Journals In Bram Stoker's Dracula
Megan Bluth
4/1317
Brit Lit
Mr. Runyon
P7
Vampires from old to new
Vampires are interesting creatures that are caught between life and death.
Vampires are known as an opposite figure and on the one hand an immune blood-sucking figure that crawls out of the grave, and is also an abnormally strong representation of the night's activity. The thought and image of vampirism terrifies and excites in a believably equal amount. Nowadays all of the vampire knowledge and information came from the famous novel written about vampires known as Bram Stoker’s Dracula, that was published in 1897. (Victorian vampires) (JOURNALS) Over time the world's been living in the age of the vampires for over the past forty years, vampires have jumped in popularity and pop-culture appeal, taking over our television, and even book shelves around the world …show more content…
(Victorian vampires). In 2010 alone, Hollywood was known for the major wide release vampire films and the most popular television series True Blood and The Vampire Diaries that they continued airing to wide audiences around the world. Vampires are the latest obsession to appear on pop culture’s radar, but this is not the first time they have been known on television worldwide (Victorian vampires). Belief in vampires has existed since the beginning of human history, often appearing in many different cultures concurrently. Each culture's descriptions of the vampire has been unique (Victorian vampires). These bloodsucking vampires have been a constant presence in literature and in films since the 1897 publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, known as “the most influential vampire text of all time” (Victorian vampires). Even before Dracula, vampires spread throughout novels, supposedly destroying small old communities in the dark of the night and acting as if it wasn't there fault for the deaths and injuries that had happened. Since that time, vampires have represented society’s fears about the unknown “other,” and over the past one hundred years, they have gradually developed from immoral and inhuman monsters to undead humans who point out the all of the living humans themselves (Victorian vampires). Vampires from the past to vampires now is defined as “a bloodsucking ghost or reanimated body of a dead person believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep and causing their death” (Old vampires vs new). Before, vampires were seen as evil monsters and creatures humans must fear. However, nowadays,vampires have become an “iconic popular culture phenomenon drawing an obsession and fascination among teens globally” (Old vampires vs new). This genre has increased vampire fandom in resulting to the formation of numerous fan clubs and social organizations, whether online or not. The terrifying, blood-sucking, fanged-monsters we once knew have now transformed into beautiful, perfect, flawless,normal human beings (Old vampires vs new). Dracula’s vampirism originated in the Scholomance where he was taught to be evil whereas Stefan and Damon from the Vampire Diaries were both turned into vampires by a girl named Katherine Pierce who loved both the Salvatore brothers. On the opposite side of Dracula, Stefan and Damon must die with Vampire blood in there system in order to become a vampire (Plot summary). When it comes to being out in the sun Dracula then becomes weak and powerless during the daylight and in Vampire Diaries being out in the daylight makes vampires burn to ashes unless they receive a magic ring created by the witches to allow them in the sun without injury (Plot summary). All vampires have powers, Dracula is a shapeshifter, he changes from being a bat to becoming a rat in the matter seconds, he can also control minds and control nocturnal creatures. Almost exactly like Dracula, the vampires in the Vampire Diaries are also able to control minds, and it is called compelling. (Plot summary) They use their minds to compel people to forget what had happened. In Vampire Diaries they unfortunately are not able to shapeshift but, they do have super speed and super strength much like Dracula (Dracula, Victorian vampires). The use of journals in Dracula is one of the main ways that Bram Stoker tells the story is in the form of journals, in Vampire Diaries the use of journals is a main thing as well, through most of the first season both Elena and Stefan use their Diaries to communicate their feelings with the audience (Plot summary).
