ipl-logo

How Does Jonathan Harker Build Suspense In Dracula

566 Words3 Pages

Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' characterizes the preface of a cult-fostering generation - It remains descriptive of a time capsule engaging with the convention and popular broodings of the Victorian era lasting through 1837 to 1901. It was an era of primitive, antediluvian notions and demeanors. The novel, in its entirety, is set in Transylvania - a place which typically harbors suspense and a loom of double-stitched ambiguity. The book was written in the form of individual journal entries which prepended a sense of idiosyncratic connections for the readers to be acquainted with. The extract analyzed is Jonathan Harker's entry from the 5th of May. Harker kickstarts the chapter as a seemingly ingenuous traveler unaware of the details entailing his current location. His vulnerability to the setting is displayed when he says, "What sort of place had I come to, and among what kind of people? What sort of grim adventure was it on which I had embarked?" Harker constantly puts his current condition to examination by constantly questioning himself dubiously which inscribes in the passage, a carving of unfathomable suspense in the mind of the reader. His instinctive uneasiness depicted in the earliest epoch, sets the scene for the rest of the book's proceedings. …show more content…

He disappoints himself when he bestirs himself into back into the Carpathians having to wait for dawn to escape this nightmarish purgatory. To exceed this cumulation of intimidating events, the writer makes use of onomatopoeia ("rattling chains", "clanking of massive bolts" and "long grating noise of great disuse") to foment among the readers, a visible need to approach the episode with great vigilance. Sounds are made use of to cloud the initial judgement of the reader consequently making them a burnt offering to the predatorial suspense in the

Open Document