IME Jr.
English Course
Pre-Intermediate II - Manoel
READING ACTIVITY
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
Part 1: In trios
1) What did you know about Dracula
before reading the book?
2) Do you like suspense? Were you
frightened by the story?
3) Do you believe in supernatural
phenomena?
4) Have you seen any of the movies based
on Dracula's story?
5) What other stories about vampires are
you familiar with?
Part 2: WC
1) When and where does the story take
place?
2) Who are the main characters?
3) Who narrates the story?
4) In your opinion, what was the most
interesting part of the story?
5) What are the guiding principles of the
story?
6) Did you like the end of the story?
Why? Why not?
Part 3: In trios
Together, summarize the chapters of the
book as indicated below. Take notes.
Students A, D, G - Chapters 1 to 4
Students B, E, H - Chapters 5 to 8
Students C, F, I - Chapters 9 to 11
Part 4: In trios
Retell your summary to the people from
the other groups.
Part 5: WC / In trios
How does the book develop the following
themes? Give examples.
1) Sexuality and the role of women in
Victorian culture
2) Positivism, rationalism and technology
3) Immigration
One critic wrote: " What has become
clearer and clearer, particularly in the fin
de siècle years of the twentieth century, is
that the novel's power has its source in
the sexual implications of the blood
exchange between the vampire and his
victims...Dracula has embedded in it a
very disturbing psychosexual allegory
whose meaning I am not sure Stoker
entirely understood: that there is a
demonic force at work in the world whose
intent is to eroticize women. In Dracula
we see how that force transforms Lucy
Westenra, a beautiful nineteen-year-old
virgin, into a shameless slut." Do you
agree with this? Why? Why not?
Part 6: In trios
Movies:
* Dracula (1931), directed by Tod
Browning. (based on a play by Hamilton
Deane and John Balderston)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), directed
by Francis Ford Coppola. (based on
Stoker's book)
Compare the beginning and the end of
each movie. Draw some similarities and
differences between them, concerning
character depiction, acting, camera
movement and plot motivation (example:
Dracula's characterization, Mina vs. Lucy,
Van Helsing vs. Seward, the connection
between Dracula and Mina, Renfield's
role in each movie, among others).
Wrapping up:
After all, why are vampire stories so
popular nowadays?