To kill a vampire there's only one common way, in both Dracula and Vampire Diaries in order to kill them a knife or stake must go through their heart (Plot summary). Wooden bullets would work too the main idea is making sure it's in the heart or else they will not die (JOURNALS). In Dracula and Vampire Diaries the main similarities of the two is that they both portray everyday problems and relationships experienced by people. Vampire stories relate to contemporary issues such as romance, love, family, and friendships (The Vampire Diaries) (“Dracula”). They also exhibit the same characteristics of modern society, both Dracula and Vampire Diaries display “cultural anxieties about the nature of human identity, the stability of cultural formations, and processes of change” (The Vampire Diaries)
. In relation to this, the second similarity between Dracula And Vampire Diaries is that they both contain Gothic characters, heroes, villains, vampires, werewolves, femmes fatales, and persecuted maidens (Vampires then and now) (JOURNALS). In Dracula, the villain was Dracula Himself, trying to victimize innocent, lovely maidens like Lucy And Mina. It was also shown in the movie that he lived together with his three female vampire companions. In Vampire Diaries , Stefan Salvatore is a clear example of a hero, trying to protect Elena from their enemies that were out to get her since she's a doppelgänger. Damon, on the other hand was the brother who cared a lot about Elena a well and would do anything for her. The villain portrayed in Vampire Diaries could be all the vampires because they all have that dark side to them but then go back to being innocent (Vampires then and now) (JOURNALS). Both vampires from both categories no matter what must drink blood, it doesn't matter whether it's human blood or even animals blood. In both stories the vampires fell in love, one of them fights against changing his love, and the other would go to any length to keep his love cherished (Vampires then and now). These differences mean very little but these are what make the stories so interesting and wanting to watch or read over and over again (Vampires then and now) (JOURNALS). Dracula and Vampire Diaries have many things in common with the Gothic characters, settings and emotions. But despite their many similarities, most teenagers nowadays think that Vampire Diaries are part of a different category because of the lack of Gothic mood or horror elements in this time period. This can make a huge difference between the two (The Vampire Diaries) (“Dracula”). The physical appearance of them is one of the ways to make it less horrifying. Based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, what makes Dracula so scary is that he is dead and once a living normal human being (“Dracula”) . His fangs make him even more frightening and his hands too. Dracula has been described as “simply gorged with blood” (The Vampire Diaries) (“Dracula”). In contrast to Dracula, Stefan Salvatore or all the other vampires in Vampire Diaries have never been portrayed to be frightening in a any way. They appear to be perfect and more human like in a glowing manner. These features are meant to attract those who are watching. In order to keep most of the audience the appearance of the characters shouldn't be terrifying, that would just end up losing the audience (The Vampire Diaries) (“Dracula”). In today's outlook on vampires they are the ugly, scary, terrifying creatures that are not as common in movies and or television series. This trend is now seen as normal because of how long they shows have been on. The vampire fiction influences how teenagers learn to understand themselves and their identity, who they are and how the world is around them (Vampires, burials, and death). The vampires are relatable enough where in the teenagers picture out themselves struggling to fit into the society and to be accepted. In comparison to this teenagers have goals they want to achieve, but unfortunately they are unable to because of it. A quote about this that stood out was “vampires are symbols of fantasy of the perfect creature humanity will never be” (Vampires, burials, and death). The vampires in Vampire Diaries or other television series from today's genre can easily help erase the fears and anxiety of life (Vampires, burials, and death). It's interesting how people still enjoy watching or even reading modern day vampire fictions even though the concepts of vampires have changed dramatically over time from creepy monsters to a popular figure that frightens and holds an audience. The main targets of this new genre seem to be teenage girls because they can relate well to the creatures created. Vampires just want to “suck on our blood” is seen as a metaphor to how much we love and want to be loved and how we are meant to be needed (Vampires, burials, and death). The reason behind why this new genre and idea is being embraced is because of the popular culture (Vampires, burials, and death). Vampires in today's time period aren't about horror, they are about trying to be normal. Vampires represent one or more things that we as humans desperately want and unfortunately can't have. Modern vampires still feature some Gothic elements found in the themes, imagery and settings but lacks Gothic mood or horror (Vampires then and now). The reason of this is a popular culture because of its ability to help teenagers understand their identity and place in this world (Vampires then and now).
Works cited
Stoker, B. "Dracula" Books OnLine(1997) http://www.cs.cmu.edu/People/rgs/drac-table.html (20 Feb. 1997).
Barber, P. Vampires, Burial, and Death. London: Yale University Press 1988.
Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.
"Plot Summary." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.
Highfill, Samantha. "'The Vampire Diaries' Will End with Season 8." EW.com. Time Inc, 23 July 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.
"Dracula: The Victorian Vampire." The British Library. The British Library, 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.
"JOURNAL OF DRACULA STUDIES - TABLE OF CONTENTS." JOURNAL OF DRACULA STUDIES - TABLE OF CONTENTS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.
