Dracula
Registered by kittyfluffgal of -- Somewhere in Bristol 🤷♂️, Bristol United Kingdom on 5/19/2013
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by kittyfluffgal from -- Somewhere in Bristol 🤷♂️, Bristol United Kingdom on Sunday, May 19, 2013
Dracula is a novel that features many themes, one such theme being that of class struggle and Marxism.
Marxism refers to “the political and economic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in which the concept of class struggle plays a central role in understanding society's allegedly inevitable development from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society” (The Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia, 2013).
Count Dracula displays characteristics of the upper classes such as hoarding wealth, holding a position of power due to his financial capabilities and his aristocratic ancestry. The lower classes in the novel are represented by the vampire hunters such as Van Helsing and Jonathan and Mina Harker.
The two groups struggle over capital, which is represented in the book by blood. Dracula is dependent on his ability to consume blood and must follow certain rules regarding production and consumption in order to survive. Essentially there is a limited supply of human blood, which must be restocked in order for him to survive (Stoker, B, 1993). This echoes Marxist philosophy where capitalism can function only as long as it has a supply of workers. When workers withdraw from the arrangement it brings an end to the success enjoyed by the upper classes (Marx & Engels, 1967). Marx himself uses the idea of the vampire in relation to capitalism; “capital is dead labour, that, vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks” (Marx & Moore, 1969, p.120).
According to Marx, the lower classes will succeed over the upper classes and this is represented in the book by the destruction of Dracula by the vampire hunters. The scar left by Dracula on Mina’s forehead disappears when Dracula is destroyed, symbolising the triumph of the lower classes who are now free from the control of the upper classes (Stoker, B, 1993).
References
https://sites.google.com/site/emmascourseraportfolio/matrix
Stoker, B. (1993). Dracula. Ware: Wordsworth Editions.
Marxism - definition of Marxism by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.. (n.d.). Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free
Marxism refers to “the political and economic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in which the concept of class struggle plays a central role in understanding society's allegedly inevitable development from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society” (The Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia, 2013).
Count Dracula displays characteristics of the upper classes such as hoarding wealth, holding a position of power due to his financial capabilities and his aristocratic ancestry. The lower classes in the novel are represented by the vampire hunters such as Van Helsing and Jonathan and Mina Harker.
The two groups struggle over capital, which is represented in the book by blood. Dracula is dependent on his ability to consume blood and must follow certain rules regarding production and consumption in order to survive. Essentially there is a limited supply of human blood, which must be restocked in order for him to survive (Stoker, B, 1993). This echoes Marxist philosophy where capitalism can function only as long as it has a supply of workers. When workers withdraw from the arrangement it brings an end to the success enjoyed by the upper classes (Marx & Engels, 1967). Marx himself uses the idea of the vampire in relation to capitalism; “capital is dead labour, that, vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks” (Marx & Moore, 1969, p.120).
According to Marx, the lower classes will succeed over the upper classes and this is represented in the book by the destruction of Dracula by the vampire hunters. The scar left by Dracula on Mina’s forehead disappears when Dracula is destroyed, symbolising the triumph of the lower classes who are now free from the control of the upper classes (Stoker, B, 1993).
References
https://sites.google.com/site/emmascourseraportfolio/matrix
Stoker, B. (1993). Dracula. Ware: Wordsworth Editions.
Marxism - definition of Marxism by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.. (n.d.). Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free
Journal Entry 2 by kittyfluffgal at On the Bus! 🚌 in -- Train, Bus or Taxi -- 🚂 🚌 🚕 , Bristol United Kingdom on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Released 10 yrs ago (5/21/2013 UTC) at On the Bus! 🚌 in -- Train, Bus or Taxi -- 🚂 🚌 🚕 , Bristol United Kingdom
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
On the No.20 bus heading to Southmead
