like to apply to Dracula is that he is a psychopath. When I went through the checklist for his personality or character traits, I scored him as a 28, which is above the consensus ranking by doctors of 26 points. In terms of his superficial charm, I scored him with a two. I did this because the book describes him as a clever man, with above average intelligence, as a likable conversationalist; even in the conversation he had with the peasant before killing his wife, he was described as being emotionally calm with little discomfort. For his sense of self-worth I scored him with a one. I picked this answer because while he didn’t brag about his abilities, he often gave off the feeling that he believed that he was better than the people
According to Dictonary.com a vampire can be described as, “A preternatural being, commonly believed to be a reanimated corpse, which is said to suck the blood of sleeping persons at night.” Dracula fits into that definition of a vampire perfectly, because vampires are essentially dead people that came back to life to drink other people’s blood, and that is exactly what Dracula does in the story. He goes around capturing any victim that he could possibly get, Jonathan would be a prime example, although he did not completely get him. Furthermore, Dracula makes people think that vampires have to be exactly the same and act the same way. It sets the way for modern day television and movies. Although Stoker didn’t create the concept of
Dracula looked different, he was pale, had sharp teeth, white hair, pointy ears, and people were afraid of him because he looked evil. Anyone that passed through the cities were judged on their appearances and labeled good or evil. The novel is frightening because of the point of view. It was
‘All along, since his coming, been trying his power, slowly but surely; the big child brain of his is working” Bram Stoker also made him the most powerful character in the novel but that does not mean did not have its weaknesses but yet he still gets more powerful as he kills. "When the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demoniac fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat. I drew away, and his hand touched the string of beads which held the crucifix. It made an instant change in him, for the fury passed so quickly that I could hardly believe that it was ever there." (Chapter 2, pg.28) The purpose of Dracula is to create fear in the reader and to make the novel a bit more intense to the reader. But yet all information Bram Stoker gives us we still do not know everything about Dracula. Yes, we know he is evil but Dracula still is a very mysterious character in the novel. All we know about Dracula is that he is evil and his purpose is to take over the world as he has done for many years and taken the blood of many brave races in his past. "in [his] veins flows the blood of many brave races" (p. 28). Stoker takes a significant of blood and twist the meaning into his own meaning of blood. “The blood is the life!” (171:12)
But this horrifying haunt kept readers looking over their shoulders with his despicably wicked ways. Unlike any other vampire of that time, Count Dracula rose to a level of infamy which has lasted for over one hundred years. Like the Wallachian Prince Vlad Dracula, Count Dracula possessed the same “heavy mustache” and terrifying aura (Dracula pg. 16). Even the historical Dracula had a taste for human blood for “as he dined beneath impaled bodies, he dipped his bread in the blood flowing down the hideous spikes, while his servants collected blood in a cup from which the prince drank with great enjoyment” (Searching for the Real Dracula pg.
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
The characters in Dracula are very Gothic. Dracula is the most important antagonist in the novel. Dracula is a very if not the most interesting Gothic character ever created. He like all vampires casts no shadow and possesses no reflection. Dracula cannot die by the mere passing of time for he is
On the other hand, in anime or drama show that dracula or vampire has a handsome or pretty look. For example from anime Vampire Knight. So our mindset about dracula is a man that like to eat flesh and bad person. Firstly, from fact that I found dracula is really exist.