What is the significance of blood in Dracula? What is its value to humans? To the vampire? Explore the literal and symbolic meanings of blood in the story.
Blood, both human and animal, play a large part in the story. In Stoker's novel, blood equals life... to all. So much so that even a madman, Reinfield, was able to acknowledge the fact. To the humans, there was not life if the blood was gone. This is obvious, but it was worse off for them. In the book, if a person was without blood it was likely to mean that Dracula had claimed them as a victim and they were now a part of the undead. But to the vampire, blood was the elixar of life. The fountain of youth as many call it. The more of it he consumed, the more youthful he became. He was becoming more aware of his powers and he was revived from the limitations of growing older. Dracula needed it to survive just as the humans did.
Blood can be a symbol of money, humans can be considered a small business, and a vampire can be considered a big business. For the humans the blood is very precious and they treasure it along with the vampires. Just like small business, “blood” is treasured down to the last drop, since it is needed to continue the operations of life. The vampire, or big business, would like to slowly drain the “blood” from the human and in doing so the vampire will have more of a chance to live, and the human will have no choice but to surrender.
Blood in this book esentially means life. Both a human and a vampire can not live without it but in different ways. To a human blood is relation, life, and heredity. It is what connects us to our loved ones and what we believe gives us bravery and strength. We can not live without it. To a vampire it is power, food, and again life. A vampire who has many powers and many strengths has taken much blood from a human. Also without the blood of a human the vampire can not survive. Bram Stoker makes it so that even in life after death you absolutely need blood. It is so essential to the story because if there was no need of blood Count Dracula would have had no need to kill any of the people in the story. Blood brings out the best and worst in all the characters.
As most have already stated, blood means life to both vampires and humans. Without blood a human and vampire cannot live. It is food for the vampires and it is a neccessary life source for the humans. However for the humans in the book, blood represents their fate and how they will have to live for the rest of their lives. If their blood is tainted by the Count or by any other vampire they will then be forever walking the earth as the 'undead' until someone saves their soul. Their blood is what determins the life they will lead in the future. If bitten, what lays ahead for the humans would be blood sucking of innocents and of people they love. But, if they are fortunate and remain untainted then their future could hold unexpectable things. For vampires blood also represents their fate. If they do not feed off of others' life source then they cannot survive and become extremly weak. Vampires want to be strong and powerful over human kind and they cannot do that without blood.
I also agree that in the book that blood means life for both vampires and humans. Humans need blood to live and with the loss of blood they get weak and eventually die. This is also true with the vampires. Vampires need to drink blood and to prosper. The more blood they drink the younger and stronger they are, but when there is no blood they go weak and die off.
Blood equals life for both vampires and humans. Without blood both humans and vampires become weak and there is no life without blood. Humans are living. Their blood circulates to keep them alive. Vampires loss blood eventually and consume blood like it is food. Vampires are dead and have to drink blood to get life. The more blood a Vampires consumes the more alive and powerful he is.
I also agree with the belief that blood is equal to life. The humans in this novel have more of a demand for blood because for most of the story the vampires are the stronger being. We see the life being drained out of the humans with the loss of blood. The humans see blood as an essential need for life. The vampires crave the blood, and also need it to maintain living. We don't see many examples of the vampires being drained from lack of blood in the novel though.
Blood courses through the veins of human beings and slithers down the throat of a vampire. The heart beats blood through people and keeps them living. Vampires rely on blood for nourishment, in a way it keeps them living as well. With a vampire though, there is a desire for it, its not just food. We see this in chapter two when Dracula can not contain himself when Harker cuts himself shaving. Humans don't desire blood, unless of course in death. So in Dracula, the vampires desire for blood stamps out the human's need.
I do agree that blood is life to humans and vampires. However, I think blood is more of a desire for vampires rather than a need as it is for humans. For humans, blood is a necessity to stay alive, but vampires are already dead, so blood is not needed in their body, but is only wanted to satisfy them. In the book, Dracula drinks human blood to help his physical strength. This is not a need, but is only something he wants.
The blood in Dracula literally means the same thing for both human and vampire alike. They both need it for survival. They both also wanted to preserve life but while doing so were taking anothers away. For the humans blood was just something they needed and didn't think about until Count Dracula surfaced to their knowledge. But for Dracula it was a desire probably more than a need. Dracula was enticed by blood. He was drawn especially to beautiful young women, which shows similar desires to that of a human. We can also see from the time in the story when Dracula forced Mina Harker to drink his blood that it was something he enjoyed. For vampires blood is more than just a regular desire such as that for food. It seems that as all the senses were hightened, so were his desires. This shows the blood represented literally as life and symbolically as lusting or desiring something.
