One of mankind’s greatest goals is to find immortality,
that is to live forever, never fearing death, we seem to be fascinated by it,
but it is definitely something that we cannot yet fully comprehend. Is immortality
really something reserved only for the gods, or is it something that is not
meant to be in this world or any other? In the novel Dracula, author Bram
Stoker warns us against immortality, and even uses it as a form of imprisonment
for Count Dracula and his victims.
For centuries people have been on the search for eternal
life, who hasn’t heard the myths of the fountain of youth, or of great Gods whose
immortality was a key characteristic. But till this day that is all they remain,
myths, and creations of our imagination, and maybe that’s for good reason. We seem to think of immortality as this great
power, when really it should be seen as a curse. “When they become such, there
comes with the change the curse of immortality. They cannot die, but must go on
age after age adding new victims.” (Stoker 201) Bram Stoker is the first to give us a
different perspective on the idea of immortality. He showed the world how immortality
in this world is more of a curse then a blessing. Imagine living on forever as everyone
that you know and love died around you. The fact that death is inevitable is
what makes life beautiful; we appreciate every moment more because we know it
will not last forever and see the beauty in the things that will not always be
there. Death is a natural part of life and without it we would also become like
Dracula.
When Stoker describes Dracula he gives a sense of loneliness
and despair at times. I think this is to emphasize the fact that Dracula is not
happy being immortal, and doing the horrible things that he does. I think the
fact that he is immortal is the reason why he is so evil and bitter. He is trying
to make other people into vampires so they can spend eternity suffering, as he
is. It is a complete imprisonment not only physically, but of the soul as well,
not allowing him to rest in peace after death. “But of the most blessed of all,
when this new undead be made to rest as
true dead, then the soul of the poor lady whom we love shall again be free.
Instead of working wickedness by night and growing more debased in the
assimilation of it by day, she shall take her place with the other angels.”
(Stoker 201) The reason Dracula does all
horrible things that he does in the book is because in his mind he has no other
choice, it’s the curse and imprisonment of being a vampire and immortal.
The main reason why I believe that immortality was a form
of imprisonment for Dracula is simply because of how Stoker described his death
at the end of the book. He describes it as if death brought a sense of relief
and triumph over Dracula, which is the complete opposite of what one would come
to expect. “As I looked, the eyes saw the sinking sun, and the look of hate in
them turned to triumph.” (Stoker 355) He describes Dracula’s death and the
emotions of those around him in detail specifically to show how he was being
imprisoned by immortality. “I shall be glad as long as I live that even in that
moment of final dissolution, there was in the face a look of peace, such as I never
could have imagined might have rested there.” (Stoker 355)
In the end we should just be careful what we wish for. Yes,
immortality is seen as impossible and a thing of fairytales, but in the future
that might not be so. Stoker realized the dangers of immortality, even in his
times, and is warning the world through this novel. (665)
(Anyway that’s where I am
thinking of going with this paper. Please feel free to give any input, im
really trying to find ways to give more substance to my thesis, connecting
everything more to the real world. (Research topics, etc.) I would appreciate
any help, thanks. )
Efrain,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I never really looked into the idea of immortality to the depth that you took this post. It really is something to think about. I thought I would help out by challenging some of your points. It would make your paper stronger by proving some opposing statement wrong. 1. How can immortality be so wrong if you are able to be with your loved ones for forever. You never have to be afraid. And you never have to grieve for your loved ones. 2. Does only living for about 100 years really make life sweeter? If you are given all the time in the world, you could do so much more! I think your thesis is strong. But I would pick out maybe 3 or 4 specific sub-points to talk about. Is immortality really a bad thing? What does everyone else think?
I enjoyed your post. Immortality is an interesting subject to choose and the idea that it is a prison rather than a blessing is also intriguing. I enjoy the idea of immortality and to be able to see and learn so much more than a lifetime can offer. However, you bring up a lot of good points to the negative side. The loneliness would be my fear as well. It’s also interesting to use Dracula himself as the proof of your argument. After all, I’m sure many people would want immortality, but not if it meant living as Dracula does. I now have a question though since I never thought Dracula was immortal. I thought immortality means the inability or immunity to death, but Dracula did die, so was he immortal?
