21 October 2015

In a paragraph: What do you find most challenging about reading a novel that is structured the way "Dracula" is (through journal entries)? What do you find most enjoyable? What other stories have you read in this format?


What is most challenging about reading a novel structured with journal entries is how it is only one person's point of view and you do not know what it is like in that time period from anyone else. The most enjoyable thing about reading a novel through journal entries is that the book keeps you entertained; one section is never too long or gets off topic to where you do not know what the book or chapter is about. I have read all of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and I enjoyed them.
List of five positive features and five challenging features for an author writing a novel in epistolary form (written through letters, dairy, journal entries). Explain each.

Positive features for an author writing a novel in epistolary form are that the text is very real. Every chapter is like a new book, just shortened up. The book is very "in your face" about it because it has to be quick to the point. You have to say what you are going to say and move on. What  is challenging about writing in epistolary form is that you can not take your time talking about one single subject. Also challenging is that you have to have a lot of things to write about rather than in narrative writing you do not have much to talk about but dragging it on. 

In a paragraph: While the novel is about good versus evil, old versus new, and vampires, there are also sexual undercurrents in all of the novel's main themes. How important is sexuality in a novel? If a novel is written with very strong undercurrents of sexuality, what is the effect on the reader? Could a novel's meaning totally change if sexuality is completely removed or added?

In a paragraph: The scene with Harker and the three vampire women proves to be a critical turning point in the novel as well as an introduction of several characters that reappear later in the text. Imagine you are Dracula and you have just witnessed this scene and Harker has just fainted in front of you. While Harker is asleep, you summon back the three female vampires. What would you say to them? What would that conversation look like? You may write your imagined conversation in narrative or dialogue form.