Without blood in their bodies, simple tasks for humans such as walking and even breathing become much more difficult. For vampires, however, it's sort of the same yet different. Like humans, vampires can become weak from the lack of consuming blood. But their "need" is more of a desire, and they don't die from a lack of blood. Also, for vampires, blood is symbolically a sign of power: the more blood they ingest the more powerful and influential they are.
In this novel blood symbolizes both life and strength. We can all agree both humans and vampires rely on blood. For life to be possible, both humans and vampires need blood. Humans use blood in order to sustain life and function properly. Without blood a human simply dies. For a vampire, blood is a source of energy. A vampire needs blood in order to survive. Blood makes them feel whole again. It makes them feel alive while still being “undead”. Without blood they will not be able to stay young, strong, and healthy. In other words, vampires want what humans need.
Well like everyone else on this blog i agree that blood is the same for humans and vampires. If a human gets shot in a alley they began to get weaker and weaker as the blood pours out. If a vampire fasts and doesnt have a blood source it will start to get weak also. So Both humans and vampires need blood to live a strong and healthy life. Humans have blood to stay alive if you run out of it your pretty much saying adios to your life. Vampire if you dont have enough of it your saying avoir to nice young self and being strong. So, yes with everyone else i agree blood for humans and vampires is equal.
Blood is the meaning of life for humans and vampires. With out blood they both will eventually weaken and die, with blood they will live and be strong. Humans need blood to live without blood humans die automatically. Vampires need blood to become more youthful and strong but without it they only grow older and weaker until they just die off.
Blood symbolizes the life of both vampires and humans. Without blood they both would be nothing. Vampires use blood as their sorce of food. When they consume blood they have strength. The human body needs blood to live just like a vampire does. Without blood human nor vampires would be able to live. So blood is essential to them. It represents their life.
Blood is a very important thing in Stoker's novel. It represents sustenance for humans and vampires alike. It runs through the veins of humans, which is stolen by the vampires. It is in some way food for both. For vampires, it literally is food. For humans, it carries nutrients to every part of their bodies. It is what they both need to survive.
Blood, both human and animal, play a large part in the story. In Stoker's novel, blood equals life... to all. So much so that even a madman, Reinfield, was able to acknowledge the fact. To the humans, there was not life if the blood was gone. This is obvious, but it was worse off for them. In the book, if a person was without blood it was likely to mean that Dracula had claimed them as a victim and they were now a part of the undead. But to the vampire, blood was the elixar of life. The fountain of youth as many call it. The more of it he consumed, the more youthful he became. He was becoming more aware of his powers and he was revived from the limitations of growing older. Dracula needed it to survive just as the humans did.
ReplyDeleteBlood can be a symbol of money, humans can be considered a small business, and a vampire can be considered a big business. For the humans the blood is very precious and they treasure it along with the vampires. Just like small business, “blood” is treasured down to the last drop, since it is needed to continue the operations of life. The vampire, or big business, would like to slowly drain the “blood” from the human and in doing so the vampire will have more of a chance to live, and the human will have no choice but to surrender.
ReplyDeleteBlood in this book esentially means life. Both a human and a vampire can not live without it but in different ways. To a human blood is relation, life, and heredity. It is what connects us to our loved ones and what we believe gives us bravery and strength. We can not live without it. To a vampire it is power, food, and again life. A vampire who has many powers and many strengths has taken much blood from a human. Also without the blood of a human the vampire can not survive. Bram Stoker makes it so that even in life after death you absolutely need blood. It is so essential to the story because if there was no need of blood Count Dracula would have had no need to kill any of the people in the story. Blood brings out the best and worst in all the characters.
ReplyDeleteAs most have already stated, blood means life to both vampires and humans. Without blood a human and vampire cannot live. It is food for the vampires and it is a neccessary life source for the humans. However for the humans in the book, blood represents their fate and how they will have to live for the rest of their lives. If their blood is tainted by the Count or by any other vampire they will then be forever walking the earth as the 'undead' until someone saves their soul. Their blood is what determins the life they will lead in the future. If bitten, what lays ahead for the humans would be blood sucking of innocents and of people they love. But, if they are fortunate and remain untainted then their future could hold unexpectable things. For vampires blood also represents their fate. If they do not feed off of others' life source then they cannot survive and become extremly weak. Vampires want to be strong and powerful over human kind and they cannot do that without blood.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that in the book that blood means life for both vampires and humans. Humans need blood to live and with the loss of blood they get weak and eventually die. This is also true with the vampires. Vampires need to drink blood and to prosper. The more blood they drink the younger and stronger they are, but when there is no blood they go weak and die off.
