Essay about Dracula vs Van Helsing - 958 Words

Dracula reflects both Bram Stoker’s context and his interest in controversial ideas. Use ‘Dracula’ and ‘Van Helsing’ to demonstrate what concepts and concerns have endured and how they have been represented in both texts. JUSTIN LIANG Dracula ( novel) written by Bram stoker is a text which reflects its English Victorian era context, where gender roles were repressed and science and religion had a conflicting relationship. Van Helsing (Stephen Summers) is a contemporary reproduction which demonstrates the same concepts and concerns that have endured but evolved, and so they have been represented for the modern day audience. The evolution of the concern of Gender roles and the idea of the new woman is very obvious through the†¦show more content†¦She is armed, and ready to hunt the deadliest monsters of Transylvania, something the men in the novel would not dare to do. The gothic convention follows the idea that female protagonist needs constant protection and being rescued by the male is still clearly incorporated in the text. Even though Anna, is depicted as a beautiful and physically strong girl.she still needs protection by others, but the difference between the original convention and the contemporary view is that she is not completely weak but not as strong as the male protagonist, Van Helsing. This reflects the contemporary Van Helsing context. During the Victorian era, The growth in science and technology was dramatic and challenged religious theories. One discovery that is eloquently evinced in the story is Darwin’s theory of Evolution, which reflects the novels context as it was a controversial issue of the era. This theory is thought to be the transformation of populations in the struggle for survival as the ones with the â€Å"best† characteristics will be more likely to survive, and those desirable traits are likely to be passed off to offspring. Early in the novel, as Harker becomes more uncomfortable with his lodgings and his host at castle Dracula, he notes, â€Å"unless my senses deceive me, the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own in which mere modernity cannot kill† Here, Harker states one of the central concerns of the Victorian Era: Supernatural,Show MoreRelatedDracula Archibald Constable And Company 261217 Words   |  5 Pages1) Stoker, Bram. Dracula Archibald Constable and Company 26 May 1897, EBook 2) Copyright Date 1897, Horror fiction/Gothic fiction. This story was written in the 15th Century, during the Victorian time period. The three characteristics it portrays are good and evil, not to judge someone before you know them and man vs. himself 3) Man Vs. Himself There are clear clashes between characters; in any case, the focal clash is amongst man and his feelings of trepidation. Dracula really speaks to malice;Read More Dracula by Bram Stoker Essay1728 Words   |  7 Pagesbecause 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 trainRead MoreAnalysis Of Dracul Old Vampire / Nobleman From Transylvania1622 Words   |  7 PagesCharacters: Count Dracula: Old vampire/Nobleman from Transylvania, lives in the Carpathian Mountains, evil, can transform into a bat and is very strong, powerless during the day or when he’s not welcomed in someone’s house, cannot cross water = needs to be on some other transportation like a boat Jonathan Harker: A solicitor that is sent to the castle oversee the plans of Dracula’s purchase of an estate in London, naive and young, trapped inside Dracula’s castle, wants to escape and tries to, braveRead MoreAnalysis Of Dracula By Bram Stoker1434 Words   |  6 PagesThe story of vampires throughout the years has been one of horror and fear. Bram Stoker’s, Dracula, takes this legend and uses it to show how this tremendous source of evil reaffirms the promise of Christianity. Once Dracula comes into their lives, the characters must fight to save people, particularly women, from being turned into vampires. Being a vampire means a life of servitude to both death and damnation. Recognizing a dangerous entity like this, means risking their lives as a mean of protectingRead MoreThe Setting Of Dracula By William Shakespeare1155 Words   |  5 PagesActivity 1 The setting of Dracula took place in Transylvania at Castle Dracula and travels over to Whitby. The author decided to pick this place because this was the birthplace of the Dracula stories. By using this it connected more with the original stories of Dracula instead of taking it somewhere else and make it more of a duplicate. While reading this book it made me feel like I was up and close to Dracula. If the setting would have taken place in a different place it would just have been anotherRead MoreFemininity Vs. Masculinity, By Bram Stoker s Dracula2081 Words   |  9 PagesFemininity Vs. Masculinity Vincent D’Onofrio said â€Å"To me the definition of true masculinity and femininity, too – is being able to lay in your own skin comfortably.† In other words, male can’t be too masculine and female can be too feminine, but both qualities can show though any human because of how we act and our emotions. In Bram Stoker, Dracula, each character faces difficult obstacles between the lines of being all man or facing the structures of being a woman. With the help of two criticalRead MoreAnalysis Of Bram Stoker s Dracula1448 Words   |  6 PagesDracula is a widely known novel written by Bram Stoker in 1897. It is popular worldwide for its intense love story and backstory of the infamous Count Dracula. Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1847. As a child, he was very ill, so in an attempt to entertain himself, he read several books and listened to the horror stories his mother told him. In turn, Stoker became interested in ghost stories and began writing them . Gothic fiction was a genre that was extremely popular during this time periodRead MoreThe Old Vampire Trend : Bram Stoker s Dracula1856 Words   |  8 PagesThe old vampire trend, so very 2000s or so very 1890s? In 1897, Bram Stoker took central European folk tales and turned them into one of the most famous horror books of all time. Stoker s Dracula isn t young and sparkly-hot; he s creepy, old, and likes turning into bats and clouds of mist. Just like today, vampires in 1897 stood in for a lot of contemporary fears and anxieties. This is a novel that took a pretty obscure folk tale creep and skyrocketed him into fame and everlasting pop-culturalRead MoreGothic Horror : The Epic Battle Of Good Versus Evil2409 Words   |  10 Pagesit† (Dittmer 1). The theme in Dracula is that classic Gothic theme of the epic battle of good versus evil. â€Å"In this novel this is expressed in a very direct way, there is never any question as to who is right and who is wrong. According to Duran â€Å"it can be clearly seen the protagonists on the side of good have many endearing qualities while the antagonists on the side of evil have a pact with Lucifer and are of the purest evil† (mikeduran.com). Bram Stokers Dracula demonstrates how religion can influenceRead More Victorian Gothic Literature: Scientific vs. Medieval Thinking1751 Words   |  8 PagesVictorian Gothic Literature: Scientific vs. Medieval Thinking      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Creatures of the night have always held a fascination and horror for people in all cultures. The English fascination with sensational and gothic literature came to a peak, after slacking slightly following the Romantic period, in the late Victorian period with such works as Dracula, The Strange Adventures of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. The literate populace avidly devoured this type of literature