Comparing Themes in Bram Stokers Dracula essays

Comparing Themes in Bram Stoker's Dracula essays Perhaps the most entertaining thing about entertainment is deconstruction. To uncover a unifying theme or premise in a story is to understand, to realize the author's vision. In the case of such a classic as Bram Stoker's Dracula, it seems strange to find such difference between text and film. This paper will analyze the unifying theme of both the book and the movie and try to understand, from the creator's viewpoint, the factors that lead to the construction of two very different and equally strong ideas. Bram Stoker's original classic novel takes the reader through a cultural and political time-warp to a highly-educated aristocratic English folk at the end of the 19th century. From the first chapter on it is quite clear that the world has changed since this novel was written. The journal-style narrative gives the reader insight into the minds of characters that are completely different then any modern fiction paperback. It is very easy to see that these characters have a certain cultural pedigree which leaves them with a love of morality, spirituality, community, friendship, and a general faith in the goodness of humanity. These ideas are the real foundation for the story's theme. The obvious good vs. evil storyline is grounded in an epic God vs. Satan struggle for which the heroes fight on the side of the glory of God. In any form of storytelling you have a very clear difference between core themes and content. For a book that is hailed as the centerpiece of early goth literature, it lacks a core theme that identifies clearly as gothic or even negative. It seems that the preoccupation with the details of vampires is simply the content of the novel and not the core. At the beginning and the very end of the novel the core message is incredibly uplifting and spiritual. In the face of sheer evil, every character is shaken to the point where nothing else can guide them but their faith in god. At some point in every character's jour ...