As you read through Dracula, did you play close attention to who is he? Go beyond your initial impressions and define dracula as a "man." Describe Dracula's weaknesses and his strengths. How do these weaknesses make him vulnerable? How do Van Helsing and his crew exploit those weaknesses?
Conversely, what are his major power and how does he use them to get exactly what he wants? Consider, can some of this power be both weaknesses and strength?
Use specific quotes and page numbers to back up your explanations.
Dracula has many powers and also many weaknesses. One weakness he has is that he must be invited before he can enter a household, but this can also be a strength because after he is invited he can come and go as he pleases. To get invited into Seward's asylum he promised Renfield things not with words but with actions (page 239). One of his major weaknesses is that he can only cross water at slack or tide and has to be carried across (page 261-262).
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, Dracula has both strengths and weaknesses. Two strengths that Dracula has are being able to transform into a wolf or bat and the ability to cast a mist around himself (page 211). Although being able to cast mist around himself may also be a weakness because the mist is limited and from a distance will show where Dracula is. Some of his weaknesses include being powerless against crucifixes and garlic (page 212). Another weakness is that he needs blood in order to stay strong (page 211).
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel you see the many weaknesses and powers of Dracula. Some of Dracula's strengths involve living a long time. Harker said Dracula spoke of Transylvania history as if he were there. Another strength is he has the ability to heal injuries faster than a human. When Dracula was hit by the shovel that Harker hit him with, Dracula seemed unhurt. This explains why it is hard to kill a vampire. When shaking Dracula's hand, Harker described it as massive strength. Also a major strength is having the ability to control the behavior and thoughts of animals and humans. Dracula's weakness mainly involved Christ. Dracula is weak at the sight of a crucifix. One strength that is used as a weakness later on in the novel is that Dracula is in Mina's mind and she is able to use this power in reverse to track Dracula down by her thoughts and Dracula can no longer use that strength to see where they are.
ReplyDeleteReading farther into the novel, you see that Dracula is partially a man, but at the same time a monster. Dracula has many powers and strengths as a vampire. Even though he appears tall and skinny, a great strength lies beneath, with which he tries to control multiple people. By sucking his prisoners’ blood, he gets life and health that makes him everlasting. Being a vampire, he can control animals and even nature events, such as wolves, fog, and storms. Even though, Dracula still has some weaknesses. Throughout the book, he only performs his tasks at night, wherefore that leaves him helpless during the day. Another weakness is in the use of crucifixes and other holy objects. These weaknesses, when discovered, helped Van Helsing and his crew in the finding and capturing of Dracula and putting an end to the pain and torment he caused among the living humans.
ReplyDeleteDracula is a vey selfish person, however he believes it is for the betterment of his people. His race and his ancestory is very important to him, and he believes he is the only one fit to rule his people. He is very controlling and manipulative as was referenced in Johnathan Harker's Journal. In a way his mentality resembles that of Hitler. However Dracula is to be pittied for one must remember that as a vampire he is damned to walk the earth forever. Although he should be pittied for this, it is one of his greatest powers. One of the only ways to kill him is to peirce his heart and chop of his head. Among his other powers are superior strength, and the ability to shift his shape and size, like when he appeared to Lucy as, "a whole myriad of little specks." He is also able to control animals such as wolves, bats, and rats. Another of his powers is his selfishness. Although it doesn't really seem like a power it is what has kept him alive throughout the years. However, this power is also a weakness, as Van Helsing was able to tap into this and calculate Dracula's next move. His other weaknesses are more supernatural. These include vulnerability to religious icons and materials, vulnarability to garlic, and the unability to enter houses without permission. However two of his main weaknesses that lead to his downfall, are the unability to cross water at certain times of day, and the unability to sleep in regular dirt. Van Helsing and his team used these along with his selfishness to kill him.
ReplyDeleteDracula can be considered a very powerful person and at the same time a very weak one. His charm that he has undoubtedly gained through his many years of living is what helps to draw in his unsuspecting victims. Since he cannot enter a place without permission, it can be considered as a weakness, but you could think of it as a strength. People who haven't heard the rumors about him are naive to who he truly is and would invite him in. Once invited he can come and go as he pleases. Some more of his weaknesses are his inability to cross water at certain times, sleep in regular dirt, susceptibility to holy objects, and the common "not being able to come out in sunlight thing". Since he can't be out and about during the day, he becomes a figure of the night when he can sneak around like a ninja.
ReplyDeleteVan Helsing uses Dracula's weaknesses against him when he used communion wafers to block Dracula's entrance to his boxes of dirt. Without a place to rest, Dracula is left wondering around until Van Helsing finally catches up to him and kills him.
His powers are his ability to manipulate people using his "charm", and his ability to create an army that will serve him until his death. Van Helsing and his crew exploit that power to use Lucy's subconcious connection with Dracula to find his whereabouts.