Last Dracula Blog!! Jenni Kantor…Illuminator pd 3
Okay, so as you all know, this is the last Dracula blog. All I have to say is even though it had its tedious times, Dracula was a book worth the read!
Now my passage for the last blog comes from the chapter twenty-three from paragraph four. It is words of a conversation between Harker and Van Helsing (also known as “The Professor”…). With Harker starting, here it goes:
Harker groaned and said, “And this is all arrayed against my darling! But how is he experimenting? The knowledge may help us to defeat him!”
“He has all along, since his coming, been trying his power, slowly but surely; that big child-brain of his is working. Well for us, it is, as yet, a child-brain; for had he dared, at the first, to attempt certain things he would long ago have been beyond our power. However, he means to succeed, and a man who has centuries before him can afford to wait and go slow. Festina lente may well be his motto.”
My first question for you is: how does this paragraph turn Dracula from a powerful monster to a simple id? Why?
The second is: Why do you think that the author, Bram Stoker, sought to insert this information into the readers’ (our) minds? Does he have a motive or just trying to add interest to the story?
My final question is: What does the phrase Festina lente mean and why is it a good motto for Dracula?
There is my LAST Dracula blog for you!
-Jenni Kantor
Category: Per 3 TBT I, Per 3 TBT Illum 4 comments »
April 19th, 2009 at 10:28 am
For your first question, I have a feeling that you might be mistaken. I don’t see any trace of what you think this paragraph might be saying. The Id remember, does not mean trying things out or taking time to think things through, as this paragraph says. The Id represents self desires. This is all I can say for your first question, because I don’t see any trace of the Id in this paragraph.
For your second question, it seems that Van Helsing is giving a warning to Harker. Van Helsing is telling him that Dracula cannot be underestimated, because he (Dracula) has had centuries to think things out. This paragraphs furthers the description of Dracula as a formidable enemy.
For your last question, Festina Lente, pronounced festeenah lentay, is a Latin phrase that means “make haste slowly”. This is an excellent motto for Dracula, because he doesn’t just do things. He has had centuries to plan things out and make them go they exact way that he wants them.
There’s my response.
For our Shakespeare Comedy, I think we should do A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
-Brandon
April 19th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Brandon, there really is an id in the passage, look closely and think of what an id really is!!
-Jenni Kantor
April 19th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I see what you are getting at Jenny. You think that he is an ID becuase of his child brain. He does not think things out; he sees a human and desires their blood. You could think of him as this monster who chooses to eat and feast on people, or as this paragraph says, someone who needs the blood, doesn’t think about it, and has to kill the person or drink their blood. It is the only thing he knows, and needs it to survive. It is not his choice.
The second question: I think that he is making things interesting, making us wonder what that really means. I can see what Brandon is saying, but how much warning does he really need?
Finally, I agree with Brandon where he is saying, make haste slowly. I know a simliar quote by John Wooden that says, “Be quick, but not in a hurry.” It is saying not to rush, but think out what you are going to do. You must be fast, but slow. This idea makes the mind wonder. Dracula has had many days and months and years to think about what he does and how he does it. This accuarately describes him.
Brandon, Brandon, Brandon….
We still are not done with Dracula!
-Dan
April 19th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
1)Jen, the id is just as powerful a monster as Dracula. Dracula is justified as the id because the id gets whatever it wants even if it has to cross all limits to get it, it will find a way. Dracula is the same; he does what he wants mainly because he does not have a choice. The id does what it wants to and anyone that tries to stop it is in perilous. Dracula does not have a choice but to drink blood, he reacts on instinct and chooses to drink blood. If he could stop himself he would be slipping into the ego-superego but he cannot so his mind is classified as the id being child-brained.
2)I think that Stoker added this information mainly to tell the reader how Dracula acts on instinct how he considers himself superior to any human and doesn’t find them a threat to him, he’s overconfident that nothing can happen to him or he’s trying to tell us how Van Helsing interprets the character of Dracula. I think that Stoker believed in Freud’s theory and he might’ve based Dracula’s character on that.
3)The phrase Festina Lente means: ‘make haste slowly’; this translation also sounds a lot better than ‘hurry slowly’. I think that this phrase is a good motto for Dracula because Dracula has had all the time he has needed, he is prepared and cautious. He knows what he is doing and he will be quick to get it over with.
Good to know that you’re thinking ahead of time Brandon. Way to base things on the Freudian theory Jen! Haha Dan, we are done we have to get a move on from Dracula!
-Kianat Zamir