Perales 1

Axel Perales
Ms. Gardner
English 10H/Per. 4
16 November 2016

Bringing the Ordinary Amongst the Extraordinary

(Annotated Bibliographies: Dracula)

Bloom, Harold. "Bloom

on Dracula." In Bloom, Harold,

ed. Dracula, Bloom's Modern Critical

Interpretations. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. B loom's Literature. Facts On
File, Inc.
www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&WID=103186&SID=5&iPin=MCI005&Si
ngleRecord=True.

In this criticism of Bram Stokers Dracula, Harold Bloom, an American literary critic from
Yale University, argues that the novel does not truly highlight the sexuality of violence as its
main subject; rather, it reaches out to the story of whether to become a vampire like
Dracula or a violent murderer of them like Van Helsing. Bloom

includes that Dracula draws

inspiration from Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and Robert Stevensons The Strange Case of
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Stokers efforts to frighten the reader are not equivalent to those
by Shelley and Stevenson and rather hopelessly crude, but are likewise effective enough
to create this terror within the audience.

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This article helps the reader understand that by connection the novel to other certain

classics, theres more than meets the eye when reading Dracula. The relations Bloom trace
between

Frankenstein, Dracula, and J ekyll & Hyde creates a further comprehension that
these novels serve to tell a horror story by intertwining the uncanny into the everyday.
The article clarifies the novels purpose: not to exploit sexual violence, but to appeal to the
main story itself and its purpose to introduce the extraordinary into the ordinary.

Burt, Daniel S. "Dracula." The Novel

100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Novels of All Time,
Revised Edition. New
York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2010. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File,
Inc.
www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&WID=103186&SID=5&iPin=NOVLR120&Si
ngleRecord=True.

Daniel Burt, the author of this article, depicts how Stokers Dracula shows exemplar towards
making the story suspenseful and combining the ordinary with the extraordinary. Burt states that
the novel succeeds in bringing an irresistible forward pressure of threat and suspense towards
the audience, consistently putting them on the edge of their seats. He also conveys how Stokers
ability to mesh the supernatural into ordinary life brings alight certain powerful themes. One
theme in particular that shines out is bloodsucking becoming a metaphor for sexuality, in which
the Count can seduce peaceful, virtuous women into aggressive, sexual predators who in turn
reciprocate his very behavior.

Burt helps illustrate how Stoker was able to bring the mythical world and fantasies to life in the
novel. That presence of suspense is portrayed through the novels title character, Dracula, in

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which he unleashes these powerful universal nightmares with his very presence and the influence
he imposes on the other characters. Its also notable that the Count only appeared in only about
16% of the book, therefore making it seem less his presence than his implication that is
responsible for his hold on the imagination.

Lallanilla, Marc. The Real Dracula: Vlad the Impaler. LiveScience, TechMedia Network, 24 Oct.
2014, www.livescience.com/40843-real-dracula-vlad-the-impaler.html.

Marc Lallanilla, who has a Masters degree in environmental planning from UC-Berkeley, goes
in-depth about Bram Stokers muse for Dracula, Vlad the Impaler. Vlad was born in 1431 to his
father Vlad II, who gained the surname Dracul when he was inducted into the prestigious Order
of the Dragon by King Sigismund of Hungary, who later became the Holy Roman Emperor. Vlad
would then inherit the throne of Wallachia (present-day Romania) in 1456 when his father and
older half-brother Mircea were killed by local noblemen, or boyars. Around that time, he gained
the title Vlad the Impaler as he impaled hundreds of Wallachian boyars at a banquet and
dozens of Saxon merchants in Kronstadt on spikes as means to consolidate his power.