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ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I agree with immortality being one of mankind's greatest goals; the thought of being able to achieve immortality is not all that frightening or off-putting an idea, but the consequences certainly are questionable. Humans have been finding new ways to prolong our lives in gradual and small incrimants (looking at every human life span over the past couple to one hundred years). You might try making some reference to immortality via stem cell research or botox face treatments (to look immortal) to backup your opening claim; that level of vanity in particular can become a form of personal imprisonment. Those examples dip into the science realm though too. And I also agree that Dracula definitely had obstacles, but he definitely wanted to live in the end. The possibility of achieving immortality makes us question the value of life; that it requires taking lives to live on pushes us further in the equation. I believe we humans are equally fascinated with death as well. For whatever its worth, hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteEfrain I really enjoyed your post. You have some really cool ideas and a special way of introducing them. I think you did a great job and I really like the direction your paper is going. I especially liked you introduction. Where you asked if immortality is reserved only for the gods? I thought that was brilliant! I have never considered immortality to be reserved for the gods. I also really liked the part of the paper when you connected Dracula's death to be something close to triumphant. I thought that Dracula in the end was grateful that he was not longer trapped. He could be at peace at last. I saw that moment when he finally died as a moment of peace. His fight was over, his time being a prisoner was at an end. Stoker never really talks about how Dracula became a vampire. I think that in your paper maybe you could research and talk about if Dracula was searching for immortality when his science/magic experiment went wrong. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI was reading your comment and came across the part where you were talking about how draculas death was close to triumphant. I agree with you when you say that he was no happy he was no longer trapped and he could finally be at peace. I feel like in the back of his mind he always wanted them to eventually catch and kill him so he could finally rest so to speak, I just dont understand why he didnt let them find him sooner if thats what he really wanted.
DeleteGreat post Efrain, immortality is something that I too believe many people wish to obtain. As far as your paper, I'd suggest having 3 specific points relating back to immortality that discuss it's signifigance. You could further your discussion on how Dracula is imprisoned by his immortality and address what overall theme/messgae Stoker is trying to tell the reader. I think that tying Dracula's immortality into Stoker's religious theme would also be an intersting topic to incorporate into your paper.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post, Efrain! Some suggestions to help connect the idea that mankind's greatest goal or desire is immortality to the real world would be to research the growing prevalence of anti-aging procedures in today's society. Plastic surgery, makeup, and many other products and procedures today focus on making the consumer look younger and more youthful. Also, it would be interesting to historically compare a legend such as the Fountain of Youth to the legends that Stoker used to create his Dracula. Which legend came first and how do people today view those legends compared to the people during the time that Dracula was written? It would be interesting to know when society became obsessed with anti-aging solutions and maximizing the longevity of our lives.
ReplyDeleteI share some of the same ideas as you do Efrain, immortality can be seen be seen as a gift and a curse.I agree with you saying that dracula was a pisoner of immortality because no matter what he has to live on whether he wants to or not. I agree with what you said about dracula being angry with having to be immortal while all his loved ones pass on and he cant be with them. I feel llike he does all this crazy stuff like bite people and turn them into vampires because he is mad and wants to have others feel his pain and anguish just like he has too. The only thing I dont really understand is if he doesnt want to be immortal why doesnt he just let the group find and kill him in the first place? Why does he keep trying to elude them if thats not what he really wants?
ReplyDeleteI think that it could be a false imprisonment. Dracula may not understand completely just how uncool being immortal really is. I know we talked in class about how Dracula's mind is childish in some ways. I think that he may be childish and unaware of the imprisonment his immortality is causing him. I mean is he really LIVING forever? Or is he simply be driven be forces he cannot control, like an appetite for blood. I think something else interesting to consider is why does Dracula want to continue to live. what is he getting out of his afterlife?
ReplyDeleteDracula being religious before he turned may show that he could see him self as the anti-christ. In doing so, he could think that what he is doing to people is giving them a new start into a life that he thinks is better than the previous one. He could think that his immortality is a sign of getting a chance to help spread his powers and views just as Jesus did. This could maybe be one reason for why he wants to live still.
DeleteThis was an awesome post regarding immortality and how it is seen as an imprisonment for Dracula. I think it's interesting how Dracula went seeking for immortality and found it, but got more than he bargained for so immortality wound up being torturous. I think this is how immortality is portrayed in many books or movies. The example that first comes to mind is in the movie "Just in Time" where money is obsolete and everything is measured in time and the wealthy live for hundreds of years because the length of your life depends on the amount of time you own. The one wealthy man that is one of the supporting actors mentions how it has been treacherous being alive for so long. We were not created to live forever. It is important that we acknowledge this and use our time wisely. I think you are right in suggesting that immortality is detrimental, because if we have all the time in the world why would we be motivated to do something today that we could do at a later time. It would be interesting to see how you could bring the topic of immortality around to the relevance of our human nature in today's society to potentially answer the "So what?" question.
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