Two Unique Novels: Dracula & The Tiger's Wife - Essay Sample

Introduction

The novel, Dracula and the Tiger's Wife, are two unique books written at different times. Dracula was written in the 19th century, and therefore its settings and some of the themes are different compared to the Tiger's wife. The Tiger's Wife, for instance, is a story about a woman who is telling a story about her life and the lives of people close to her. She talks about her village, the war, and how bombings have affected different people from different communities. Dracula, on the other hand, is a story that talks about the vampire by the name of count Dracula who was involved in the killing of different people. The books talk about how people became victims of the vampire who could turn himself from vampire to human form also to a bat. This work will analyze the theme of togetherness and superstition in the two novels.

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Similarities

The most common similarity that the two books share is the theme of superstition. In both books, there is a superstition that is brought about by fear. For instance, in the book, the Tiger's wife and superstitions are evident in the way people conduct themselves. Most of the characters experience fear of the unknown, as depicted in images. "When confounded by the extremes of life – whether good or bad – people would turn first to superstition to find meaning, to stitch together unconnected events to understand what was happening" (Obreht 312). This phenomenon is seen throughout the book when different characters try to dig deeper at any information they hear. For instance, the parables about the deathless man, rumors of the Tiger's Wife, and the solution that Barbara Ivan's vineyard uses to treat illness are among the superstition causes. This illustrates the conflict between the past and the present. All these instances result to fear of different characters in the book creating the theme of superstition. In Dracula, superstition is depicted in almost the entire novel.

The theme of otherness comes in when Jonathan Harker suspects something fishy about his client Count Dracula; he has to dig deeper into the matter. His fiancé, Mina, assists him in defeating the vampire. Apart from Mina and Harker, other characters in the book come together to kill Dracula so that they can restore peace. Fear rises in his head and starts thinking of different things before realizing the Dracula was a vampire and was consuming human blood. The book also brings the theme of otherness in the way people come together to unearth Lucy's corpse to put garlic in her mouth and cut off her head. All the actions show the many superstitions and otherness present in the book. In the two books, superstition is evident from the way events take place and how the characters' hearts are filled with fear. Harker also explains how superstition is apparent in people in the first chapter of the book. "I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians as if it were the center of some sort of imaginative whirlpool; if so my stay may be very interesting (Stoker, 8)."

Another otherness common in the book is how characters embrace change. Both Obreht and Stoker have used the style of storytelling to convey their message. The two characters are telling their stories of otherness. When one looks at the novel Dracula, it is evident that Harker is telling his story from the first chapter of the book. Stoker has used the character, Harker, to pass his message. Harker tells his story of how he had met the vampire in the form of a journal. In this journal, Harker explains all the experiences he had with the vampire and how they had come together to defeat it. All the towns’ people had joined hands to kill Dracula. In his journal, it is evident that otherness was a priority since many people had lost their lives in the hands of the vampire. "Was this a customary incident in the life of a solicitor's clerk sent out to explain the purchase of a London estate to a foreigner (Stoker, 72)?" in the quotation, it is evident that he remains telling the story of how he used to work moving from towns to towns and cities to cities. He also says how he had met the Dracula through his work. In the Tiger's wife, several characters are storytellers. The deathless man tells his story to Natalia's grandfather. Natalia's grandfather, on the other hand, tells the story of his past to Natalia. Marko Parovic tells Natalia the story that took place in Galina. Natalia herself becomes the storyteller and collects all these stories and discloses them herself. She also collects other unique events that happened to her while in Brejevina and shares with other people. All these people bring out the theme of otherness in the way they interact with each other. Natalias interaction with members of his family and other people around her shows otherness in the book. The theme of otherness brings different characters in the book together so that individuals can worry about others despite their status in society.

Otherness also comes in when Mina worries about his friend Lucy. Lucy had started to have strange behaviors because of the vampire sucking her blood. Nmina takes care of her friend until death. She shows togetherness on how she fights for not only the life of Lucy the lives of other people who became victims of the vampire. Tiger's wife, on the other hand, explains otherness on how Natalia takes care of orphans in a Warton country. The war has led to the killing of many people leaving scars and bad memories behind. People like Natalia have decided to reduce the pain of the war by taking care of victims. Natalia is the best example of a person depicting the theme of otherness. Despite the similarities between the Tiger's Wife and Dracula, there are also some differences. For instance, in the Tiger's Wife, the story revolves around different people who had mixed experiences. Unlike in Dracula, where all the people aimed to fight the vampire, the Tiger's wife had many occurrences that required a solution from different people. Unlike in Dracula, where the main aim was to defeat the vampire, the book talks about different struggles that individuals go through (Obreht, 215). For instance, they go through every day tensions brought about by the war and bombings; many of these people live full of bad memories from the war. Although people from Dracula may also have memories from the vampire, those who experienced are few, and the vampire had already gone. The Tiger's wife explains the troubles that everyday people suffer because of war and the events in Galina. In Dracula, after the vampire's death, everything came back to normal, making Harker write about his story. In the Tiger's wife, Natalia's grandfather wants to live Galina because of the stories surrounding the Tiger's wife's death. Luka also wishes to live Galina to become a musician. Individuals want to live their current places because of the memories that these places hold. The superstitions in the stories are also different. Most of the characters in Dracula seek what they know while those in the Tiger's wife fear and ask for the unknown. The fear many things, yet they have not encountered, unlike in Dracula, where they fear what they know. Superstition and otherness are evident in different chapters of the book by how the two authors present the themes. Both Tiger's wife and Dracula are books that explain superstition and otherness. The characters in the book seem to be superstitious and, at the same time, work together to achieve a certain goal.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the two stories have similarities and differences depending on how one views them. The theme of superstition is the most common among these two books while. The book's stories are, however, different, including the setting. Dracula is an old book set in the 19th century, while the Tiger's Wife is a new book only published a few years ago. It is, therefore, essential to note the difference in settings and times in the book. Although the authors may use some themes to portray their message, the books remain different, and the audiences are also different.

Works Cited

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Broadview Press, 1997. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=3DWfKBMGbB8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=dracula+bram+stoker&ots=NfGHA-6csF&sig=fgA1TTt9_4afTB5lrxkA2QLxHoA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=dracula%20bram%20stoker&f=false

Obreht, Téa. The Tiger's Wife: A Novel. Random House Incorporated, 2011. https://search.proquest.com/openview/7eedf160feb432dcf78d6ff464026ea7/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1596384