"Old Vampires vs New Vampires." The Artifice. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.
4/1317
Brit Lit
Mr. Runyon
P7
Vampires from old to new
Vampires are interesting creatures that are caught between life and death.
Vampires are known as an opposite figure and on the one hand an immune blood-sucking figure that crawls out of the grave, and is also an abnormally strong representation of the night's activity. The thought and image of vampirism terrifies and excites in a believably equal amount. Nowadays all of the vampire knowledge and information came from the famous novel written about vampires known as Bram Stoker’s Dracula, that was published in 1897. (Victorian vampires) (JOURNALS) Over time the world's been living in the age of the vampires for over the past forty years, vampires have jumped in popularity and pop-culture appeal, taking over our television, and even book shelves around the world …show more content…
(Victorian vampires). In 2010 alone, Hollywood was known for the major wide release vampire films and the most popular television series True Blood and The Vampire Diaries that they continued airing to wide audiences around the world. Vampires are the latest obsession to appear on pop culture’s radar, but this is not the first time they have been known on television worldwide (Victorian vampires). Belief in vampires has existed since the beginning of human history, often appearing in many different cultures concurrently. Each culture's descriptions of the vampire has been unique (Victorian vampires). These bloodsucking vampires have been a constant presence in literature and in films since the 1897 publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, known as “the most influential vampire text of all time” (Victorian vampires). Even before Dracula, vampires spread throughout novels, supposedly destroying small old communities in the dark of the night and acting as if it wasn't there fault for the deaths and injuries that had happened. Since that time, vampires have represented society’s fears about the unknown “other,” and over the past one hundred years, they have gradually developed from immoral and inhuman monsters to undead humans who point out the all of the living humans themselves (Victorian vampires). Vampires from the past to vampires now is defined as “a bloodsucking ghost or reanimated body of a dead person believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep and causing their death” (Old vampires vs new). Before, vampires were seen as evil monsters and creatures humans must fear. However, nowadays,vampires have become an “iconic popular culture phenomenon drawing an obsession and fascination among teens globally” (Old vampires vs new). This genre has increased vampire fandom in resulting to the formation of numerous fan clubs and social organizations, whether online or not. The terrifying, blood-sucking, fanged-monsters we once knew have now transformed into beautiful, perfect, flawless,normal human beings (Old vampires vs new). Dracula’s vampirism originated in the Scholomance where he was taught to be evil whereas Stefan and Damon from the Vampire Diaries were both turned into vampires by a girl named Katherine Pierce who loved both the Salvatore brothers. On the opposite side of Dracula, Stefan and Damon must die with Vampire blood in there system in order to become a vampire (Plot summary). When it comes to being out in the sun Dracula then becomes weak and powerless during the daylight and in Vampire Diaries being out in the daylight makes vampires burn to ashes unless they receive a magic ring created by the witches to allow them in the sun without injury (Plot summary). All vampires have powers, Dracula is a shapeshifter, he changes from being a bat to becoming a rat in the matter seconds, he can also control minds and control nocturnal creatures. Almost exactly like Dracula, the vampires in the Vampire Diaries are also able to control minds, and it is called compelling. (Plot summary) They use their minds to compel people to forget what had happened. In Vampire Diaries they unfortunately are not able to shapeshift but, they do have super speed and super strength much like Dracula (Dracula, Victorian vampires). The use of journals in Dracula is one of the main ways that Bram Stoker tells the story is in the form of journals, in Vampire Diaries the use of journals is a main thing as well, through most of the first season both Elena and Stefan use their Diaries to communicate their feelings with the audience (Plot summary).
