Critic Articles
A Criticism of both the Feminist and Psychoanalytical Lenses:
A Vampire In the Mirror - The Sexuality of Dracula | |
File Size: | 1540 kb |
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Colleen: This article by John Allen Stevenson helped my understanding of the novel immensely. After reading it entirely I was able to start my analysis of the novel from the feminist lens. Seeing as the group as a whole is working on the psychoanalytical lens, this gives a great starting point for that as well. The article digs deep into the Freudian principles in the novel and discusses vampirism in a way that equates it to a "grotesque inversion of human behavior". It digs into the psychology behind what makes Dracula so terrifying and how hunting him can be compared to the general lack of acceptance among the different races. Stevenson looked into the sexual and psychological nature of the vampire and the transformation one undergoes. His analysis also discussed the role of women in Stoker's novel and addressed the relationship between Victorian women and women such as Mina and Lucy. I found it incredibly interesting how the actions of a vampire can be simplified down to a lack of control and perversion of human desires and instinct. By the end of the article you can almost sympathize with vampires considering what they do is merely to survive and continue their species. What separates "us" from "them" is the way they accomplish these necessary goals. While stealing another man's woman is an autorocity to us, to vampires it's a necessity. Although vampires are complete fiction, this article brought the story to life and, although I thought it not possible, made Stoker's novel more believable and real.
reality_fiction__symbolism_in_bram_stokers_dracula___an_essay_about_the_famous_vampire_count.pdf | |
File Size: | 705 kb |
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An Analysis including the Symbolism of Dracula
http://dracula.i8.com/dracula.htm#part3b
David: This article helped to explain certain aspects of the plot as well as the formalist lens. It went into great depth explaining both sexual and religious symbols and metaphors. Using the ideas and suggestions presented in this article, I was able to draw my own conclusions on what Bram Stoker intended. Though the article gave in depth explanations of certain themes and symbols, it still led me to consider other aspects in the same way. For example, the article mentions that Renfield is often used to usher religious symbolism into the novel. Using this knowledge, I further examined a verse Renfield mentioned, namely "Blood is life" (Stoker 250). By finding what passage Renfield was referring to, I was then able to see the irony of the passage. Renfield uses the verse to justify his desire for eating blood, when the verse beforehand forbids the consumption of blood. In this way, I was able to delve deeper into the novel with help of this article.
http://dracula.i8.com/dracula.htm#part3b
David: This article helped to explain certain aspects of the plot as well as the formalist lens. It went into great depth explaining both sexual and religious symbols and metaphors. Using the ideas and suggestions presented in this article, I was able to draw my own conclusions on what Bram Stoker intended. Though the article gave in depth explanations of certain themes and symbols, it still led me to consider other aspects in the same way. For example, the article mentions that Renfield is often used to usher religious symbolism into the novel. Using this knowledge, I further examined a verse Renfield mentioned, namely "Blood is life" (Stoker 250). By finding what passage Renfield was referring to, I was then able to see the irony of the passage. Renfield uses the verse to justify his desire for eating blood, when the verse beforehand forbids the consumption of blood. In this way, I was able to delve deeper into the novel with help of this article.
dracula_in_criticism_-_bloomsbury_literary_studies.pdf | |
File Size: | 279 kb |
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Dracula Criticism
http://bloomsburyliterarystudies.typepad.com/continuum-literary-studie/2012/11/dracula-in-criticism.html
Ben: This article by Jenny Tighe was major in our understanding the psychoanalytical critical lens. Along with this, it also shows that Dracula has been looked at in the psychoanalytical lens for many decades. This helped our group because it gave more inside information about the Freudian explanations about symbols and recurring themes that Stoker used when writing his novel, like blood and its link to the sexual side of the novel. In Jennifer Wicke's words "it is not possible to write about Dracula without raising the sexual issue." Also the article describes that blood is a very important image for this novel. There are many passages in the novel that include blood imagery. With the help of this article, we were able to get more in depth information about the psychoanalytical lens.
http://bloomsburyliterarystudies.typepad.com/continuum-literary-studie/2012/11/dracula-in-criticism.html
Ben: This article by Jenny Tighe was major in our understanding the psychoanalytical critical lens. Along with this, it also shows that Dracula has been looked at in the psychoanalytical lens for many decades. This helped our group because it gave more inside information about the Freudian explanations about symbols and recurring themes that Stoker used when writing his novel, like blood and its link to the sexual side of the novel. In Jennifer Wicke's words "it is not possible to write about Dracula without raising the sexual issue." Also the article describes that blood is a very important image for this novel. There are many passages in the novel that include blood imagery. With the help of this article, we were able to get more in depth information about the psychoanalytical lens.
salem-press-dracula.pdf | |
File Size: | 209 kb |
File Type: |
Ben, Colleen, David: This article was a very helpful review of the book. It starts out with a summary of the entire novel which helped our group remember details without having to spend ages scanning page after page trying to find a scene. The article then moved into a description about the background of the novel. This gave us some information about the "real Dracula," Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Tepes. The rest of the article describes how Stoker created a work of brilliance with his writing. It describes that it has the qualities of the usual Gothic horror story with ships lost at sea and mysterious castles and characters. However he adds a supernatural twist that seems eerily real. This adds so much to the horror aspect because it makes the reader believe that what is going on in the novel could actually happen in real life. The author also writes that Stoker gives us subtle moments of suspense that creep up on the reader but then the actions that follow are quick in succession.