More handpicked essays just for you.
Characteristics of monsters in literature
An essay on depiction of monsters in literature
The history of the vampire
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Characteristics of monsters in literature
Over the years, monsters have changed from beasts to humanoid creatures in order to teach humanity to avoid certain thoughts, actions, behaviors and even people. About twenty years ago, before Twilight and the modern version of Dracula played by Orlando Bloom, vampires were always depicted as the evils of society and commonly represented as the lower chains of the social class that acted as parasites to the upper and middle classes. According to Lane’s article, “There Goes the Neighborhood,” she explains how a book written in the mid-1950’s called I Am Legend, depicts the vampires in the story as the low-class colored people of society. Because of the lower class being represented as the evil monsters of society, they were resented and discriminated against. But recently, vampires are now categorized as the rich and white upper-class people.
Civilians feared the invasion of outsiders into their countries. They feared that newcomers would taint the pompous culture that they had worked so hard to create. This was especially true when it came to the mindset of Western Europeans. Both vampires come from Eastern Europe, which was looked down upon by the Westerners for being less established
Bram Stoker, describes one of the verbal taboos of the Victorian era, violence, through the representation of vampires as “monsters” through the point of view of their victims in his novel Dracula. Stoker portrays violence in three distinct categories- physical, visual and psychological. Each one of these categories is described by one of the antagonists in the Novel, with Count Dracula as the physical aspect of violence, his underlings, the female vampires as the visual and Renfield, the patient at Dr. Seward’s mental asylum, as the psychological aspect of violence. This essay looks at the portrayal of such Categorical violence as different renditions of a “monster” and considers why Stoker would segregate violence in such a manner.
Gothic fiction has been around for centuries and many great works were created with gothic fiction being the main role. “The Vampyre” by John William Polidori is amongst one of the most famous works under the gothic fiction genre. In “The Vampyre” reflects several themes which also reflect current real life problems and issues of the 19th century. Those themes that are going to be discussed are time and place, power, sexual power, the uncanny, the sublime, crisis, and the supernatural and the real.
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
Vampires and Zombies Reborn “Cursed By a Bite”, by Matt Kaplan from the book Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite: The Science of Monsters (2012), explores the history of vampires and zombies and how they relate to actual events. This paper will show the effectiveness of the author’s use ethos, pathos, and logos and how the text fulfills its purpose for a historical and scientific audience. Throughout this paper the reader is shown how effective Matt Kaplan’s text Cursed By a Bite is. Matt Kaplan’s text is for an audience that is interested in a scientific explanation of the origins of mythical monsters with the use of historical context.
The first mention of vampires in literature seeped through from European folklore. In the mid-1700s, a vampire panic swept the Serbian countryside. Victims reported being visited in the night by their recently deceased relatives or neighbors, who throttled the life from them. Those struck by these visions died within days. When panicked townspeople exhumed the offending corpses, they found "tell-tale" signs of vampirism: hair and nails that continued to grow after death, blood in the mouth, a lack of decomposition.
Vampires have been a common monster used in horror literature; dating back to the 18th century. These creatures have been able to make an identity for themselves within the genre. For years authors have been able to take the essence of the vampire’s identity and ability by turning it into something new. The reinvention allows for there to be a fresh new take on the vampire’s identity and ability. The original template for a vampire has been created through Bram Stokers, Dracula.
What would it be like to be a vampire? What would it be like to have a vampire in one’s life? What were the vampires of folklore like? These topics will be reviewed throughout this essay by comparing four of the vampire books and movies. All the vampire movies have some similarities and differences but four literature pieces in particular will be gone through in this comparison.
“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.
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.
This particular passage disgusted me to the point that I distaste Hannah’s character. I mean, to have the dignity to abstain a lending hand to someone in need is automatically inhumane. Jane Eyre, who at this point left the comforts of Thornfield, experience the feeling of being homeless and starving. Although it’s understandable that some people aren’t trustworthy, one should still see the good in people without concluding automatically to the worse. If this were to be the case, how would anyone prosper?
Danijela Akrapovic ENGL 1104-70 John Berke Chapter 8 questions 2/2/2018 Vampires Never Die Questions on Meaning 1. “With “The vampire” Polidori gave birth to the two main branches of vampiric fiction: the vampire as a romantic hero, and the vampire as a undead monster (Del Toro and Hogan, par.4). I believe, del Toro and Hogan wrote this essay because they wanted to give details of how vampires are made and analyze the motivation behind why they never die. Their purpose was to also draw comparisons on how these two-vampire fictions are similar in the myth and philosophy with angels. They likewise demonstrate how science has an extensive influence in what vampires are viewed as.
Dating back all the way to the late eighteen hundreds, fear itself and fear of the unknown has been a major concept in a person’s life. In the novel Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, Stoker introduces the first idea of fear of the unknown through an encounter with a mysterious being. Throughout his novel, Stoker explores fear within an individual through the genre of horror fiction. Furthermore, revealing fear of the unknown by virtue of the novel’s characters, such as, Jonathan Harker, Lucy Westenra, and Dracula. The welcoming of the unknown is often accepted, producing individuals to experience fear in different ways.
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.
