Novels Essay Plans
How do both authors explore the idea of pain?
Introduction:
Throughout both novels pain plays a pivotal role in creating tension and engaging readers on different levels.
Both Stoker and Morrison explore the theme of pain through the exploration of emotional pain as a way for
characters to express the feelings of loss, through the lasting impact of physical pain as a visible and tangible
reminder of trauma and through supernatural elements.
Paragraph 1:
Both texts explore the theme of pain through the exploration of emotional pain as a way for characters to
express the feelings of loss.
Dracula Beloved
● Point 1 - Lucy Westenra's transformation ● Sethe revisits painful memories that evoke
into a vampire and subsequent death inflict emotional pain and feelings of loss.
emotional pain on Arthur and her friend - Point 1 Sethe’s being sexually
Mina. assaulted by schoolteacher and his
‘’ Arthur was next to me and if i hadn't held nephews - symbolic of her motherhood
him up, he would have fallen’’ - chapter 15, being lost.
mina comforts arthur - conveys emotional ‘’ they took my milk!’’ - literary device
pain inflicting potential physical pain, also a of exclamatory sentence conveys the
loss of control on oneself. emotional frustration and pain Sethe
‘’Covered his face with his hands sobbing endured and still feels when she
in a way that nearly broke me down to see’’ remembers the incident.
- lucy's death Ch12 pg 173 Also conveys the deep rooted emotions
Lucy's death is a significant event as Arthur is she has, perhaps
devastated by Lucy's death and feels a deep been repressed, now shown as
sense of loss. frustration and pain
- This is important as Stoker effectively - Morrison effectively uses this to portray
highlights how emotional pain becomes the theme of pain to highlight the
a way for characters to express loss. brutalities and harsh realities of slavery
- This symbolises emotional turmoil, loss and its emotional and physical impacts
and grief, loss of control on women that still haunts them till this
- Stoker uses emotional pain to deepen day. She also uses sethe's frustration to
the thematic complexity of "Dracula" symbolise the frustration of people today
and highlight the profound emotional towards the haunting legacy of slavery.
and existential challenges faced by
characters. - Point 2 - The act of killing her own
daughter is a central and haunting event
in Sethe's life, and it is a memory that
● Point 2 Mina's emotional anxiety and anguish she grapples with throughout the novel.
is seen as she witnesses the suffering of her ‘’It was when I got home and sat down
husband Jonathan Harker. that it came to me. I realised... She was
- In her letter to Lucy she expresses her trying to make up for all that I'd lost."
emotions regarding Jonathon Harker. chapter16
"Waiting for the worst" symbolises - Sethe realises that Beloved's return is
the uncertainty and fear that pervade not merely a coincidence or a
Mina's emotions as she grapples with haunting, but a deliberate attempt by
the danger Jonathan faces. Beloved to reconcile with Sethe and
- By depicting Mina's anguish and concern for compensate for what Sethe had lost.
Jonathan, Stoker humanises her character. Beloved's actions are interpreted by
Stoker uses Mina's letter to build tension and Sethe as an effort to make amends
suspense, drawing readers further into the for the pain and suffering that Sethe
, unfolding mystery of Jonathan's ordeal and the endured, particularly the loss of her
threat posed by Dracula. daughter.
Sethe's acknowledgment of what she has lost
emphasises the profound impact of her past traumas.
She has endured the loss of her daughter, Beloved, as
well as the loss of her own agency and freedom during
slavery.
Paragraph 2:
Both texts explore pain through the lasting impact of physical pain as a visible and tangible reminder of
trauma.
Dracula Beloved
● Point 1 -Communion wafers burns into minas ● Point 1 -Sethe's scars
forehead - Paul d calls it a ‘’revolting clump of
‘’ burned into the flesh’’ ‘’unclean’’ scars’’
- The Power of Evil: evil is portrayed as a force - These scars serve as a tangible
that corrupts and defiles. Burning Communion reminder of her past suffering,
wafers into someone's flesh could serve as a emphasising the lasting impact of
representation of the power of evil to inflict physical pain.
physical and spiritual harm, leaving lasting - Morrison's intention with Sethe's scars
scars on the individuals. is to highlight the brutality of slavery and
- Fears of reverse colonisation. Worries about the enduring trauma it inflicts on
dracula as a threat to England and civilization. individuals. Morrisons crafts vivid
The wafer used by van helsing ultimately serves descriptions of Sethe's scars to convey
to protect the crew of light and mina from the the depth of her pain and the resilience
uncivilised and supernatural. required to endure it.
- Stoker wants to evoke fear in readers, warning - Context: Slaves in the antebellum
them that everyone is vulnerable to the evil South were subjected to extreme
force of dracula. physical punishment, including
Context: Communion wafers are deeply symbolic whippings, beatings, and other forms
in Christianity, representing the body of Christ in of torture, as a means of discipline
the sacrament of the Eucharist. By using them in and control by slave owners. This
this way, the act becomes sacrilegious, suggesting brutal treatment left lasting scars on
a perversion of religious symbols to convey a the bodies of enslaved individuals,
message of pain and suffering. serving as tangible reminders of their
suffering and the violence they
endured.
● Point 2 - Lucy Westenra's Transformation:
- The two puncture wounds on her neck holds
significance symbolising the painful attacks
of dracula when he drains her blood leaving
her weak and pale.
- ‘’Tiny woulds seemed to have not healed’’
chapter 8
The visible bite marks on her neck serve as
a constant reminder of the trauma she
endures, both physically.
● Point 3 -Renfield - ‘’zoophagous (life eating) manic’’
- Renfield, a patient at Dr. Seward's asylum, engages
in pain inflicting behaviour as a result of his
obsession with consuming life.
