Thesis

Thesis

1. In the novel, because religious symbols such as the Catholic host and crucifixes are used as weapons in the fight against Dracula, it emphasizes how important religion is to the societies of the Victorian Era.

   • Introduction/Topic Sentence
     • In addition, the Catholic host, also known as a wafer, played a role in the sociey of the Victorian Era by acting as a weapon against Dracula because it seems to repel the Un-Dead.
       • Concrete Detail
         • "As he [Van Helsing] placed the Wafer on Mina's forehead, it had seared it - had burned into the flesh as though it had been a piece of white hot metal." (327)
       • Concrete Detail
         • "'...and above all at the last, this, which we must not desecrate needless.' This was a portion of sacred wafer, which he put in an envelope and handed to me" (266).
       • Concrete Detail
         • "He crumbled the wafer up fine and worked it into the mass between his hands. This he then took, and rolling it into thin strips, began to lay them between the door and its setting in the tomb." Dr Seward asked Van Helsing what he was doing, "He answered: - 'I am closing the tomb, so that the Un-Dead may not enter" (225).
   • Introduction/Topic Sentence
     • To begin, the society of the Victorian Era in Dracula had a great tie to the use of crucifixes which served as an instrument of defense in the fight against Dracula.
       • Concrete Detail
         • "I drew away, and his hand touched the string of beads which held the crucifix. It made an instant change in him, for the fury passed so quickly that I could hardly believe that it was ever there" (31).
       • Concrete Detail
         • "Keep this near your heart' - as he spoke he lifted a little silver crucifix and held it out to me, I being nearest to him..." (266)
       • Concrete Detail
         • "The man was simply fastened by his hands, tied one over the other, to a spoke of the wheel. Between the inner hand and the wood was a crucifix, the set of beads on which it was fastened being around both wrists and wheel, and all kept fast by the binding cords" (89).