ReplyDeleteBlood equals life for both vampires and humans. Without blood both humans and vampires become weak and there is no life without blood. Humans are living. Their blood circulates to keep them alive. Vampires loss blood eventually and consume blood like it is food. Vampires are dead and have to drink blood to get life. The more blood a Vampires consumes the more alive and powerful he is.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the belief that blood is equal to life. The humans in this novel have more of a demand for blood because for most of the story the vampires are the stronger being. We see the life being drained out of the humans with the loss of blood. The humans see blood as an essential need for life. The vampires crave the blood, and also need it to maintain living. We don't see many examples of the vampires being drained from lack of blood in the novel though.
ReplyDeleteBlood courses through the veins of human beings and slithers down the throat of a vampire. The heart beats blood through people and keeps them living. Vampires rely on blood for nourishment, in a way it keeps them living as well. With a vampire though, there is a desire for it, its not just food. We see this in chapter two when Dracula can not contain himself when Harker cuts himself shaving. Humans don't desire blood, unless of course in death. So in Dracula, the vampires desire for blood stamps out the human's need.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that blood is life to humans and vampires. However, I think blood is more of a desire for vampires rather than a need as it is for humans. For humans, blood is a necessity to stay alive, but vampires are already dead, so blood is not needed in their body, but is only wanted to satisfy them. In the book, Dracula drinks human blood to help his physical strength. This is not a need, but is only something he wants.
ReplyDeleteThe blood in Dracula literally means the same thing for both human and vampire alike. They both need it for survival. They both also wanted to preserve life but while doing so were taking anothers away. For the humans blood was just something they needed and didn't think about until Count Dracula surfaced to their knowledge. But for Dracula it was a desire probably more than a need. Dracula was enticed by blood. He was drawn especially to beautiful young women, which shows similar desires to that of a human. We can also see from the time in the story when Dracula forced Mina Harker to drink his blood that it was something he enjoyed. For vampires blood is more than just a regular desire such as that for food. It seems that as all the senses were hightened, so were his desires. This shows the blood represented literally as life and symbolically as lusting or desiring something.
ReplyDeleteWithout blood in their bodies, simple tasks for humans such as walking and even breathing become much more difficult. For vampires, however, it's sort of the same yet different. Like humans, vampires can become weak from the lack of consuming blood. But their "need" is more of a desire, and they don't die from a lack of blood. Also, for vampires, blood is symbolically a sign of power: the more blood they ingest the more powerful and influential they are.
ReplyDeleteIn this novel blood symbolizes both life and strength. We can all agree both humans and vampires rely on blood. For life to be possible, both humans and vampires need blood. Humans use blood in order to sustain life and function properly. Without blood a human simply dies. For a vampire, blood is a source of energy. A vampire needs blood in order to survive. Blood makes them feel whole again. It makes them feel alive while still being “undead”. Without blood they will not be able to stay young, strong, and healthy. In other words, vampires want what humans need.
ReplyDeleteWell like everyone else on this blog i agree that blood is the same for humans and vampires. If a human gets shot in a alley they began to get weaker and weaker as the blood pours out. If a vampire fasts and doesnt have a blood source it will start to get weak also. So Both humans and vampires need blood to live a strong and healthy life. Humans have blood to stay alive if you run out of it your pretty much saying adios to your life. Vampire if you dont have enough of it your saying avoir to nice young self and being strong. So, yes with everyone else i agree blood for humans and vampires is equal.
ReplyDeleteBlood is the meaning of life for humans and vampires. With out blood they both will eventually weaken and die, with blood they will live and be strong. Humans need blood to live without blood humans die automatically. Vampires need blood to become more youthful and strong but without it they only grow older and weaker until they just die off.
ReplyDeleteBlood symbolizes the life of both vampires and humans. Without blood they both would be nothing. Vampires use blood as their sorce of food. When they consume blood they have strength. The human body needs blood to live just like a vampire does. Without blood human nor vampires would be able to live. So blood is essential to them. It represents their life.
ReplyDeleteBlood is a very important thing in Stoker's novel. It represents sustenance for humans and vampires alike. It runs through the veins of humans, which is stolen by the vampires. It is in some way food for both. For vampires, it literally is food. For humans, it carries nutrients to every part of their bodies. It is what they both need to survive.
ReplyDelete