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Dracula By Bram Stoker: The Gothic Elements Of The Gothic Era

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Dracula For a long period of time, literature was focused on real life circumstances often lacking sinister characteristics. During the Gothic Era, literature began to take a turn towards the dark side. Stories written during this period were filled with terror, isolation and darkness. The presence of supernatural beings and experiences were incorporated in to these writings as well. Stories written during the Gothic Era have a dark nature to them. One story that highlights the prime elements of the Gothic Era is Dracula by Bram Stoker. Dracula incorporates the themes of the Gothic Era all throughout the book. Dracula is filled with settings that are isolated, dark, and sinister which are important characteristics of the Gothic Era. It …show more content…

Many of the stories written during the Gothic Era include supernatural creatures like vampires, werewolves, and witches. Along with supernatural creatures, paranormal activity was introduced during this period. Dracula includes many supernatural beings that play an important role in the story. Dracula is about a vampire named Count Dracula. At the time, people didn't much about supernatural creatures. This book revealed many new ideas about these creatures that are still believed today. Dracula brought about the idea that vampires drink human blood. It made clear that all vampires ever crave is blood. It also stated that vampires are the undead. This means that vampires are no longer living, but they haven't found eternal peace either. Dracula also taught us the way to slay a vampire, a stake through the heart. Van Helsing said, "I shall cut off her head and fill her mouth with garlic, and I shall drive a stake through her body" (126 Stoker). This is the only way a vampire can be killed and find eternal peace. Vampires are also known to be immortal, meaning they can live forever unless killed by a stake in the heart. Lastly, vampires are ruthless and will kill anything without any regard. Overall, the presence of supernatural beings in Dracula are very significant and are a major part of the Gothic

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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,

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The topic I have chosen for my essay is how Dracula is meant to remind society of the importance of religion, specifically Christianity, in Stoker’s time. I intend to do this through analyzing symbols in Dracula, drawing connections between these symbols and Christianity, and analyzing the implications Stoker attempts to make. I chose this topic because vampires and their sacrilegious implications, such as burning when touching a cross, have always been of interest to me, hence why I chose to study Dracula in the first place. My thesis is: Stoker uses Count Dracula as symbol to represent what society may become if they abandon religious beliefs.

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