Through the eyes of a vampire: the effects of rhetorical context in two of Anne Rice's vampire chronicles

VAMPIRE: The very word evokes fear in most readers. And yet, since the mid-1970s, the vampire in literature has become a more sympathetic character. Not only do the roots of our traditional perception of the vampire as the embodiment of evil lie in the history of the literary vampire, but also the reasons for that current change and the rhetorical effect of context. Our modern perception of character insists that the reader consider such matters as the extenuating circumstances of situations, the dynamics of scene and action, and the interplay of protagonist and antagonist. By comparing Bram Stoker's Dracula with Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat, I have found that context affects the reader's perception of the character and that even deeply ingrained ideas, such as the evilness of vampires, can be affected and perhaps even altered by rhetorical perspective.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Master

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Grantor

Texas Woman's University

Year dc:date.issued

1996

Author dc:creator

• Reynolds, Sandra S.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Webb, Suzanne

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Thompson, Lou
• Litton, Alfred G.

• Language, literature, and linguistics
• Bram Stoker
• Ireland

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11274/9095

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:twu-ir.tdl.org:11274/9095