Dracula

By: Bram Stoker AJ Holder Due: August 22, 2011

I originally became interested in the book Dracula because I wanted to discover the origin of todays vampire obsessions. Television shows like True Blood and movies like the Twilight series portray vampires very differently than in the original tale of Dracula. Three of the major differences between Dracula and a more modern portrayal of a vampire, invoke the concepts of humanoid emotions, how the transformation affects the individuals themselves, and processes through which one has to go through to kill them. In the Twilight series, an eternally young, male vampire falls in love with a human girl. Additionally, in True Blood, the vampires consummate relationships between one another. Based on the descriptions in the original novel, these humanistic relationships would never happen. Vampires are portrayed as ruthless, machine-like killers. In other words, according to my reading of Dracula, once a vampire is created, nearly all emotion is gone; the closest comparison I can give is to that of a wolf or other feral creature. In which the only emotions felt by them are those feelings of instincts for survival and the fear and hatred of all things dangerous to them. Many similarities exist between the vampires of today and the historical portrayal of vampires. Mostly, their appearance is much the same. Familiar characteristics resonate through the ages, as author after author depict a vampires red eyes, pale skin, and the consequences of being out during the day time; although each different account describes effects on vampires when such rules are broken. In Dracula, when a vampire was out in the daytime, it lost all of its otherworldly powers. Though it looked no different to someone ignorant to what they were, if someone with intent to destroy them located them during the day, they would be at their most vulnerable and it would be very difficult for them to escape. In Twilight, for example, they simply shine as though their skin is imbued with diamonds. Either way, it is dangerous for vampires to be caught in daylight.

The transformation process differs from one account to another also. In Twilight, once a vampire bit a person, the person began transforming almost immediately. It was immensely painful and took about 3 to 4 days to complete. In Dracula, one bite would not ultimately doom you. However, in Dracula, the vampire had visited both Lucy and Mina multiple times before they started to transform. In Twilight, the vampires venom killed you within a 4 day period. In Dracula, a person could go on living for quite some time before the venom took its toll and finished them off. In both Dracula and modern accounts, inner characteristics of the person affected were amplified in the afterlife. In Twilight, no vampires abilities affected Bella, the human girl. Once she became a vampire, that human quality was amplified so that she could also temporarily pass on her ability to those around her. For example, in Dracula they mentioned how Lucy had become even more beautiful in death than she had been in life. The transformation amplified her already rare beauty. This was the same for Count Dracula. He was a very determined and intelligent leader. He could make such calculated decisions and plan that even if he lost a battle or two, he would always end up the victor. In the afterlife, his ability to absorb knowledge and his overall intelligence was greatly increased, and he also took hundreds of years to make his plans to move to London. He took every precaution possible, and I am truly surprised that he didnt get away with his plans. Had they not succeeded then, he would have the patience to wait until the ones who knew of him had passed away so that he may proceed undetected. The third major difference between the original account of a vampire and todays perception of the former was in ways to kill vampires. Methods consistent with most accounts include decapitation, though in Dracula the mouth was stuffed with garlic or some other object dangerous to them (e.g. sacred wafer) to totally finish them as opposed to burning the two

parts of the individual as described in Twilight. Another condition in Dracula was to pierce the heart with a wooden stake before decapitation. In conclusion, big differences between today's depiction of a vampire and the perception given in Dracula exist, but there are definite similarities that can be traced back to the Count himself.