Dracula - Blog #5

"You deal with the madmen. All men are mad in some way or the other; and insamuch as you deal discreetly with your madmen, so deal with God's madmen, too--the rest of the world. You tell not your madmen what you do nor why you do it; you tell them not what you think. So you shall keep knowledge in its place, where it may rest--where it may gather its kind around it and breed" (132).

This quote, spoken by Van Helsing to Seward, stood out to me as I read. The quote reveals the wisdom of Van Helsing's character while revealing a truth--a belief which could have been shared by the author. Van Helsing is saying that everyone possesses some degree of insanity. He's also implying that Seward and his madmen are a microcosm of the whole world under God because everybody is crazy in some way. Van Helsing then goes on to say that Seward should not tell his madmen what he thinks of them or what he plans to do with them, and I connected that to how we are unaware of what God thinks of/plans for us. I don't know if Bram Stoker intended for this passage to have religious undertones, but I interpreted it that way and found it interesting how the world under God is compared to a mental health doctor and his patients. We are all insane, we all have some kind of problem, and God is secretly working as our doctor to help us. I wonder if Stoker really felt that way, if he was trying to convey a message, or if he even intended for that interpretation to appear in the first place.

Dracula - Blog #4

"...the silver light of the moon struck a half-reclining figure, snowy white. The coming of the cloud was too quick for me to see much, for shadow shut down on light almost immediately; but it seemed to me as though something dark stood behind the seat where the white figure shone, and bent over it. What it was, whether man or beast, I could not tell; I did not wait to catch another glance, but flew down the steep steps...The time and distance seemed endless, and my knees trembled and my breath came laboured as I toiled up the endless steps to the Abbey. I must have gone fast, and yet it seemed to me as if my feet were weighted with lead, and as though every joint in my body were rusty" (102).

This scene is one of the freakest scenes of the novel thus far. Basically, Lucy went out sleepwalking, and Mina found her with a dark figure standing nearby. The horror and excitement of this scene is effectively conveyed through Mina's description of the event. First of all, she repeatedly describes Lucy as being "white," which gives her a pale and ghostly image. The dark figure standing over Lucy directly contrasts her--the darkness gives it an evil connotation. The darkness of the scene in general, as pointed out in the phrase "for shadow shut down on light almost immediately" (notice the direct contrast between "shadow" and "light") really gives this passage a particularly gloomy and horrifying mood.

The sense of urgency that Mina conveys also makes the passage horrific but exciting. Her description of time as "endless" shows how time just seemed to go on forever as she raced to help her friend. The physical details Mina gives about herself shows how much she is struggling to get to Lucy, and the excellent simile at the end of the passage further emphasizes the struggle. Mina's struggle to get to Lucy through a seemingly endless passage of time gives this part of the novel a sense of urgency. Mina's struggle to get to Lucy in the face of danger is what really makes this part of the novel exciting.

Overall, the most intense scenes of the novel thus far have been described using a variety of devices which invoke fear, horror, and/or urgency in the reader. Stoker's effective method of illustrating these scary situations is what really gives this novel a horrific feel.

Dracula - Blog #3

"'But I'm content, for it's comin' to me, my deary, and comin' quick. It may be comin' while we be lookin' and wonderin'. Maybe it's in that wind out over the sea that's bringin' with it loss and wreck, and sore distress, and sad hearts. Look, look!' he cried suddenly. 'There's something in that wind and in the hoast beyont that sounds, and looks, and tastes, and smells like death. It's in the air; I feel it comin'. Lord, make me answer cheerful when my call comes!' He held up his arms devoutly, and raised his hat. His mouth moved as though he were praying"(83-84).

This passage is very foreboding for a number of reasons. Most of the words and phrases that Mr. Swales uses--like "loss," "wreck," "sore distress," and "sad hearts"--connote death and bring about a very dismal mood. Swales compares death to a wind that blows in and consumes the senses with death, which brings about a very strong image of death as something that just forces its way in and consumes the life of somebody.

This foreboding mood could attribute to a number of things--first of all, the very subject that Swales is talking about, his feeling that his end is near. The mood could also be reflecting Mina's worried feelings because she hasn't heard from Jonathan in a very long time, and she could be fearing death is on his horizon as well. Lastly, the dismal mood is reflected by the crazy-looking ship that is approaching, which also seems a bit deathly in the way it is being described. Either way, the deathly undertones in this passage make it seem like there is a good chance that death will be seen in the upcoming chapters, and they serve as foreshadowing for what's to come.