Chapter 3 is probably the most significanat and intense chapter throughout Jonathan Harker's journal. It is the chapter where some of the mysteries of chapter 2 are answered with small drips of evidence to what is actually going on.
To begin with, the Count is beginning to act more like a king, and due to this Harker is feeling ever more like a prisoner. The scene in which he writes letters to his boss and family is significant to this, as he knows that the Count will read whatever he writes on the letters therefore he has to be very careful on what he writes. This makes Harker feel completely helpless, and adds to the unease that he goes through whilst he stays at the castle. This unease is then built on when the Count slyly forces him to stay longer (by saying he wont accept refusal), as "business" is not finished according to the Count. Also, the dramatic monologue on page 26 implies how important family history is to the Count, and the way he goes about it appears as though he wants vengence for something related to it.
The Count is still becoming more and more fearful to Jonathan Harker. Harker also has no one to go to as it is just him, and the Count in the castle. The Counts warning, which is "Let me advise you my dear young friend, nay-let me warn you with all seriousness, that should you leave these rooms you will not by any chances go to sleep in any other part of the castle. It is old, and has many memories, and there are bad dreams for those who sleep unwisely. Be warned!". This begins to unfold a very supernatural and gothic tone to the story, and gives the reader (possibly Harker aswell) the urge to explore the castle in greater detail.
When Harker does decide to explore the castle in places that are forbidden, everything appears to become very distorted as a result of this. An example of this is the grotesque phrase "the distant hills become melted". This distorted texture portrays the high degree of supernaturality that there is at this point. "The weird sisters" are significant to this aswell. Throughout the gothic genre you will always come across something related to lust and perhaps a degree of female nudity, and this is the point in Dracula where it is mainly portrayed. An example of this is "The fair girl advanced and bent over me till I could feel the movement of her breath upon me. Sweet it was in one sense, honey sweet, and sent the same tingling through the nerves as her voice, but with a bitter underlying the sweet, a bitter offensiveness, as one smells in blood." The fact that this woman's skin in pale is also gothicly iconic. The Count's power is also shown off later in this part of the chapter, as he controls their movement through the wave of one of his hands; in the same way that he did with the wolves.
As this scene shows, Harker's sanity is declining further and further as we read through the journal. It will convey a sense of unease towards the reader as well as Harker himself as it suggests that the Count could get in control of him, like he does with the wolves and "the weird sisters".
Monday 12 October 2009
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Dracula: Chapter 2
Chapter 2 follows the same character as in Chapter 1, and is where he and the reader meet Count Dracula for the first time in the novel. When Harker arrives at the castle, his surroundings are described as very dark and gloomy (the fact its night adds to this) in significantly gothic detail. This is building up to the point where the reader and Harker have their first impressions of the Count, and it has to be done with significant effect as there is never a second chance to make a first impression. The gothic imagery used in this part of the chapter includes the phrase "frowning walls", and there is even satanic imagery used much later on in the chapter, e.g. "demonic fury".
As the chapter goes on, it digs deeper into being a mystery. Everything seems very odd to Mr Harker, and he starts to ask a lot of questions because simply nothing makes sense. Elements of the supernatural also come into this when he notices that the Count is not seen in any of the mirrors. Harker also feels more and more unsettled as the chapter goes on when the Count appears to lock more and more of the doors, so much so that Harker begins to feel like a prisoner; if you add these strange happenings (especially when the Count is not seen in the mirror) to the picture it makes it even more unsettling for Harker, and the reader aswell.
The Count himself is also hugely significant in the chapter. In theory he is a frail old man, however the manner in which his apprearance is described makes him fearful to the reader. The clause "clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere" makes his skin appear pale to the imagination of the reader; the use of pale skin is used commonly in the gothic genre. Shadow is also used to describe his appearance, with "quivering shadows as it flickered" to convey a cold and chilling atmosphere at this point.
A surreality is also portrayed on the castle itself. Everything appears to be of perfection in the old castle, which is very unusual and strange. This is conveyed in clauses such as "The table service is of gold, and so beautifully wrought", "the hangings of my bed are of the costliest and most beautiful fabrics", and "they are centuries old, though in excellent order".
The ending of the chapter is left on a cliffhanger when Harker finds almost all of the doors in the castle locked, meaning that he is inclosed within a small part of the castle. This is effective as it makes the reader want to go on and read the next chapter to find out what happens next , and the manner in which it ends with "The castle is a veritable prison, and I am the prisoner" makes it more dramatic, and shows Harkers fearful emotion at this point. Also, the fact that the whole chapter is written in first person makes the lexis used more personal, which makes the emphasis with the reader more effective.
As the chapter goes on, it digs deeper into being a mystery. Everything seems very odd to Mr Harker, and he starts to ask a lot of questions because simply nothing makes sense. Elements of the supernatural also come into this when he notices that the Count is not seen in any of the mirrors. Harker also feels more and more unsettled as the chapter goes on when the Count appears to lock more and more of the doors, so much so that Harker begins to feel like a prisoner; if you add these strange happenings (especially when the Count is not seen in the mirror) to the picture it makes it even more unsettling for Harker, and the reader aswell.
