Dracula Strengths And Weaknesses Essays - English-language Films

Dracula Strengths And Weaknesses I. Strengths A. Immortal 1. Speaks of history as if he was there 2. Legend in the story states that "un-dead" will go on for eternity 3. Dracula himself states "Time is on my side." B. Blood gives him strength and restored vitality 1. Dracula looks younger after consuming blood 2. Renfield explains what Dracula is doing to Mina C. Ability to heal injuries much faster that normal men 1. Throws himself through a window and emerges unhurt 2. This explains the difficulty involved with killing a vampire D. Has superior strength 1. Harker describes handshake as an "iron grip" 2. Seward's journal shows that Renfield exhibits great physical strength 3. Bars of a wolf's cage are found bent, probably Dracula 4. It is found that Dracula can actually handle his"boxes of earth" himself E. Supernatural powers 1. Crawls down the side of his castle 2. Seems to have some control over weather 3. Able to change himself into a mist and also create thick fogs 4. Shares psychic bond with victims F. Able to command the behavior and thoughts of animals and sometime humans 1. Wolves obey carriage driver's commands, actually Dracula 2. Dracula frequently summon wolves to do his bidding 3. Causes Harker to forget his time spent in Transylvania 4. Commands wolf to leave zoo and attack Lucy 5. Keeps Harker asleep while he attacks Mina G. Able to change form into animals 1. Large dog jumps off grounded ship 2. A "great bat" is seen quite frequently throughout the story H. Able to make others become Vampires 1. Causes Lucy to become a vampire 2. Process seems to be difficult and involved 3. Is almost not able to"convert" Lucy because of transfusions II. Weaknesses A. Activities limited to nighttime 1. Dracula can't be found by Harker during the day 2. Harker eventually finds Dracula asleep in his box during the day 3. Dracula is found to have no powers during the daylight hours a. The men find that Dracula cannot change his shape during the day b. In fact, Dracula loses a great deal of his strengths during the day B. Needs his "boxes of earth" to sleep during the day 1. Dracula takes great pains to bring his boxes with him to London 2. The men realize his need for these and begin to destroy them 3. The count will soon be unable to seek refuge in them so he must retreat. C. Shares a "bond" with his victims 1. Dracula has access to the minds of those he has victimized but they also have a limited access to his mind 2. Van Helsing hypnotizes Mina and she discovers that Dracula is on a boat D. Dracula has a "bloodlust" 1. Dracula needs blood to survive, it is his only sustenance 2. Dracula obviously needs to be around a steady supply of blood 3. Because of his need for blood, Dracula is forced to move to London 4. The sight of blood incites Dracula and fills him with a "lust" for it E. Does not cast reflections in mirrors 1. Harker notices that, oddly, there are no mirrors in the Count's home 2. Dracula does not show up in Harker's shaving mirror F. Holy Wafer 1. This is used by the men to repel Dracula and also keep him out of certain areas 2. They use this to "sterilize" his resting places, making them unusable 3. Used to protect people by making a circle of it around them 4. Will burn the skin of a vampire or any other "evil" being G. Crucifix or Holy Cross 1. Will also repel Dracula 2. May also have a calming effect on angry people 3. Also used in protecting people from evil, especially Dracula H. Garlic 1. Will repel Dracula when brandished or worn on body 2. Also used in protecting people from Dracula 3. May be vampire specific as far as its repelling quality goes I. Cutting off head 1. This may or may not be enough to kill a vampire, it is usually accompanied by other means 2. Stuffing garlic in the mouth of the head is likely to prevent regeneration J. Stake through the heart 1. A stake through the heart is very likely to kill a vampire 2. Again, this is usually accompanied by other means The history of superheroes and supervillains in literary works is long and well documented. The fact that almost all heroes and villains have one or more extraordinary