ipl-logo

Comparison Of Dr. Seward And Renfield In Dracula By Bram Stoker

556 Words3 Pages

Has one ever seen a pale, shadowy figure in real life before? Dracula is a suspenseful novel written by Bram Stokers and readers delight in the fact that there are characters with many differences in personality, in attitude, or even in appearance. A prominent example of two characters is Dr. Seward and Renfield. They differ in how they see the world and in how they think.
First, Dr. Seward has a professional medical background and is recognized as a reasonable man. Part of being reasonable is being loyal; to be a reasonable friend, one must be loyal. Dr. Seward displayed loyalty in the case of Lucy choosing his best friend, Holmwood, instead of him (Stokers 19). It was a kind gesture to treat the girl who denied him and chose his best friend with gentleness and not showing her any sort of malicious intent. Also, Dr. Seward is a man of action. Is this what made him a doctor or is this because he knows how to rise to the occasion? In one situation, Dr. Seward saves Van Helsing from blood poisoning by stopping it from spreading just in time (Stokers 76). Dr. Seward can be described as a good friend and a man who takes action. The way he sees the world and how he thinks is based on the fact the he sees a problem and works to seek out the solution. …show more content…

Seward. In the novel, Renfield lives in an insane asylum and Dr. Seward is his doctor. Readers are given information on how he interacts with other objects and how he views things. For example, Renfield believes that it is alright to eat flies, spiders, and any other living thing. Stokers uses the word “zoophagous” to describe Renfield’s behavior. Renfield is not as sane as Dr. Seward because he acts out of a belief that he will get benefits because he is a servant to Dracula. Unlike Seward, Renfield only lives to satisfy Dracula in what he does because he is “here to do [his] bidding (Stokers

Show More
Related

Comparison And Contrast To The Play Dracula By Bram Stoker

337 Words | 2 Pages

Last weekend I attended the play Dracula, based on the novel of the same title by Bram Stoker. This version was a moveable play by Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, located in nearby Ellicott City in the Ruins. Already having read the book, I noticed many differences between the book Dracula and the play itself being a moveable play made it a different, and very enjoyable, experience. In one part, the characters are inside their house, and one part of the building looks like a house. When they move outside, instead of changing around the set in the one room, they will move the entire play, including the audience, outside the building, adding a completely different setting.

Read More

Theme Of Deception In Bram Stoker's Dracula

778 Words | 4 Pages

Dracula’s deceitful traits carry over to his victims that become

Read More

Vlad The 3rd Vs Vlad The Impaler

1123 Words | 5 Pages

In XXXX, Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, the story of a monstrous Transylvanian count who terrorized local villages and fed on the peasants who lived in them. The book is today widely recognized as a historically significant literary work, and its importance has caused many scholars to debate whether Bram Stoker’s main character Dracula was actually inspired by real historical figures. Many scholars believe that Vlad the 3rd or Vlad the Impaler was the direct inspiration for Count Dracula. Vlad the 3rd was the son of King Vlad the 2nd Dracul and as Prince, was the heir to the Wallachian throne. He was born during the year of 1431 and died during a battle in December 1476.

Read More

Renfield In Bram Stoker's Dracula

600 Words | 3 Pages

Although Renfield is viewed as evil and an extremely creepy character I feel as though we can’t entirely blame him. Dracula had him under some kind of control and kept empty promises to him and abused this power and used Renfield for his doings. Imagine being stuck under this kind of control doing awful tasks all because you had been promised eternal life, it would begin to drive you mad. He was so caught up in wanting to live forever he was willing to do whatever it took until he finally broke and sacrificed himself for Mina and himself. So is Renfield really

Read More

Analysis Of Blood In Bram Stoker's Dracula

527 Words | 3 Pages

In the book Dracula, blood is displaying how creatures can fight over the thing that they need the most. Blood makes both the humans and the vampires fight each other because it is the thing that both of the creatures need the most. When Dr. Seward goes to check on Renfield, he cuts his wrist which is lets blood out and sees Renfield “lick up the blood like a dog” and also hears Renfield say “’the blood is life’”(Stoker 171 ). The journal entry from Dr. Seward lets the reader see how the vampires need blood to survive because Seward is observing Renfield at the asylum. Renfield is a good example of the behaviors of vampires because he is being influenced by Count Dracula and being transformed into vampire.

Read More

How Does Bram Stoker Use Scientific Knowledge In Dracula

775 Words | 4 Pages

Seward approach Miss Lucy’s case using different thought processes, Van Helsing using the supernatural realm and Dr. Seward relying on scientific knowledge. When Miss Lucy became ill, Van Helsing seemed to be guarding some information about her diagnosis, for fear that no one would believe him, including Dr. Seward. These two medical professionals represent figures of scientific knowledge and reason; however, the reader quickly realizes the limitations of this realm in the case of Miss Lucy. For example, Lucy’s health declines after her mother removes the garlic from her room because she “feared that the heavy odour would be too much for the dear child in her weak state” (Stoker 126). Such a non-traditional practice would seem superstitious in comparison to modern medicine, so it makes sense that her mother would not understand the purpose of the flowers.

