Bram Stokers Novel Dracula example essay topic

Bram Stokers "Dracula" an oral presentation Good Morning / Afternoon Today I will review Bram stokers' 1897 novel Dracula, the approaches I will be using to reviewing the novel include the world centred approach, and the reader response approach exploring the themes of reader positioning and the authors in tented reading and reader, then focusing on the world centred approach of the feminist theory. reader centred-attention on the reader-different readers from different social, cultural, religious backgrounds eat, will being and interpret different meaning to text, reflecting from there own backgrounds and life experiences-perception of real life and the way the text presents personal or human life experiences world centred approach-derives from a range of sources-Marxist-feminist-post colonel and past structuralist theories-covers universal themes... e.g. war, love, hate, good vs. evil. First we must look at Dracula from the reader response approach, Wolfgang Is er said: 'A text can only come to life when it is read, and if it is to be examined, it must therefore be studied through the eyes of the reader " This realism of this quote is evident within Bram Stokers' Dracula. As we are introduced to Stokers' characters they appear to almost come to life, with the majority of the novel being told in the form of journal entries and letters by the main characters Jonathan, mina, and Dr Seward, through the other characters opinions and descriptions we are positioned through, and purely by the authors intended reading to obtain the negative feelings that the tittle character "Dracula" although his appearance in the text are few, the reader is immediately brought aware of the threat of his supernatural presence which is evident throughout the novel, an example of this is in a quote from the text describing dracula's' unnatural presence, the description is as follows "His eyes were positively blazing, . The red light in them was lurid, as if the flames of hell-fire blazed behind them. His face was deathly pale, and the lines of it were hard like drawn wires, the thick eyebrows that met over the nose now seemed like a heaving bar of white hot metal". Unlike Dracula the human and moral characters created to appeal to the reader, within each character are characteristic are present that the reader can no doubt find and relate to people in there lives.

Stokers' characters included Jonathan Harker is a young English lawyer, who is sent to his firm to transylvania to complete a real estate agreement with Dracula, The readers will relate with Johnathan as he is a strong willed and desire his physical weakness compared to that of dracula he continues to fight against all odds to protect Mina from dracula, Now once Jonathan arrives at the count castle, the count seems welcoming and insist for him to stay longer to teach him about English customs... eventually Jonathan becomes aware that he is actually a prisoner and barely escapes with his life, the reader is soon aware of the relationships between the character and their attention is firstly brought to the relationship between Jonathan and Mina. Mina Murray is Jonathans' fiancee and later into the novel they wed, Mina is the heroine she is presented as a practical woman, working as a school teacher, the reader may relate to her personally through personal experience. Mina during the novel is victimized by dracula, Mina represents to the reader purity, innocence and religious faith. Slowly the relationships between the characters become evident we find Minas' best friend Miss Lucy Westenra, Is the counts first victim.

Lucy is as an attractive, flirtatious woman, who is the interest of three young men who are also so of the character there is John Seward a young doctor, and the administrator of an asylum located near dracula's English home. Arthur Holmwood a man of wealth, Who becomes Lucy's' fiancee and a close friend to her other suitors, Then her final suitor Quincey Morris, readers perceive this man as a plain-spoken American man, who is also good friends to Mr Holmwood and Mr Seward. And then off course there is R enfield who is a patient at Seward Asylum, who has a strange habit of consuming living creatures, insects, spiders, bird... this habit allows him to be seduced into serving dracula. Within the novel the reader at may times conceive different ideas to the over all themes" of the text due to many outside factors, such as social factors, education and cultural backgrounds play a major role in the reader centred approach of reading and analysis of a text. But the most obvious reading that is shown numerously throughout the novel, it the perception of religion. The topic of religion Christian and anti-Christian is evident many times within the novel it is a looming element such as the presence of the count... it is always there, the first encounter with this is shown when Jonathan Harker is travelling to the counts castle, on his way he is met by several locals, once he has told them of his destination, they cross themselves and make other superstitious actions.

This is Where on of the Locals a women... presents Jonathan with a crucifix, this is the very same crucifix that save Jonathan from the count when he cuts himself shaving, dracula lunges for his throat, but stops and shuns away when he sees the crucifix around jonathans neck. Jonathan and Mina, especially Mina, as I have said in this novel represent Christian beliefs, purity and innocent while Dracula, is the opposite he is the image of anti-Christian. One example of this is that Dracula had several of the powers that Christians believe that no one but God could control, such as the weather, animals, he could change form and disappear into thin air. Christian believe that Consuming the body and blood of Christ will give them ever lasting life, as Dracula consumers the blood of the living to give himself everlasting life, The word or Name of Dracula also meaning "devil", So it soon Becomes apparent that the portray el of religion positioned the reader to a intended reading from that perspective.

There are many other theme that are evident within Stokers" Dracula... which brings us to the second part of the review focusing on the world centred theory including a in depth look at the novel from a feminist approach in literature. After religion the universal themes that are evident in the novel are that of good against evil, love and the topic which I wish to discuss female roles. In Bram Stokers novel Dracula, women are portrayed as either weak and easily seduced by the vampires powers or evil seductress and sexual beings... when Jonathan is left by the count, I his castle to die he finds himself confronted with 3, one of the women is described by Jonathan in this encounter "The girl went on her knees, and bent over me, simply gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal...

". Jonathan describes her as been voluptuous, a word that can be used or interpreted as something which he desired. Mina somewhat falls into the category of weak and submissive to the count although she contributes to him defeat him in the end... Mina describes herself as "heroic" (98) yet she is shown within the text to several times be drawn by the counts power.

The character Lucy is also portrayed as a sexual benign or something that men wish to possess, she has three male suitors and is described as looking "sweet as ever", and other constant description depicting her beauty as if she would be meaning less without it. Lucy was Dracula first victim, she was weak and easily taken under the power of the vampire, with evidently caused her death... , only to have her rise days later, , Lucy was transformed into a again bringing upon the sexual role of the vampires ses throughout the novel, this is shown in the text when the three men are waiting for Lucy to rise from her tomb so that they may killer the evil un-dead seductress Lucy and put her soul to rest, when she returns Lucy attempts to lure Arthur to her, using her power of seduction. To concluded the main role of women through out Bram Stokers novel, is that of and evil, sexually aggressive being, and the only triumph that is achieved by women during the book is when Mina help to destroy the count... thank-you for your time and your patience.