In Dracula multiple characters join together to defeat the vampire, with each individual bringing their unique skills to the group. Van Helsing, the expert, knows how to defeat the Count, Mina brings her observation skills and her ability as a writer, and Quincey Morris is an experienced hunter. In his article, “It Takes Capital to Defeat Dracula,” Richard Coe examines the motely group to find a uniting characteristic. Coe concludes that the rational, “bourgeois” characteristics of Stocker’s heroes allow them to defeat the medieval, emotional monster.
To support his claim Coe uses different types of evidence. He first uses contextual evidence to closely analyze the characters. Coe states that in Dracula the “conquerors are wealthy, rational
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Van Helsing and his group are like digital communication. This communication is the basis of verbal language, the “basic structure of capitalism,” and connected to “the logic of Western rationalism” (237). Dracula, in contrast, is similar to analog communication, which Coe states is the type of communication that cannot be verbalized. It includes “body language, voice inflections, and rhythm” (237). More emotional and artistic, analog is connected to metaphorical and symbolic language. Coe believes analog communication “is a type of communication typically ignored, repressed and/or denigrated by educated Western males” …show more content…
Money plays an important role in the novel and the characters mention money multiple times as a great asset in their fight against the Count. To explain why the victors of Dracula need wealth, Coe takes a brief look into the history of Western capitalism. Many countries, like England, Spain, and Portugal, accumulated great wealth during the ages of exploration and colonialism. The trick to being successful was to make sure a country’s consumption does not outweigh its profit and investment. In order to prosper the country’s people need rational thought and self-control. Coe believes England, unlike Spain and Portugal, was able to exert control and wisely use and invest its wealth. The majority of the heroes in Dracula are English and have available wealth to use in the fight against the vampire. The wealth represents the rational control and power of the Western men. They need it to fight the chaotic influences of