How the use of the diary form narrative is beneficial to the novel Dracula.
Bram Stoker wrote the novel Dracula in the form of a diary narrative, showcasing his creativity and intellect as a writer. This choice proved to be beneficial to the plot of Dracula. The diary form allowed for emotional depth in the characters, which is evident in Stoker’s writing. One of the greatest benefits of the diary narrative is that it allows the reader to see and feel the emotional hearts and souls of the characters. This is particularly effective when a character is trying to hide something or is not feeling well, as the reader is aware of everything that is happening and nothing is being hidden from them.
An example of this happening is when Mina is at the insane asylum and is worried sick about something happening to Jonathan Harker. Mina hides all that she feels when Jonathan Harker is near her. All that Mina is feeling is written by herself, and how she is feeling is ready for a reader to examine because they are able to see her diary. If Mina’s diary was not open to the reader, the observation could be false and the reader would lose valuable information that would be valuable to the whole plot of the book. Some things that can be noticed about the diary form are that different views of the same thing can be expressed by many different people, all in the first-person view. Along with that, there are extensive and very detailed descriptions of a thing or person being described.
In the novel, this is seen as Jonathan Harker travels and describes almost everything he does, eats, sees, etc. Another use of the diary form is that Bram Stoker can have characters “talk to themselves.” If the person writing in their diary makes notes to themselves, such as “I must ask the Count about this,” they are essentially “talking to themselves” in writing and not appearing strange in public.
The good thing about using a diary for writing is that it can be used interchangeably with periodicals and letters. In a diary, one can express extensive descriptions and strong emotions. Similarly, when writing letters, two people can converse in dialogue form without having to switch tenses frequently. Newspapers allow readers to see what is happening and think for themselves without needing explanations from the book or its characters. Therefore, if a newspaper is included in the book, readers have the freedom to think, derive, and draw their own conclusions from the article they are reading.
When the diary form is used, many things can happen simultaneously. One person can write or talk about something, while someone else can describe what is happening elsewhere. For example, Mina may finish writing a journal entry, and suddenly a new story about Dr. Van Helsing and his patient can begin in a new diary entry.
A great thing that is controlled wonderfully with the diary form is time. Time, which normally cannot be changed or moved around, can be taken back through time for things that need to happen when the diary form of narrative is used. For instance, after Lucy had written what was happening to her when her mother passed away, the story went back in time for another important matter to take place. When there are different people in different places, they can be identified by how they act and how they talk.
If Bram Stoker had not used the diary form of narrative, this would not have been possible. If one person were telling the whole story, the reader would see…
