Ghosts in english literature and dracula by bram stoker

1 Graduation thesis PART I: INTRODUCTION Reasons for Choosing the Study Firstly, when a child, I was very interested in horror stories, especially ghost stories although after having heard of them, I did not dare to go to sleep, even closed my eyes Growing a little, I not only heard but also read ghost stories I was satisfied with ghost stories in literature Those stories satisfied my curiosity And now, I am a student The hobby of ghost stories in English literature intrigues me a lot I like ghost stories, therefore, I have chosen ghost topic for my thesis paper Secondly, ghost is a very interesting, special topic It is interesting because it is mysterious and controversial It is special because although people are frightened when hearing it, they still like to hear This makes ghost topic different from the others This is also the reasons why many works having ghost topic in literature, especially in English literature have been created And many of them are masterpieces Thirdly, this subject is new Is it contradictory when saying that while above, I say ghost to be a topical of all the time? I can say, it is not, surely Everyone is interested in ghost stories, however, each stories is always new to readers My thesis may be new to the readers, too Fourthly, this subject is helpful People often think that ghost is the "child" of superstition However, when being studied as a literary phenomenon , it will help people realized its great value of education "Dracula" is the best representative for that There are many reasons for choosing the study but the above reasons are the main ones that encourage me to choose the thesis: "Ghosts in English literature and "Dracula" by Bram Stoker The Aims of the Study - Helps readers have a general view about a topical subject in literature: ghosts - Analyzes some basic types of ghosts in literature - Finds our the reasons for English writers to choose ghosts as a literary topical subject in general and of Bram Stoker in "Dracula" in special The Scope of the Study TrÞnh ThÞ Mai 42A2 English - FLD Graduation thesis Ghost is a very general definition However, on the viewpoint of English literature, being awake of the ability and time limits, I only focus on the meaning "spirit of the dead" and analyze a representative of ghost stories-"Dracula" by Bram Stoker as an example to see the driving purposes of the writer behind the well-known novel The Methods of the Study In order to carry out this thesis, we have used the following methods: - Synthetic method - Cencus method The Format of the Study A part from acknowledgements, table of contents, reference, and appendix, the thesis consists of three main parts: Part I: Introduction This part presents the reasons for choosing the study, the aims, the limitation, the methods and the scope of the study Part II: Development In this part, three chapters will be developed: Chapter 1: Conceptions about ghosts Chapter 2: Types of ghosts in literature Chapter 3: The fight between the Good and the Bad in "Dracula" by Bram Stoker Part III: Conclusion PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: CONCEPTIONS ABOUT GHOSTS 1.1 Definitions of "ghost" It cannot be proved that ghosts exist physically in our real life or not, however, everyone has their own ways to imagine the answers for questions as "What is a ghost ?" and "How does it look like?" When talking about ghosts, people imagine immediately in their minds the spirits of the dead which because of some earthly businesses cannot be free And to children, ghosts appear as moving creature with long hair, red lips and long fingernails or something like that There are also many definitions of ghost by famous people or many in different dictionaries of all languages in the world However, the most general TrÞnh ThÞ Mai 42A2 English - FLD Graduation thesis definition is in the American Heritage @ Dictionary of English language, fourth edition According to this dictionary: Ghost is defined as: 1.1.1 (Noun) 1.1.1.1 The spirit of a dead person, especially one believed to appear in bodily likenness to living person or to haunt former habitants 1.1.1.2 The center of spiritual life 1.1.1.3 A demon or spirit 1.1.1.4 A returning or haunting memory or image a) A slight of faint trace : just an ghosts of a smile b) The tiniest bit: not a ghost of a chance 1.1.1.5 A faint , false image as: a) A secondary image on a television or radar screen caused by reflected waves b) A displaced image in a photograph cause by the optical system of the camera c) A false spectral line caused by impections in the diffraction grating d) A displaced image in a mirror caused by reflection from the front of the class 1.1.1.6 (Informal) A ghost-writer: person who writes on behalf of the credited author 1.1.1.7 a) A nonexistent publication listed in bibliographies b) Amfictitious employee or business 1.1.1.8 (Physiology) A red blood cell howing no hemoglobin 1.1.2 (Verb) ghosted - ghosting - ghosts 1.1.2.1 (v.intr) a) (Informal) to engage in ghostwriting b) To move noiselessly like a ghost "two young deer ghosted out of the woods" (Nancy M.Debevoise - website: www.googlealert.com) 1.1.2.2 (v.tr) TrÞnh ThÞ Mai 42A2 English - FLD Graduation thesis a) To haunt b) (Informal) To ghostwrite: was hired to ghost the memoir of a famous executive 1.1.3 (Adverb) Ghostly Of all the meanings of ghost above, only the first one as a noun is studied in this thesis 1.2 Do ghosts exist on the Earth ? When thinking the existence of ghosts, we consider two aspects: physical and spiritual existence The answers to the question