Dracula
Bram Stoker
Comparative literature:
The 1992 movie adaptation of Dracula is quite loyal to the book. However it made quite an exaggeration in Dracula and Mina’s connection. Also there are fabricated parts in the movie, particularly the way it begins having the origin of Vlad the impaler that is not technically found in Stoker’s writing. Character of Dracula is not that scary as it was in the book than being projected visually in the screen. Perhaps to have a more impact in viewers’ emotions. Some scenes were also fractured in the movie, for instance is Mina’s and Lucy’s stay in Whitby which never occurred in the book. Even so, the film had interpreted the book well and it although some scenes were fractured, it did not depart much
Anyone who has ever seen one of the several adaptations of Dracula as a movie will know that it was intended to be a horror story. Stoker goes to great lengths in order to create an
Since the beginning of time vampires have been categorized into different "types” and are portrayed in different ways throughout several books. This paper will focus on three vampires from the following books: Dracula by Bram Stoker, and I am Legend by Richard Matheson. Dracula is considered to be the traditional vampire, where it all started, and the vampires in Matheson’s book, follow somewhat Stoker’s concept, but is more of a modern “type” of vampires. Certain vampire elements have been presented, but others have been completely removed or altered. In addition, elements along with appearances are used to infer if the vampire is a form of “the other”. There are two types of vampires; the traditional or modern vampire which can be distinguished based on the elements present in their storyline.
While Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Polidori’s The Vampyre share some minor details, mostly regarding the basics of vampires and the location and date in which the stories take place, the majority of the stories differ greatly. The Vampyre was published almost a hundred years earlier, so it is easy to see how some details of that story can be seen in Dracula. Bram Stoker no doubt must have used The Vampyre as an influence, but only as an influence, as his story has its own unique details regarding characters and plot. I will discuss how the stories of The Vampyre and Dracula begin in a similar fashion, and then explain how there are key differences in narration,
Jonathan Harker and Van Helsing are arguably the most interesting characters in the story. Jonathan is the first character in the story to encounter Dracula, and Van Helsing is the professional who assembles the band of vampire hunters. Both men are important to Dracula’s inevitable downfall, although Jonathan has more to lose since his wife is also involved in this nasty work.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is not only a classic story of men and monsters, but a dramatic reactionary work to the perceived threats to Victorian society in nineteenth century England. In modern times there have been many film adaptations of the novel, each developing a unique analysis or criticism of the literary text within the framework of the society and time period in which it was created. The 1972 film Blacula is one of the most culturally specific variations on the story of Dracula, and highlights many of the themes and messages found in Stoker’s original text. Among the primary similarities between the novel and the film is the portrayal of race, sexuality, nationality, and culture, and the characterization in each work speaks to the
In many movie adaptations of a novel, the film doesn’t do the book justice in its story telling. Movie versions generally do not focus on the characters’ emotions or thoughts like the books do. They also do not develop the characters as well as the original story, giving the viewer little to no knowledge of a certain person. This is the case in Frankenstein. While there are some similarities between the original written version and the one on screen, the movie doesn’t delve into the lives of the main characters: Victor and the creature. The loss of characterization and focus on their lives takes away the audience’s take on consequences.
The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker and the poem Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been ? by Joyce Carol Oates both possess extremely monstrous characters. We are going to attempt to compare the main villains in both works : Count Dracula and Arnold Friend in order to show that a human can be more of a monstrous character than a stereotypical goul. In order to do this we will base our comparison on the description of the physic of both protagonists as well as their limitations and strengths.
