I finished Dracula – and the structure was all over the place. There’s no other book like it. The last few chapters managed to create a fast, suspenseful pace because the narrative was structured in a bunch of quickly written diary entries. The ending was a little abrupt which I didn’t like too much. It was one quick journal entry, not even by the main character, to tie everything off. It also felt a little cliched, everyone got married and lived happily ever after – too dramatic and romantic for me. But the structure of the climax and falling action was still well-handled and surprisingly engaging for a book written like a load of journal entries. I think Stoker was able to pull it off by making each journal entry at the end and during the climax very short wo we progress through days in minutes, whereas at the beginning he drew each day into 5 minutes to sustain his world readers move so quickly through afterwards. Overall, 7 out of 10 reading experience on Dracula. If Stoker didn’t waste so much of the story on soppy letters about romance in the middle of a thriller novel I might’ve given it a nine out of ten – but oh well.

One the biggest reasons I like Dracula is definitely the setting. Stoker’s use of setting immerses me in the story. The culture and traditions of Transylvania, the strange landscape, and Dracula’s spacious deserted castle all make for a superbly haunting setting. The cultural setting tees us up for a fear-filled ride: “it was evident that something very exciting was either happening or expected. . . no one would give me the slightest explanation.” In this context “exciting” really means dreadful – all the villagers are anticipating horrors and danger as they pass by Dracula’s domain, creating a cultural setting full of fear and suspicion. As if this wasn’t enough, Johnathan observes, “the darkness seemed to be closing down upon us, great grey masses of greyness which here and there bestrewed the trees, produced a peculiarly solemn effect.” Stoker’s “grey,” description of this “solemn,” setting captures my absolute attention and fills me with fear for Jonathan. The setting is further plunged into darkness and mystery by the fact that, “there are no servants in the house. . .there is no one else in the castle.” Jonathan being alone with Dracula and the absence of any other truly living human being kicks the creepiness up from 1 to 10. It’s hard not to become scared myself because of the isolated nature of the castle and the eerie effect of the surrounding landscape. Every aspect of setting captivates, intimidates, and thrills me as I read Dracula.

I am on page 335 out of 400 pages.

I almost feels like I’m cheating writing about Dracula as a character – the first thirty pages are absolutely loaded with descriptions of him. Dracula acts so pleasant and inviting it annoys me. It puts me on my guard. Despite Dracula’s “kindness” Bram Stoker can’t resist dropping hints all over the chapter that there is more here than meets the eye. Such as when, “the light and warmth of the Count’s courteous welcome seemed to have dissipated all my doubts and fears,” but at the same time the Dracula’s gleaming eyes, “seemed red in the lamplight.” Don’t forget when the Count is oh-so-courteous: “But you must be tired. Your bedroom is all ready, and tomorrow you shall sleep as late as you will,” but at the same time, “holding out his hand [the Count] grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed cold as ice.” Red eyes and hands cold as ice but an inviting, overbearingly kind manner. I can’t help but conclude all the kindness and courtesy is a simple facade. Why am I introduced to the main antagonist under a mask of kindness instead of an obvious bloodsucking maniac? Well, do you distrust outright obvious evil more, or concealed and masked danger that does not show itself for what it truly is? Since Dracula is falsely warm and extremely deceiving, I simply can’t help but think of him as even more devious and dangerous than if he was just your classic bad guy. It’s a smart move by Stoker that characterizes Dracula as extra dangerous and silently cunning.

I’ve read Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Antigone, Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, and others. All of these seem pretty AP because of their higher-order thinking but some of them were for English class. Shakespeare books are always hard to comprehend but other old english books have become really fun to read. These all seem pretty AP-ish simply because they all have complex writing and literary structure. However, I didn’t list some of these books, such as Three Men in a Boat, because a lot of them don’t have as strong a moral message or lesson they are trying to teach the reader, which is far more common in contemporary writing. Texts always seem to have to have a lesson to be able to be AP. As far as books that have been influential to me Harry Potter was the first big chapter book series I read and that got me into reading so I’d say that has been very influential for me. Reading The Hobbit has also been an influential reading moment for me because it was a springboard into reading and re-reading lots of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books which have become some of my favorites. My first choice for independent reading is Dracula. I started it recently and am a little over halfway through.