Dracula Chapters 5-6

Chapter 5 moves on from Jonathan Harkers journal. It begins with a letter from his wife Mina (who is also an assistant schoolmistress) that is to be sent to her friend Lucy. Chapter 5 is generally a very odd chapter compared with the rest of the book. This is simply because it lacks gothic and supernatural elements compared with other chapters in the book: it is a chapter based on love affaires and friendship which makes the chapter come across as very positive and perhaps even cheerfull. The chapters' main focus is how Lucy is as a person in generall. She is described as a very sensitive individual; which is portrayed by the fact that she cries after she turns down every man who proposes to her(apart from the third man who was the man she was in love with), which makes her admirable to the reader. It is also touching to the reader that the men she turns down are all "dignified in defeat" that she is already in love with another man, as they all accept it and offer to be her friend due to her honesty. The chapter does well in keeping the reader interested because these facts are basically what makes up the chapter aside from Mina's letter to Lucy.
Chapter 6 directs the tone of the book back into the gothic atmosphere that was portrayed within the first four chapters. It is also generally more interested because it explores through Mina's journal as well as Dr Steward's of who works in a lunatic asylum, and was also the first man turned down by Lucy of who proposed to her. Elements of superstition are built up in this chapter with lines such as "They have a legend here that when a ship is lost bells are heard out at sea." which immediately makes the reader anticipate what could happen later on in the book. Stoker also includes other things happenning that are rather unsettling for Mina and possibly the reader too, such as Lucy's bad habit of sleepwalking and the fact that Mina hasn't recieved any letters from Jonathan for a worryingly long time, even though the reader knows why. This builds up a sense of irony due to the fact that the reader knows what happens to Jonathan but Mina doesn't. It is also unsettling for the reader because there is no way to know how Mina will ever find out what actually happenned to Jonathan mostly due to the fact that he died in a place where no one is likely to find him.
These things also appear to deteriorate which makes life even more unsettling for Mina, including what the Old Man said to them when they arrived. This is because things generally seem to worsen: Lucy's sleepwalking becomes more frequent and she she still hasn't recieved a letter from Jonathan. Mina is portrayed as not really being a worryer, by lines such as "Oh I do hope he is not ill" when others' would probably jump to more extreme conclusions. But despite this she still seems to deteriorate as the chapter goes by, although she still manages to keep herself together which portrays her as a very strong character. This is conveyed by the fact that she panics to a minimal level when things start to get even stranger.
The chapter also includes pieces of Dr Steward's journal. His journal is all based on a patient that he has become hugely interested in. The patient, known as "Renfield", is obsesses with animals. At the start it appears that he hugely cares for them, however he eventually eats all of them. This is clearly used as shock tactics by Stoker to convey an emotional response from the reader. However despite this Dr Steward continues to grow more interested in him therefore he decides to take his note pad and observe him even further. At this point it is clear that Dr Steward is putting his job aside at this point to fulfill his own personal interests. This is portayed by "I shall test him..." which is clearly not what he is paid to do. Going by his growing interest in Renfield's behaviour it is clear that Dr Steward has become emotionally attached to him, which is portrayed by "My poor mad friend". Stoker constantly uses shock tactics in this part of the chapter, including parts where Renfield's obsession with animals includes watching the predators eat their prey which explains why he has the urge to eat them himself, and also his reaction when he is refused a cat. Dr Steward also pulls off a few interesting questions which would also largely interest the reader such as "I wonder how many lives he values a man". This is especially intrigueing in his journal.
Back to Mina's journal, another significant factor is the manner in which the people react towards the coming of the storm. Rather than treating it like a storm they fear it as though a war is coming, which suggests that they are expecting something else on top of the storm. This is supported by the manner in which the Old Man (Mr Swales) speaks his last words (though him, Mina and Lucy don't know this of course) because he speaks as though its the last day he's going to be alive, such as lines like "But Lord, love ye, miss, I aint afraid of dyin' not a bit". There is definately a gothic tension that Stoker is building up for the storm at the end of the chapter. The use of a storm altogether is very prominant in gothic writing; on top of this everything is described as "grey" near the end of the chapter which adds to this gothic tension. Also, the use of "Dark figures" and "seem""men like trees walking"" " make the people of the town sound inhuman, and even zombie-like at this point. The manner in which this chapter ends makes the reader incredibly eager to read on due to the immense build up and tension that Stoker portrays in this chapter. Chapter 7 follows through this beautifully.