Language in Braham Stokers Dracula :: Dracula Essays

 The Importance of Language in Dracula    Braham Stokers Dracula exhibits a notice fit tie to other monster stories, in that the pecker is hindered by language, and often defeated by it. In Beowulf, the monster Grendel is unable to speak, and is excluded from the community. Shakespeares Caliban of The Tempest was taught speech, and used it to curse. In Shellys Frankenstein, the creature was hindered by knowing nothing at his creation as an adult, and becomes a monster partly from the treatment he receives by the people he meets, but also from the books he reads, which leads to his education of shame and eventual downfall. Count Draculas problem was not that he was unintelligent in the use of language. He understood the power of language very well, and uses Jonathan Harker in severalise to perfect his own English. The Counts problem is that the mortals he wishes to prey upon are able to communicate with each other very well and very efficiently. Because they are a ble to communicate so well, they are all able to join their stories of the count and discover, first, his existence, and second, his intentions. This begins with Jonathan Harkers journal, in which he records his adventures in the Carpathians. This is important, because his journal is an important clue in in conclusion determining what exactly is happening. His fiancé, and later wife, Mina transcribes the journal, and then shows it to Dr. Van Helsing, a noted physician, attorney, philosopher, and metaphysicist. Through the journal, Van Helsing is able to determine what exactly happened to Lucy, who earlier in the novel was a victim of The Count. The phonographic journal of Dr. Seward was useful in observing Mr. Renfield, also a victim of Dracula, who the protagonists used in order to locate The Counts capital of the United Kingdom abode. Another example of language defeating Dracula is Dr. Van Helsing himself. Van Helsing was educated through books and folklore, and was thus empowered with the knowledge of how to defeat the count and his minions. The doctors knowledge of medical specialty allowed him to provide the transfusions to prolong Lucys life. Through his knowledge of vampire lore, he knew to place garlic cloves to ward off the dæmon, how to use the holy wafers to purify that which was infected with the Vampires curse, and the necessary ritual to destroy a vampire.