Dracula blog 1

Dracula begins from the vantage point of Jonathan Harker. The text in the book is read as if it was written directly from his journal. We quickly learn that Jonathan is a solicitor (or a lawyer) from England that has been sent in the place of his boss to assist Count Dracula, a peculiar client, in anything he may need prior to his move to England. The Count lives in a castle in Transylvania (somewhere in eastern Europe near Turkey) that is far from Great Britain and very hard to find. As we follow Jonathan Harker in his travels, he comments on how the citizens that see him go by act strangely towards him. The all make the sign of the cross to him, hold crosses in there hands, as well as garlic. One woman even puts a cross necklace around his head. He speaks with some of the locals using the little German he knows. The Count's house is very strange and enormous. Dracula is a tall, slender man with pointy ears, sharp teeth, pale skin and a white mustache. He is able to recall events from the distant past with vivid details and imagery. He keeps Jonathan up late at night asking him questions until sunrise. He never eats with Mr. Harker and is always gone in the daytime. There are no mirrors in the house, and when Jonathan cuts himself shaving, Dracula almost chokes him, but plays it off nicely and throws Jonathan's shaving mirror out the window. Things get very sketchy in the castle and we find that Mr. Harker has become a prisoner at Dracula's Castle and won't be leaving anytime soon.

We will see how things play out in the coming chapters, but I don't feel to good for Jonathan. It's a sticky situation for him to be in and it doesn't look hopeful. After reading the first few chapters I've really noticed where all of the vampire characteristics and myths come from. It has been a good read so far and I'm interested in what will happen in the rest of the book. The writing style is a little hard to understand, but I am able to comprehend most of what Stoker has composed.