Saturday, November 22, 2008

dracula 2

"There lay the Count, but looking as if his youth had been half renewed, for the white hair and mustache were changed to dark iron-grey; the cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath. The mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood... Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood. He lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion."
Chapter IV, page 58

This passage shows Dracula, as described by Jonathan Harker, slumbering as though dead, and full of blood for the first time. He appears to have been renewed in his almost-debauchery, swollen and disgusting like a bloated dead body. Harker compares him to a parasitic leech, a simile which has especially heavy meaning here. This is an important passage because this is the last in a series of realizations for Jonathan Harker that make him realize that his host is something other than just some weird guy, and it is probably the end of the last of his naivete.

I'm sorry this is late. I had the All-county concert yesterday and I didn't get home until very late.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

dracula 1

"His face was a strong—a very strong—aquiline...His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth... was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years. For the rest, his ears were pale, and at the tops extremely pointed... The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor."
chapter 2 page 22-23

In this passage, the narrator, Jonathan Harker, describes his host, Count Dracula. His physical appearance is that of a very strong, pale man, built seemingly along straight lines. His teeth, ears, and nose are pointed, and he has the look of a man who hasn't seen the sun in ages. He also seems to have amazing strength for one of his age. These are all classic hallmarks of vampires. Stoker, in the guise of this character, speaks in a cultured manner befitting one of his schooling as a lawyer. He also doesn't seem to reflect fear at his hosts odd appearance, perhaps suggesting naivete.