Lallanilla illustrates how Stoker may have exaggerated Draculas qualities, for Vlad shows clear
distinction from the fictional character. Vlad wasn't from Transylvania or even stepped foot
there, as conveyed by Florin Curta, a professor of medieval history and archaeology at the
University of Florida. Vlad was actually also a positive character in Romania, as he is credited
with protecting his subjects from the invading Ottomans despite being mercilessly violent.
Finally, a clear difference between the two Draculas is that while Stokers Dracula supposedly
died, for his death is quite unclear (he turned into ashes when he was stabbed in the heart and

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flew away), Vlad the Impaler inexorably did in 1476 when he was killed in an ambush while he
was marching to another battle with the Ottomans.

Lewis, Mitchell R. "Nationalism in Dracula." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of

Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. B
loom's Literature. Facts On
File, Inc.
www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&WID=103186&SID=5&iPin=ETL1102&
SingleRecord=True.

Mitchell Lewis, associate professor of English at Elmira College, depicts how Stoker makes
Eastern Europe seem more violent than the West. As Lewis points out, the Eastern world is
depicted as barbaric as well as the place of gender and sexual transgression; Stoker conveys
the former with Jonathan Harker saying hes leaving the West and entering the East as
he heads to Count Draculas castle, and the latter with the three female vampires in the
castle along with the Count acting somewhat too loving towards Harker.

Lewis illustrates how Stoker view of the Eastern European integration into England as a
threat, and thus depicts the East as a strange, conspicuous place blanketed with doom. He
viewed Easterners immigrating into the England as a dangerous compromise [towards] the
countrys national identity, in which they may wreak havoc upon the country. Stokers
thoughts are interpreted in the book through Harker, who is horrified by the idea of
Dracula, who consequently represents the Easterners, coming to London, fearing he may
lay carnage to all.

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Moss, Stephanie. "Abraham Stoker." British Fantasy and Science-Fiction Writers Before World War
I, edited by Darren Harris-Fain, Gale, 1997. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 178.
Literature Resource Center,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=sant95918&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CH1200007660
&it=r&asid=ea35b7218e3410e51e3dbfe1b01e4a1b.

Stephanie Moss from British Fantasy and Science-Fiction Writers Before World War
I describes Stokers great academic qualities. At the age of seventeen in 1864, Stoker entered the
Trinity College in Dublin where he would be known for his athletic and debating skills and
overall keen intellect. He would inevitably graduate four years later, where he would get honors
in mathematics and obtain his M.A. (a Master of Arts degree).

This biography helps show Stokers intentions to bring facts upon his novel. His achievement of
graduating with honors in math conveys how he strives to be exact, since the subject is about
precision and facts. Thus, he spent seven years on this novel doing extensive research on the
Transylvanian legend of Vlad Dracula, which his book is based on, and making meticulous edits
and revisions, as shown in the books typed manuscript in 1984. The careful details on the action,
the setting, and the Count was where Stokers dedication was placed, in which the result of that
dedication was creating one of the most iconic horror stories ever written.

Stade, George, and Karen Karbiener. "Stoker, Bram." Encyclopedia of British Writers, 1800 to the
Present, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File,
Inc.

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www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&WID=103186&SID=5&iPin=EBWEP404&Si
ngleRecord=True.

George Stade and Karen Karbiener, the authors of this biography, evaluates how Bram Stoker
may have had an interest in horror stories and in the theater ever since his birth. Born in Clontarf,
Dublin, Ireland, in his early seven years while he was bedridden, he would have the advantage of
hearing from his mother, Charlotte Thornley, frightening tales of her childhood, as well as...Irish
ghost stories and myths. Also, throughout his college days, Stoker went to his local theater
alongside his father, Abraham Stoker, attending many plays (especially those including the actor
Henry Irving); by 1871, he volunteered as an unpaid drama critic for the Evening Mail while
working as a civil servant, thus conveying his passion for the theater.

This biography provides good background information towards what inspired Stoker to write
Dracula. The book may have built off the stories he learned from his mother, in which he was
bred into the world of horror stories, hence why he wrote such books like Dracula and The Lair
of the White Worm (1911), the latter being his final book.