Dracula 7

"Thus are we ministers of God's own wish: that the world, and men for whom His Son die, will not be given over to monsters, whose very existence would defame Him. He has allowed us to redeem one soul already, and we go out as the old knights of the Cross to redeem more. Like them we shall travel toward sunrise; and like them, if we fall, we fall in good cause."

In this passage Van Helsing uses a hyberbole to draw a strong contrast between good and evil. Dracula makes also makes distinctions between the socially acceptable and the socially unacceptable, and between right and wrong. As Van Helsing's mission to one of “the old knights of the Cross,” the reader should understand as a person of fear and righteousness to God.

Sarah

PS. I'm pretty sure I told you this but if I didnt, I was auditioning for colleges all weekend. I'm sorry that this is late. =[

Dracula 6

"Last night I went to bed when the men had gone, simply because the told me to. I didn't feel sleepy, and I did feel full of devouring anxiety."..seems like a horrible tragedy, with date pressing on relentlessly to some destined end." pg 303

It's ironic that Mina went to bed when she was feeling a sense of anxiety. It's also interesting how the words anxiety, horrible, tragedgy, and destined end are all in the same two sentences. I feel like Mina is trying to convice herself that she is not feeling anxious by using the words horrible tragedy and destined end in different sentences.

Dracula 5

"All last night she slept fitfully, being always afraid to sleep, and something weaker when she woke from it....When the day came, its searching light showed the ravages in poor Lucy's strength..." pg 183

In this passage, there are many words that start with the letter "s". This soft diction is used to characterize Lucy. Lucy is soft, sweet, innocent, and beautiful. The soft sounds in this passage reveal what kind of a person Lucy is. There is also irony in the second sentence. The words "light", "poor", and "strength" are very ironic because Lucy brings a light and a sense of strength and power to the novel, but is in a very poor condition where she cannot bring her light and power to the novel.

Dracula 4

"Only resolution and habit can let me make an entry tonight. I am too miserable, too low spirited, too sick of the world and all in it, including life itself...flapping of the wings of the angel of death."
pg 189

I think that this quote shows a significant side of Stewards character to the story. I can understand why he would feel the way he does at this moment in time. The repetition of "too" can just reinforce the strong way that he is feeling inside. Instead of using harsh diction, the repetition of "too" can take it's place to show that Steward doesn't mean any harm as a person, but that he is just frustrated. The "angel of death" is also ironic. Angels are said to be in heaven and sweet and innocent but the way that he uses death seems to be very harsh and intense. Steward was most definitely not happy with himself during this part of the novel.

Sarah

Dracula 3

"Shortly before ten o'clock the stillness of the air grew quite oppressive, and the silence was so marked that the bleating of a sheep inland or the barking of a dog inthe town was distincly heard, and the band on the pier with its lively French air, was like a discord in the great harmony of nature's silence." pg 95

I loved reading this passage from the story. I felt as if I was actually a part of the setting (a tree, an animal, or even a person). I loved how the author compared the "french air" to the harmony of natures silence. The imagery of the French silence gave me the most vivid picture in my imagnination. I felt as if I was shopping in France but then all of a sudden on top of a mountain by myself, listening to the wind blow. It was such a cool feeling. The diction was very calm and soothing when the silence was being talked about and a bit more harsh when he described the sound of barking. I loved the contrast.

Can't wait to read more

Sarah

Dracula 2

"I must have been asleep, for certainly if I had been fully awake I must have noticed the approach to such a remarkable place. In the gloom the courtyard looked a considerable size, and as several dark ways led from it under great round arches it perhaps seemed bigger than it really is. I have not yet been able to see daylight."
pg 22 chapter 2

The first paragraph of chapter 2 really stood out in my mind as I was reading the story. First of all, "I must" is used twice. This repetition was used to show Harkers character. It shows how dedicated he is as a working man and as a person and shows that he is very anxious and is impatient. This also gave me a good sense of the tone that is going to be used in chapters to come. "I have not yet been able to see daylight", gave me the impression that from here on out, this story is not going to be a fairytale or a comedy (I knew that already). It was as if Stoker used that line as a warning to the reader.

Can't wait to read more!


Sarah

Dracula 1

"I could hear a lot of words often repeated, queer qords, for there were many nationalities in the crowd...'Ordog'-Satan, 'polol'-hell, 'stregoica'-witch, one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either wereworlf or vampire."

From what I've read so far, I feel like this was the most significant passage that I've come across. In a way, Stoker made it easy for me to tell you what he was using as literary devices. Since the tone of this is obviously harsh, the diction is going to be harsh as well. Obviously if the people were calling Harker nasty names, I would expect the words to have harsh sounds. I also feel like this is forshadowing something negative for Jonathon Harker in the future.

Sorry about the blog being a day late

Sarah