The Count himself is also hugely significant in the chapter. In theory he is a frail old man, however the manner in which his apprearance is described makes him fearful to the reader. The clause "clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere" makes his skin appear pale to the imagination of the reader; the use of pale skin is used commonly in the gothic genre. Shadow is also used to describe his appearance, with "quivering shadows as it flickered" to convey a cold and chilling atmosphere at this point.
A surreality is also portrayed on the castle itself. Everything appears to be of perfection in the old castle, which is very unusual and strange. This is conveyed in clauses such as "The table service is of gold, and so beautifully wrought", "the hangings of my bed are of the costliest and most beautiful fabrics", and "they are centuries old, though in excellent order".
The ending of the chapter is left on a cliffhanger when Harker finds almost all of the doors in the castle locked, meaning that he is inclosed within a small part of the castle. This is effective as it makes the reader want to go on and read the next chapter to find out what happens next , and the manner in which it ends with "The castle is a veritable prison, and I am the prisoner" makes it more dramatic, and shows Harkers fearful emotion at this point. Also, the fact that the whole chapter is written in first person makes the lexis used more personal, which makes the emphasis with the reader more effective.
Thursday 1 October 2009
Dracula: Chapter 1
The beginning of Dracula doesn't exactly jump straight into the trademark gothic/ horror genre, however it is still very effective. Chapters 1-4 all follow a young gentleman named Jonathan Harker who travels to Transilvania to discuss business terms with the Count, who is k een on moving to London.
Throughout the chapter there is a very chilling atmosphere. This atmosphere escelates when Harker meets some of the locals around the hotel he stayed in, before a carriage arrives which takes him to the Count's castle. This escelates when the locals all seem fearful for his fate, which is conveyed especially from the words they use when fearing for him. These words are all satanic, and related to death. It is also significant when a woman at the hotel puts a crucifix round his neck, which implies at the time that he is going to a rather unholy place.
The most significant part of the chapter is the journey from the hotel, to the counts castle. Along the way very stange things happen, such as blue flames being seen randomly and howling wolves. All of these strange happenings are gothicly iconic, e.g. "All at once the wolves began to howl as though moonlight had an effect on them.", and pathetic fallacy is also used, e.g. "Soon we were hemmed with trees, which in places arched right over the road way till we passed as through a tunnel.". The chilling atmosphere at this point is still ever present, with "It grew colder and colder, and fine, powdery snow began to fall."
The simple fact that the journey through the woodland is so long, is significant because it implies that Harker is lonely and isolated at this point, and that a possible escape is nearly impossible. This adds to the uneasy feeling that Harker is feeling at this point in time, when all these strange things that cannot be explained, and are making Harker extremely frightened, are happening. All of these things happening during the journey are placed to build up to the point when he arrives at the castle so that there is a dark and fearful atmosphere when he arrives.
The caleche rider is also significant in this chapter, because the way that he is described makes him sound ghostly rather than human, e.g. "I could only see the gleam of a pair of very bright eyes, which seemed red in the lamplight" and "a hard looking mouth, with red lips and sharp teeth". This adds to the intense and fearful atmosphere that Stoker is portraying at this point.
The chapter ends just as the carriage arrives at the castle, and at this point Harker is strongly thinking about the level of fear that the locals at Bistritz had for him before he left for the castle. This is a good place to end the chapter as it ends at the point where you have the urge to read more.
Throughout the chapter there is a very chilling atmosphere. This atmosphere escelates when Harker meets some of the locals around the hotel he stayed in, before a carriage arrives which takes him to the Count's castle. This escelates when the locals all seem fearful for his fate, which is conveyed especially from the words they use when fearing for him. These words are all satanic, and related to death. It is also significant when a woman at the hotel puts a crucifix round his neck, which implies at the time that he is going to a rather unholy place.
The most significant part of the chapter is the journey from the hotel, to the counts castle. Along the way very stange things happen, such as blue flames being seen randomly and howling wolves. All of these strange happenings are gothicly iconic, e.g. "All at once the wolves began to howl as though moonlight had an effect on them.", and pathetic fallacy is also used, e.g. "Soon we were hemmed with trees, which in places arched right over the road way till we passed as through a tunnel.". The chilling atmosphere at this point is still ever present, with "It grew colder and colder, and fine, powdery snow began to fall."
The simple fact that the journey through the woodland is so long, is significant because it implies that Harker is lonely and isolated at this point, and that a possible escape is nearly impossible. This adds to the uneasy feeling that Harker is feeling at this point in time, when all these strange things that cannot be explained, and are making Harker extremely frightened, are happening. All of these things happening during the journey are placed to build up to the point when he arrives at the castle so that there is a dark and fearful atmosphere when he arrives.
The caleche rider is also significant in this chapter, because the way that he is described makes him sound ghostly rather than human, e.g. "I could only see the gleam of a pair of very bright eyes, which seemed red in the lamplight" and "a hard looking mouth, with red lips and sharp teeth". This adds to the intense and fearful atmosphere that Stoker is portraying at this point.
The chapter ends just as the carriage arrives at the castle, and at this point Harker is strongly thinking about the level of fear that the locals at Bistritz had for him before he left for the castle. This is a good place to end the chapter as it ends at the point where you have the urge to read more.
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