Dracula

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Throughout the novel, objects that are sacred in the Christian religion are used to ward off vampires. What does the use of these symbolic objects imply about Christianity itself?

• Write a topic sentence that makes a claim about how sacred Christian objects are a source of protection in Dracula.
• Give at least three examples of specific objects that are used to protect people from vampires, and explain what these items symbolize; also explain what the vampires symbolize.
• Write a concluding sentence (or sentences) that ties your observations to the idea of Christianity as Salvation.

2. What is the significance of Lucy’s sleepwalking? How might this stand in for a larger idea than a simple medical condition? In what way is sleepwalking “in-between” two more common states of consciousness? What does this have to do with Lucy’s ability to understand reality, her choices, and her fate?

• Write a topic sentence that makes a claim about the significance of Lucy’s sleepwalking.
• Give at least three details from the text that support your claim.
• Write a concluding sentence or sentences relating Lucy’s sleepwalking to the text’s concern with Insanity, Dreams, and Fallibility.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. How is Female Sexuality treated in Dracula? Write an essay that compares and contrasts the way that Mina’s, Lucy’s, and the three female vampires’ sexuality are presented. Use the text’s language as well as the thoughts and actions of the characters to support your claims. Connect your observations to the novel’s thematic motifs of the Dangers of Female Sexuality and Christianity as Salvation.

2. Stoker chose to structure this novel as a series of documents; what impact does its epistolary form have on the reader, and why is this form particularly well chosen given the subject matter of this book? How does the epistolary form impact reader engagement through verisimilitude, intimacy with characters, and the creation of suspense? How might a novel about a vampire be more effective in this format than in a more straightforward first- or third-person narrative?