please proof read my essay & tell me what changes i musts make. thanks
The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker is composed of a collection of letters, journal entries, phonographs, and newspaper cuttings. This narrative style has several advantages, which make the novel convincing, and disadvantages, which, in contrast to the advantages, make the novel unconvincing. There are several advantages of this narrative style. One advantage is that this narrative style creates a sense of immediacy. The characters are determined to record everything down as the events happen, so there is little room for subjectivity or imagination. This makes the novel more realistic and objective than if the novel is only told by one narrator, because historical documents are more convincing than a single narrator’s distant recall of the incidents. One example is Dr. John Seward’s diary about R. M. Renfield, who eats spiders and “brings in the flies by tempting them with his food” (69). These kinds of eccentric behaviours are more believable when the characters are recording them as they happen, instead of simply recalling them. Another advantage is that this narrative style allows the readers to read the novel from the different perspectives of the major characters, so the readers are not limited to only what one narrator knows. Also, the absence of a main narrator increases suspense, because each of the character has an equal probability of dying before the story ends. For instance, in chapter four, the last line of Jonathan Harker’s journal is “[g]ood-bye, all! Mina!”, which is immediately followed by Mina Harker’s letter to Lucy Westerna (53). Therefore, at this point, the readers are clueless whether Jonathan Harker survives or dies. Despite the reliability that the narrative style creates, there are a few disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the different characters who have different backgrounds share the same writing style. However, this also indicates that the characters are impeded by modern science, which is symbolized by Mina Harker’s typewriter, as demonstrated by Dr. John Seward’s misdiagnosis of Lucy Westerna, disbelief of superstitions, and Van Helsing, who says that Seward is a “clever man [who reasons] well, but [is] too prejudiced. [He does] not let [his] eyes see nor [his] eyes hear, and that which is outside [his] daily life is not of account to him. It is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it [explains] not, then it says there is nothing to explain. But yet we see around us everyday the growth of new beliefs, which think themselves new; and which are yet but the old, which pretend to be young – like the fine ladies at the opera” (191). Another disadvantage is the fact that the characters are able to record all of the important incidents in detail makes the novel unrealistic, because during times of emergencies, such as having to deal with Dracula, remaining calm and recording every single detail is very unlikely. Instead, they are more likely to panic and try and come up with plans to defeat Dracula instead of recording the events. The most unrealistic document is Mina Harker’s detailed account of what Dracula says when he “[seizes her] neck and [presses her] mouth to the wound, so that [she] must either suffocate or swallow some of the [blood]” (288). The collection of documents in Dracula is a jigsaw puzzle that must be solved and seen as a whole by both the readers and the characters in order to fully comprehend Dracula as the supernatural. Like Van Helsing, we must see the connection between Lucy Westerna, who has become the un-dead after her death, and the marks on the necks of the abducted children.
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Sure! I'd be happy to help proofread your essay. Here are some suggested changes:
The novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker is composed of a collection of letters, journal entries, phonographs, and newspaper cuttings. This narrative style has several advantages that make the novel convincing, as well as disadvantages that make it unconvincing in contrast to the advantages. There are several advantages to this narrative style. Firstly, it creates a sense of immediacy, as the characters are determined to record events as they happen, leaving little room for subjectivity or imagination. This makes the novel more realistic and objective compared to if it were solely told by one narrator. Historical documents are generally more convincing than a single narrator's distant recall of incidents. For example, Dr. John Seward's diary entry about R. M. Renfield, who eats spiders and "brings in the flies by tempting them with his food" (69), is more believable when the characters record such eccentric behaviors as they happen.
Another advantage of this narrative style is that it allows readers to observe the novel from different perspectives of the major characters, rather than being limited to what one narrator knows. Additionally, the absence of a single main narrator increases suspense as each character has an equal probability of dying before the story's end. In Chapter Four, for instance, the last line of Jonathan Harker's journal states, "[g]ood-bye, all! Mina!" (53), which is immediately followed by Mina Harker's letter to Lucy Westenra. At this point, readers are uncertain whether Jonathan Harker survives or dies.
Despite the reliability that the narrative style creates, there are a couple of disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the different characters, each with their own backgrounds, share the same writing style. However, this also signifies that the characters are hindered by modern science, symbolized by Mina Harker's typewriter. This is demonstrated through Dr. John Seward's misdiagnosis of Lucy Westenra, disbelief in superstitions, and Van Helsing's comment that Seward is a "clever man [who reasons] well, but [is] too prejudiced. [He does] not let [his] eyes see nor [his] ears hear, and that which is outside [his] daily life is not of account to him. It is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it [explains] not, then it says there is nothing to explain. But yet we see around us every day the growth of new beliefs, which think themselves new; and which are yet but the old, which pretend to be young – like the fine ladies at the opera" (191).
Another disadvantage is that the characters are able to record all the important incidents in detail, which makes the novel unrealistic. During emergencies, such as dealing with Dracula, it is unlikely that the characters would remain calm and record every single detail. Instead, they would be more likely to panic and focus on devising plans to defeat Dracula rather than documenting events. The most unrealistic document is Mina Harker's detailed account of what Dracula says when he "[seizes her] neck and [presses her] mouth to the wound, so that [she] must either suffocate or swallow some of the [blood]" (288).
To fully comprehend Dracula as a supernatural being, the collection of documents in the novel is like a jigsaw puzzle that must be seen as a whole. Both the readers and the characters need to piece together the connections between Lucy Westenra, who becomes undead after her death, and the marks on the necks of the abducted children, as Van Helsing does.
Overall, your essay provides a strong analysis of the narrative style in "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. Just be sure to proofread it thoroughly for any grammatical errors and clarify any ambiguous statements to enhance the clarity and flow of your writing.