Lesson Blog: Vampires and Group Essays

On Tuesday's lesson we began looking into the contextual features that surround 'Dracula' by reading articles and blogs on the 'History of the Vampire' and 'Dracula and Gender'...one of the aspects that the 'History of the Vampire' article mentioned briefly was the link between vampires and humans...whether they're considered human or whether, as is the case with Stoker's Dracula, they are presented as the 'undead'. This confusion between dead/alive and human/beast really interests me as it seems to be a key aspect of the gothic genre - the fact that you can't actually pin down what the 'creature' is...it's sort of the same with Mephistopheles in Doctor Faustus...was he once human and like Faustus? Is he still human or does the fact that he's experienced hell change him into something other than a human? Are devils and vampires types of humans or different beings all together? Part of the reason Dracula is so creepy, I think, is the fact that he can't really be labelled and can go around without suspiscion because he is human-like and that when he takes the blood of others, they appear as they always were but are different...vampires! This element of deception with regard to appearances and facades seems to feature in a lot of gothic literature, enhancing the fear factor as it blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction. If one looks at the human/beast sides to Dracula's character, it's debatable as to whether he uses his human side to let his beast-like side win ultimately (by tricking people into feeling safe - as he seems to do with Jonathon initially) or whether he's trying to fight against his beast-like side by acting in such a refined human way some of the time.

The view towards vampires as humans seems to have changed over time - in the 'History of the Vampire' article, it states that early on 'some minor traditions believed in vampires that were living people' - in Stoker's Dracula, Van Helsing is keen to create the distinction between the humans and the 'undead' warning the men that go to Lucy's tomb that although very similar in appearance to how she was she is no longer the Lucy that they knew. I find it interesting that, in recent times, although vampires now are generally accepted as fictitious beings - they seem to be portrayed in a much more human way as if they're trying to be good and are fighting against their vampire-esque urges. Audiences and readers are almost meant to sympathise or empathise with a lot of modern vampires, seeing the more human side to them through their struggles and loneliness.

A quick detour back to Doctor Faustus now as on Thursday's lesson we were put into groups to write our essays on the protagonist - it was a really interesting and somewhat challenging experience as, as we'd all prepared to write our own essays, we'd all got set ideas of what we wanted to write and how we wanted to write it. Despite encountering inevitable difficulties during the writing process on account of clashing writing styles and the need to reach a consenus (sometimes we found it hard to agree on single words!), I was very pleased with the final result - a completely different essay in terms of content and style to how I would have written it alone, I found the way in which we were able to bat ideas around really helpful as you ended up with an insight not only into other people's views on the text but other people's writing styles. It's easy to get caught up with your own ideas and your own style and because the exam involves arguing different opinions and coming up with different theories, it's vitally important that ideas are shared between the group - I'm definately going to start reading more of other people's blogs as, through the group essay exercise, I've learnt how important being exposed to the writing styles and interpretations of others is. All that said - I haven't got round to writing the Faustus essay on my own yet and, to be perfectly honest, I'm dreading it - because I did have a set plan of my own essay in my head before Thursday and now the thoughts of what we put into our group essay, I'm rather confused...there are too many ideas of my own and other people's in my head right now and although, of course, that is essentially a good thing, it makes it pretty hard to formulate all of those ideas into one structured essay. But I guess that's the nature of English Lit for you! I'll just have to get my Faustus thinking cap on.