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.