Foreshadowing, Mood, Mythical Parallels, and Narrative...

Foreshadowing, Mood, Mythical Parallels, and Narrative Elements in Dracula In the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, there is much evidence of foreshadowing and parallels to other myths. Dracula was not the first story featuring a vampire myth, nor was it the last. Some would even argue that it was not the best. However, it was the most original, using foreshadowing and mood to create horrific imagery, mythical parallels to draw upon a source of superstition, and original narrative elements that make this story unique. Anyone who has ever seen one of the several adaptations of Dracula as a movie will know that it was intended to be a horror story. Stoker goes to great lengths in order to create an†¦show more content†¦This quote elicits more thoughts of future events in the mind of the reader because there has already been some foreshadowing of other future events. The fact that the driver peered into the darkness, in the middle of the night, on the Eve of St. Georges, is evidence enough that there is some inauspicious portent. It was also mentioned before the above quote that the driver of the coach was mysterious, supernaturally strong, pale, and cold. Even the clueless would be able to recognize the foreshadowing element in those words. Another important element in creating a good horror story is of course mood, and there are many descriptive passages in Dracula that demonstrate mood. A great example is in the first chapter of the book, They were a hundred times more terrible in the grim silence which held them than even when they howled. For myself, I felt a sort of paralysis of fear. (Stoker, 12). This takes place still in the first chapter of Jonathan Harkers journal, when the driver calls to the wolves and then commands them to become silent. Here, the event that the last quote was hinting at is at last revealed, and the quote above summarizes the mood of the protagonist at this point. He was paralyzed with fear, meaning that he was so fearful that he could not even move. Stoker is very proficient at including vivid descriptions of mood in order to create a haunted atmosphere.