- He inflicts physical pain on himself by consuming
How do both authors explore the idea of pain?
Introduction:
Throughout both novels pain plays a pivotal role in creating tension and engaging readers on different levels.
Both Stoker and Morrison explore the theme of pain through the exploration of emotional pain as a way for
characters to express the feelings of loss, through the lasting impact of physical pain as a visible and tangible
reminder of trauma and through supernatural elements.
Paragraph 1:
Both texts explore the theme of pain through the exploration of emotional pain as a way for characters to
express the feelings of loss.
Dracula Beloved
● Point 1 - Lucy Westenra's transformation ● Sethe revisits painful memories that evoke
into a vampire and subsequent death inflict emotional pain and feelings of loss.
emotional pain on Arthur and her friend - Point 1 Sethe’s being sexually
Mina. assaulted by schoolteacher and his
‘’ Arthur was next to me and if i hadn't held nephews - symbolic of her motherhood
him up, he would have fallen’’ - chapter 15, being lost.
mina comforts arthur - conveys emotional ‘’ they took my milk!’’ - literary device
pain inflicting potential physical pain, also a of exclamatory sentence conveys the
loss of control on oneself. emotional frustration and pain Sethe
‘’Covered his face with his hands sobbing endured and still feels when she
in a way that nearly broke me down to see’’ remembers the incident.
- lucy's death Ch12 pg 173 Also conveys the deep rooted emotions
Lucy's death is a significant event as Arthur is she has, perhaps
devastated by Lucy's death and feels a deep been repressed, now shown as
sense of loss. frustration and pain
- This is important as Stoker effectively - Morrison effectively uses this to portray
highlights how emotional pain becomes the theme of pain to highlight the
a way for characters to express loss. brutalities and harsh realities of slavery
- This symbolises emotional turmoil, loss and its emotional and physical impacts
and grief, loss of control on women that still haunts them till this
- Stoker uses emotional pain to deepen day. She also uses sethe's frustration to
the thematic complexity of "Dracula" symbolise the frustration of people today
and highlight the profound emotional towards the haunting legacy of slavery.
and existential challenges faced by
characters. - Point 2 - The act of killing her own
daughter is a central and haunting event
in Sethe's life, and it is a memory that
● Point 2 Mina's emotional anxiety and anguish she grapples with throughout the novel.
is seen as she witnesses the suffering of her ‘’It was when I got home and sat down
husband Jonathan Harker. that it came to me. I realised... She was
- In her letter to Lucy she expresses her trying to make up for all that I'd lost."
emotions regarding Jonathon Harker. chapter16
"Waiting for the worst" symbolises - Sethe realises that Beloved's return is
the uncertainty and fear that pervade not merely a coincidence or a
Mina's emotions as she grapples with haunting, but a deliberate attempt by
the danger Jonathan faces. Beloved to reconcile with Sethe and
- By depicting Mina's anguish and concern for compensate for what Sethe had lost.
Jonathan, Stoker humanises her character. Beloved's actions are interpreted by
Stoker uses Mina's letter to build tension and Sethe as an effort to make amends
suspense, drawing readers further into the for the pain and suffering that Sethe
, unfolding mystery of Jonathan's ordeal and the endured, particularly the loss of her
threat posed by Dracula. daughter.
Sethe's acknowledgment of what she has lost
emphasises the profound impact of her past traumas.
She has endured the loss of her daughter, Beloved, as
well as the loss of her own agency and freedom during
slavery.
Paragraph 2:
Both texts explore pain through the lasting impact of physical pain as a visible and tangible reminder of
trauma.
Dracula Beloved
● Point 1 -Communion wafers burns into minas ● Point 1 -Sethe's scars
forehead - Paul d calls it a ‘’revolting clump of
‘’ burned into the flesh’’ ‘’unclean’’ scars’’
- The Power of Evil: evil is portrayed as a force - These scars serve as a tangible
that corrupts and defiles. Burning Communion reminder of her past suffering,
wafers into someone's flesh could serve as a emphasising the lasting impact of
representation of the power of evil to inflict physical pain.
physical and spiritual harm, leaving lasting - Morrison's intention with Sethe's scars
scars on the individuals. is to highlight the brutality of slavery and
- Fears of reverse colonisation. Worries about the enduring trauma it inflicts on
dracula as a threat to England and civilization. individuals. Morrisons crafts vivid
The wafer used by van helsing ultimately serves descriptions of Sethe's scars to convey
to protect the crew of light and mina from the the depth of her pain and the resilience
uncivilised and supernatural. required to endure it.
- Stoker wants to evoke fear in readers, warning - Context: Slaves in the antebellum
them that everyone is vulnerable to the evil South were subjected to extreme
force of dracula. physical punishment, including
Context: Communion wafers are deeply symbolic whippings, beatings, and other forms
in Christianity, representing the body of Christ in of torture, as a means of discipline
the sacrament of the Eucharist. By using them in and control by slave owners. This
this way, the act becomes sacrilegious, suggesting brutal treatment left lasting scars on
a perversion of religious symbols to convey a the bodies of enslaved individuals,
message of pain and suffering. serving as tangible reminders of their
suffering and the violence they
endured.
● Point 2 - Lucy Westenra's Transformation:
- The two puncture wounds on her neck holds
significance symbolising the painful attacks
of dracula when he drains her blood leaving
her weak and pale.
- ‘’Tiny woulds seemed to have not healed’’
chapter 8
The visible bite marks on her neck serve as
a constant reminder of the trauma she
endures, both physically.
● Point 3 -Renfield - ‘’zoophagous (life eating) manic’’
- Renfield, a patient at Dr. Seward's asylum, engages
in pain inflicting behaviour as a result of his
obsession with consuming life.
- He inflicts physical pain on himself by consuming