are different according to items of science, of ordinary life, and of literature 1.2.1 In Science: Modern science has taught us that nothing happens without a cause even though we may not be able to discover what that cause is No leaf falls to the ground, no wind blows, no flower opens without an explanation To the existence of ghosts, scientists also have their own explanation They not think ghosts exist both physically and spiritually They think ghosts are only the "children" of the superstition which is derived from Ignorance and Fear At the same time, they determine that as our knowledge grows and our wisdom ripens, all superstition vanishes as a bad dream when we awake 1.2.2 In Ordinary Life: Although scientists have been trying to prove that there are no ghosts in our world, people still believe in its existence in life Some believe that ghosts exist physically in our world These are people who say they saw ghosts once or twice or even they have never seen ghosts, they was told by their friends or their relatives who had seen This group of people is only the minority People who believe in physical existence of ghost usually also believe in its spiritual existence The majority belongs to group of people who believe that ghosts exist spiritually in our world This can be people who have never once seen ghosts but still believe in their existence in the real world They think no one can really die forever They believe in an afterlife Death means the souls leave the bodies and go to Heaven or Hell or another world However, the souls of TrÞnh ThÞ Mai 42A2 English - FLD Graduation thesis the dead still be with the living to protect the living For example, in religion, the Christians believe absolutely in God, the Buddists in Buddha And all of us know that both God (Jerusalem) and Buddha are spirits of the dead whose dedication and the ways of living have affected their following generations very much Believers think these spirits are always together with them in all aspects of life Therefore, whenever having difficulty in life, believers go to God and Buddha to ask for a grant After praying, they feel released and easy to overcome the difficulty as if God or Buddha have granted them Most of people think that the dead rejoin them in many daily activities such as eating, drinking, and having fun To these people, ghosts are not lost to the living The belief that ghosts exist spiritually and physically is reflected in some ghostly festivals Halloween on October 31 is really a ghost festival It was originally an ancient Celtic ritual in which the souls of the dead were believed to revisit their homes, and fires were lit to drive away evil spirits, hobgoblins, and demons Under Christianity it was known as All Saints' Day, or Hollowed Evening (Which became Halloween) Today, children celebrate by making spooky pumpkins They wear frightening masks and knock on the doors demanding "Trick or Treat " The Japanese Feast of Lantern (July 13 -15) is also a ghost festival People offer food to their dead relatives and tea is poured for the invisible guests every hour At night, homes are decorated with beautiful lanterns fringed with paper streamers Virtually Japanese people believe in ghosts, and care for their dead relatives at the special time as if they were alive TrÞnh ThÞ Mai 42A2 English - FLD Graduation thesis (From: "Ghosts and the Supernatural" by Colin Wilson) Beside people who believe in ghost's existence, there are many people who not believe in These usually never see ghosts, even if they saw once, they think that results from the fact that they read, or were told many ghost stories, therefore their minds were obsessed These people still take part in many activities for the dead such as celebrating ghostly festivals, etc However, they these things only to prove that they love, and always remember the dead The question whether ghosts exist physically, or spiritually, or both, or not in the real world is, therefore, difficult to answer It have been very controversial However, no matter the answer is, it is not important To the living, if there exist ghosts, it is ok If there not exist ghosts, it is good They always try to live better, and consider ghosts judge in their hearts Especially, it is ghost topic that human beings enjoy many interesting ghost stories all over the world TrÞnh ThÞ Mai 42A2 English - FLD Graduation thesis 1.2.3 In Literature: Regardless of whether people believe in ghost existence or not, ghosts have continually been created Ghost topic has been a very popular topic in literature More and more people want to read ghost stories even though they are very frightened In literature, the question: "Do ghosts exist in the real life?" is very controversial Just like scientists, in literature, there are many people who not believe in both physical and spiritual existence of ghosts: "Believe me, there are no ghosts in the world- not even in very old Bristish families" (Oscar Wilde 18:1) or some laugh scornfully at the idea of ghost existence : Ghosts! People imagine they see ghosts on a dark night! You cannot make me believe in ghosts! It is a question of fact! There are no ghosts! (John Escott 12:33) or some people explain that: Everybody says they see the Opera ghost But there is not really a ghost You saw a shadow on the wall (Jenifer Scott 18:2) Contrary to that idea, some people believe absolutely in ghosts both physically and spiritually: I am afraid there really is a ghost It 's been famous for centuries - since 1584 It always appears before the death of a member of our family (Oscar Wilde 18:1) Or according to some people in "The Ghost