To kill a vampire there's only one common way, in both Dracula and Vampire Diaries in order to kill them a knife or stake must go through their heart (Plot summary). Wooden bullets would work too the main idea is making sure it's in the heart or else they will not die (JOURNALS). In Dracula and Vampire Diaries the main similarities of the two is that they both portray everyday problems and relationships experienced by people. Vampire stories relate to contemporary issues such as romance, love, family, and friendships (The Vampire Diaries) (“Dracula”). They also exhibit the same characteristics of modern society, both Dracula and Vampire Diaries display “cultural anxieties about the nature of human identity, the stability of cultural formations, and processes of change” (The Vampire Diaries)
. In relation to this, the second similarity between Dracula And Vampire Diaries is that they both contain Gothic characters, heroes, villains, vampires, werewolves, femmes fatales, and persecuted maidens (Vampires then and now) (JOURNALS). In Dracula, the villain was Dracula Himself, trying to victimize innocent, lovely maidens like Lucy And Mina. It was also shown in the movie that he lived together with his three female vampire companions. In Vampire Diaries , Stefan Salvatore is a clear example of a hero, trying to protect Elena from their enemies that were out to get her since she's a doppelgänger. Damon, on the other hand was the brother who cared a lot about Elena a well and would do anything for her. The villain portrayed in Vampire Diaries could be all the vampires because they all have that dark side to them but then go back to being innocent (Vampires then and now) (JOURNALS). Both vampires from both categories no matter what must drink blood, it doesn't matter whether it's human blood or even animals blood. In both stories the vampires fell in love, one of them fights against changing his love, and the other would go to any length to keep his love cherished (Vampires then and now). These differences mean very little but these are what make the stories so interesting and wanting to watch or read over and over again (Vampires then and now) (JOURNALS). Dracula and Vampire Diaries have many things in common with the Gothic characters, settings and emotions. But despite their many similarities, most teenagers nowadays think that Vampire Diaries are part of a different category because of the lack of Gothic mood or horror elements in this time period. This can make a huge difference between the two (The Vampire Diaries) (“Dracula”). The physical appearance of them is one of the ways to make it less horrifying. Based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, what makes Dracula so scary is that he is dead and once a living normal human being (“Dracula”) . His fangs make him even more frightening and his hands too. Dracula has been described as “simply gorged with blood” (The Vampire Diaries) (“Dracula”). In contrast to Dracula, Stefan Salvatore or all the other vampires in Vampire Diaries have never been portrayed to be frightening in a any way. They appear to be perfect and more human like in a glowing manner. These features are meant to attract those who are watching. In order to keep most of the audience the appearance of the characters shouldn't be terrifying, that would just end up losing the audience (The Vampire Diaries) (“Dracula”). In today's outlook on vampires they are the ugly, scary, terrifying creatures that are not as common in movies and or television series. This trend is now seen as normal because of how long they shows have been on. The vampire fiction influences how teenagers learn to understand themselves and their identity, who they are and how the world is around them (Vampires, burials, and death). The vampires are relatable enough where in the teenagers picture out themselves struggling to fit into the society and to be accepted. In comparison to this teenagers have goals they want to achieve, but unfortunately they are unable to because of it. A quote about this that stood out was “vampires are symbols of fantasy of the perfect creature humanity will never be” (Vampires, burials, and death). The vampires in Vampire Diaries or other television series from today's genre can easily help erase the fears and anxiety of life (Vampires, burials, and death). It's interesting how people still enjoy watching or even reading modern day vampire fictions even though the concepts of vampires have changed dramatically over time from creepy monsters to a popular figure that frightens and holds an audience. The main targets of this new genre seem to be teenage girls because they can relate well to the creatures created. Vampires just want to “suck on our blood” is seen as a metaphor to how much we love and want to be loved and how we are meant to be needed (Vampires, burials, and death). The reason behind why this new genre and idea is being embraced is because of the popular culture (Vampires, burials, and death). Vampires in today's time period aren't about horror, they are about trying to be normal. Vampires represent one or more things that we as humans desperately want and unfortunately can't have. Modern vampires still feature some Gothic elements found in the themes, imagery and settings but lacks Gothic mood or horror (Vampires then and now). The reason of this is a popular culture because of its ability to help teenagers understand their identity and place in this world (Vampires then and now).
Works cited
Stoker, B. "Dracula" Books OnLine(1997) http://www.cs.cmu.edu/People/rgs/drac-table.html (20 Feb. 1997).
Barber, P. Vampires, Burial, and Death. London: Yale University Press 1988.
Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.
"Plot Summary." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.
Highfill, Samantha. "'The Vampire Diaries' Will End with Season 8." EW.com. Time Inc, 23 July 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.
"Dracula: The Victorian Vampire." The British Library. The British Library, 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.
"JOURNAL OF DRACULA STUDIES - TABLE OF CONTENTS." JOURNAL OF DRACULA STUDIES - TABLE OF CONTENTS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.
"Old Vampires vs New Vampires." The Artifice. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.