2.3
This week I am reading Dracula for fun and it is even more interesting and terrifying the second time around. I read it during the summer when I was camping in the middle of nowhere and I didn't think it would be so scary. It is way better than any movie spin off of it because the writing is so gothic and eerie. Of course I have always preferred reading to watching a movie and I am particular when it comes to details that directors often leave out in films. Overall I think the book deserves more praise than it is given, and it should be added to the reading curriculum. The different themes that play out in the book make it more than a story about vampires and love.
One particularly interesting subtle theme that comes up is the representation of sexuality. This book was written in the Victorian Era when sexuality and expressing it was deemed filthy and unnecessary. Dracula and his three female companions represent wanton sexual desires that were being repressed in society. Even the spot that Dracula chooses to suck blood is clearly a symbolic reference because the neck was considered a private area of the body. The way the book was written, though, does not lead itself to thinking like this unless you really being to analyze the literature.
If you are looking for an adventurous novel that pulls you along then I would recommend this book to you. The gothic style of writing makes for a compelling read that will thrill you til the end.
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Being a former English teacher, I appreciate you being able to analyze literature on this level, and understand the relevance of era to literature. Sadly, our society has created a culture of blood and gore as frightening, when, in fact, it is just that - blood and gore. The true thrillers seldom show gore to frighten - indeed, they went back to the original text.
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