of Genny Castle" by John Escott: “People have seen ghosts” Or in "The Phantom of the Opera": "It is the ghost! In the passage I saw him He came through the wall in front of me! And and I saw his face" (Jenifer Bassett 18:1) The question whether ghosts exist physically, or spiritually, or both, or not in the real world is difficult to answer It is very controversial As the time beings, in literature, people accept an open conclusion: In some ways you are all wrong, and in some way you are all right There are ghosts, and there are not, well, that is what people say (John Escott 12:34) Not only the belief about ghost existence but also all types of ghosts such as phantom, apparition, spirit, vampire, monster, poltergeist have been reflected in literature Many literary works that have been famous for ghost TrÞnh ThÞ Mai 42A2 English - FLD Graduation thesis image like "Voodoo Island" by Michael Duckworld, "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, "The Phantom of the Opera" by Jenifer Bassett, etc These will be studied more in CHAPTER and CHAPTER Both in ordinary life and in literature, people who believe in existence of ghosts, also believe that ghosts have emotional feelings According to them, just like every people, ghosts are just like us with all the emotional baggage that goes with life on the afterlife That means ghosts also hate, love, feel shy, or feel ashamed, etc like us - the living Owing to this criterion, it is easier for people to classify types of ghosts in CHAPTER 1.3 Why Cannot Everyone See Ghosts ? Some people believe absolutely in ghosts because they say they saw ghosts or their friends or their relatives did However, most of people have never seen ghosts Why cannot everyone see ghosts? Let us first start off by saying that everyone has the potential to see a ghost But the fact is that only some people see ghosts physically These people can be able to turn it more often to see the spirits and see, hear, etc the signal and energy the spirit is sending We call these people sensitive or psychics Surely, there are varying conditions that may interfere with the spirits of the dead Firstly, it is clear that sensitive people see ghosts more often than others Secondly, it is often happen that you see the spirits of your dead relatives than those of others that you not know Therefore, some of things that can make our ability to receive the signals of ghosts are our relations to the spirits Our relatives are so dear to us When they leave this life forever, we feel so sad that we think we could not live continually without them We always think of them with beautiful memories that they and we had when they were alive So sometimes we see the spirits of them That is the reason that some people who are always afraid of ghosts see ghosts more often than people who not Our frame of mind is so important Take care of your minds Lastly, locations are also an important condition to interfere with ghosts Locations make some people more sensitive than the other and will see something in just those places while nothing in others TrÞnh ThÞ Mai 42A2 English - FLD TrÞnh ThÞ Mai Graduation thesis 42A2 English - FLD 10 Graduation thesis CHAPTER 2: TYPES OF GHOSTS IN LITERATURE 2.1 Types of ghosts in English literature There are many kinds of ghosts In ordinary life, we usually hear about "ma ca rong", "ma doi", "ma dau troc", "ma xo", "ma toc dai", "ma choi", etc In English literature, ghosts are classified into many types, mainly according to three main criteria: - According to semantics - According to psychological standard of ghosts - According to shape shifting 2.1.1 According to semantics Ghosts, according to this criterion, can be classified into two types: - The human spirit - The spirit Helper 2.1.1.1 The human spirit The energy of the spirit after death decides the its activity in the eyes of people who believe ghosts exist in life There are three subtypes of the human spirit according to its energy level recognized by the YK Ghost Watch organization: a) Spirits (hon) A spirit is an entity on the lowest energy level and therefore unable to materialize It usually makes itself known by creating a cold spot or a cool breeze regardless of the general overall temperature It is easy to find this kind of ghost in "Lost Heart" of the collection "The Locked Room and other Horror Stories": It was now March 21,1812, a strange day, windy and noisy, Stephen stood in the garden and felt as if was full of ghosts- people he could not see - who were flying in the wind and trying to contact with living people in the real world (M.R James 16:38) or in "Voodoo Island" by Michael Duckworth: When old Kee finishes a strange song, a cold wind began to move in the wind There were clouds in the sky, and it began to rain Soon the wind and the rain to Port au Prince (15:30) b) Ghost/ Apparition (Ma) Ghost is an entity on the higher energy level (compared with a spirit) and able to be seen by the living TrÞnh ThÞ Mai 42A2 English - FLD ... "Voodoo Island" by Michael Duckworld, "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, "The Phantom of the Opera" by Jenifer Bassett, etc These will be studied more in CHAPTER and CHAPTER Both in ordinary life and in literature, ... think that the dead rejoin them in many daily activities such as eating, drinking, and having fun To these people, ghosts are not lost to the living The belief that ghosts exist spiritually and. .. of ghosts in English literature There are many kinds of ghosts In ordinary life, we usually hear about "ma ca rong", "ma doi", "ma dau troc", "ma xo", "ma toc dai", "ma choi", etc In English literature,