Dracula – When you see Dracula in the film he is clad in red armour
Dracula is a novel written by Bram Stoker during the late 1800’s. The book starts out with Jonathan Harker, who is a smart young business man, who wants to travel to Count Dracula for a business ordeal. Many locals from the European area warned Jonathan about Count Dracula, and would offer him crosses and other trinkets to help fend against him. Mina, who is at the time Jonathans soon to be wife, visits to catch up with an old friend named Lucy Westenra. Lucy gives Mina an update on her love life telling her how she’s been proposed to by three different men. The men are introduced as Dr. Seward, Arthur Holmwood, and Quincey Morris. Unfortunately for her she will need to reject two of the men, and Lucy ends up choosing to marry Holmwood. Later on after Mina visits Lucy, Lucy starts to sleep walk, becomes sick, and then finds out she has bite marks on her throat. Due to this incident, another new character is introduced who happens to be Van Helsing. As the novel progresses, lady vampires are introduced and Lucy is eventually turned into one of the lady vampires as well. With the introduction of female vampires, the novel Dracula turns into a sexual and sensational novel by Bram Stoker. The female characters in the book are overly sexualized to where we can compare it to how women are viewed from back then in history to today’s world.
After Lucy’s death, Van Helsing tried to convinced Quincey Morris, Seward and Arthur Holmwood that Lucy has turned into “Un-dead” by bringing them to her tomb. They eventually find a solution by plunging a stake into Lucy’s heart. They chop off her head and stuff her mouth with garlic. After Jonathan and Mina’s returning to England, they joined forces with the others. Mina helps Van Helsing by collecting various journals and dairies to retype them. Their efforts were useless went one of Seward’s patient has let Dracula into the asylum to prey upon Mina. These men divided forces among them tracks Dracula across land and sea. Van Helsing takes Mina with him and he killed three female vampires by using sacred objects. Quincey and Jonathan use knives to destroy Dracula went Dracula is about to reached his castle. In 1992, Francis Ford Coppola has released a Dracula movie based on Bram Stoker’s novel. I would prefer watching a Dracula movie rather than reading a book because Coppola evokes the origins of Dracula before he turn into a vampire, twisted the subplot where Mina is the reincarnation of Dracula’s greatest love and the movie ends with Dracula’s soul
Comparing the 1931 version of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, with Frances Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula 1993 version yields some similarities. Both films are of the same genre: Horror. Both films are set around the same time period. Also, both deal with a vampire coming to England and causing disruptions in people's lives. Beyond these few similarities are
The story of Frankenstein has captivated audiences for almost two hundred years, both in text and on screen. Although the story has been warped and twisted throughout the years, the central theme has always remained the same; does the human aspect of a person persist through death and reincarnation? Death is fascinating as it is widely recognized as a barrier to the unknown through which Frankenstein wishes to “first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world” (page 36). On the other hand, life is fascinating because it is difficult to define and categorize. Frankenstein is so appealing because it tackles the idea of retrieving something from beyond the grave with a magnificent power, as well as challenges our perception of what life is.
Indeed Mina’s attraction to Dracula in the film leads to one of the defining alterations between the film and movie adaption, the humanization of Dracula. The subtitle of the 1992 film is “Love Never Dies,” (Coppola) which is the love between Dracula and his wife Elisabeta, who is the spitting image of Mina, and is also represented by Winona Ryder. Throughout the film Dracula tries to win over Mina in order to regain his love with Elisabeta, who commits suicide after false rumours of Draculas death are feed to her by priest. The betrayal by the priest and his wife’s death, makes Dracula curse god, and therefore become a vampire. The background story of the character Dracula makes the monster almost understandable, and the audience begins to sympathize with Dracula. (0:33-5:38)
was nowhere to be seen. Then one day, as Van Helsing was eating a late
Bram Stoker’s frightening tale of Count Dracula has struck horror into the hearts of many since it was originally penned. In 1987, Bram Stoker wrote the revolutionary tale Dracula that played off the fears of the people of the era. The plot and characters that make the novel great also translate nearly perfectly to cinematic adaptations. Starting in the early 1900’s, directors have done their best to portray the terror that the original novel inspired. Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula was released in 1992 and follows the book’s storyline very closely. However, to appeal to his generations ideals on relationships and sex, Coppola made some changes to the plot; however, many of the characters and themes are kept intact. He also