Read More

Renfield In Bram Stoker's Dracula

1367 Words | 6 Pages

In Stoker’s novel Dracula, Renfield is a patient in Dr. Seward’s mental asylum who has a desire to gain the life of small, living organisms (e.g., flies, spiders, and rats) by consuming their souls. Although the purpose of Renfield’s character may be considered irrelevant to the central plot of Dracula, it is of utmost significance. To elaborate, the Renfield sub-plot functions as an “abstract representation for a better understanding” and in-depth knowledge to the character of Count Dracula through Renfield’s actions (Dracula). According to Gray, the character of Renfield “parallels aspects of Dracula 's livelihood,” such as his need to consume life. The dark relationship that Renfield and Dracula share is evident in the scene when Renfield

Read More

Modern Medicine In Dracula

1463 Words | 6 Pages

Topic: What role does modern medicine and science play in the defeat of Dracula? Many critics argue that the fin-de-siècle revival of the Gothic was connected with anxieties about contemporary scientific discourses (Byron 50). These anxieties are at the heart of Bram Stoker’s gothic novel Dracula (1897). Set predominantly in Victorian England, the novel tells the story of “The Crew of Light”, who must subordinate their beliefs in modern medicine, science and rationality in order to defeat the mysterious Count Dracula. Stoker employs Dutch scientist, philosopher and metaphysician, Abraham Van Helsing, in order to explore this tension between contemporary scientific discourses and the traditional.

Read More

Religion And Religion In Dracula

1688 Words | 7 Pages

Truth and Progress: Reconciling Religion and Rationalism to Defeat Dracula Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula deals heavily with the theme of religion and faith, and, framed in the context of a fantastic struggle against an evil vampire, explores a controversy about religion which dominated its contemporary Victorian period—the debate between Christian religion and modern rationalism, an ideology fuelled by recent scientific advancements which provoked religious doubt. Literary critics tend to attempt to fit Dracula to one side or the other of this Victorian debate, but the novel’s position is difficult to discern, as instances of faith versus reason are not presented in binary opposition—neither side is marked as discernibly good or bad. What

Read More

Gender Roles In Bram Stoker's Dracula

1350 Words | 6 Pages

At first glance, the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker appears to be a typical gothic horror novel set in the late 1890s that gives readers an exciting look into the fight between good and evil. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that Dracula is a statement piece about gender roles and expectations for men and women during the Victorian age. Looking at the personalities, actions, and character development of each of the characters in Dracula bring to light startling revelations about Victorian society and how Stoker viewed the roles of men and women during this time period. To really understand Dracula, it is important to note that this novel was written during a time “of political and social upheaval, with anxieties not just about the

Read More

The Importance Of Dracula In Stoker's Dracula

1253 Words | 6 Pages

Gothic horror novel Dracula, the title character makes only several relatively short appearances, some of which are while in disguise. Throughout the novel, Stoker keeps Count Dracula in the shadows, both literally and figuratively. This essay will describe these appearances and analyze Stoker’s use of them to determine what effect they might have on the impression of the character and the novel overall. It will be claimed that by keeping his title character hidden for much of the novel, Stoker’s Dracula is made much more frightening to the reader. Human beings tend to fear the unknown, and by leaving Dracula to the imagination,

Read More

Dracula Movie And Book Comparison

1495 Words | 6 Pages

However, it was unlikely that anyone would kill Dracula especially in a country such as England which the doctor explained. The doctor let this be known when he assumed, “The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him” (Browning). The doctor knew that people were unlikely to kill Dracula in England because people did not think that the myth of a vampire could be true. The Doctor knew that English people did not believe that the folklores were true but the doctor believed in the folklores and knew that the stories of Dracula were true. The doctor knew that something had to be done so the doctor convinced everyone that it was time to kill Dracula.

Read More

Fear In Dracula

811 Words | 4 Pages

“Fear can challenge our sense of humanity and understanding of the world” This is a broad statement and in a book with over 300 pages, I will be focusing on certain parts in each of the books. Proving that fear can and really does challenge our sense of humanity and understanding in the world, from the start of the book where they tried to make up a rational solution to make this all seem like it wasn’t real, to actively fight against the evil they had so vehemently protested against existing. Bram stokers 19th-century fictitious Gothic novel 'Dracula ' is incredibly complex with many different characters from the meek and underestimated Mina, to the courageous and respected Van Helsing.

Read More

Dracula The Impaler Analysis

197 Words | 1 Pages

The preferences and worldviews held by the people living in Transylvania were not similar to the benefits of modern day England. As Count Dracula says, “We are in Transylvania, and Transylvania is not England. Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things,” (Stoker 23). Dracula is an Eastern European aristocrat and part of an antiquated economic system while the several protagonists in the novel are advanced capitalists and alleged meritocracy of Victorian England. Certain characters in the book represent the classes present in England at that time.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Dracula And Twilight's Vampire

1017 Words | 5 Pages

Doubtless he created a model for the classical vampire which was developed by the ages. In 21st century Stephanie Meyer composed a romantic book using modificated vamp creatures. Mixture of classical personality of the villain and born in her dream figures of perfection. Described earlier differences present how vampires changed during time. In spite of all I cannot deny both ‘Dracula’ and ‘Twilight’ turned out to be World phenomenon.

Read More

More about Comparison Of Dr. Seward And Renfield In Dracula By Bram Stoker

Related Topics

Open Document