How ‘Dracula’ Changed My Outlook on Life
3 things taught by Dracula that changed my perspective of life
Every book you read has the power to impart lasting change in you, only if you let it do its job.
I call myself a weird reader as I prefer classic books over contemporary ones. Classics make up most of my wishlist for this year, as always. And not for once in my life, I regretted this choice.
A classic book has a way to add something to my life.
“A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.”
So with each read, it can change my perspective.
But the case of Dracula is a bit different. Even though it falls in the classic category, it has less boredom. Suspense, horror, literary originality in this book compels a reader to read it till the end.
Dracula gave me something other than lessons. However, those lessons have a fair share in changing my outlook on life.
Here are the three lessons from Dracula that changed my thinking.
1. Immortality is cursed. So is every step that goes against nature.
Life without death seems dreamy, but Dracula showed how pathetic that life would be.
As I’m sure you know, Dracula is the first-ever book about vampires. Before reading it, I always imagined a dreamy life without death.
Yes, you are right in thinking I am a freak, afraid of death. But I am more afraid of losing my dear ones. The grief of bidding farewell to one who had been dear changes fades with time, but it never ends. And so, I visualized how an immortal life would be and was allured by endless life.
I wasn’t searching for a way to evade death but was trying to decipher puzzles of immortal life.
I wanted to imagine how life would be without the sword of death hanging over our heads — when we would have infinite time to do everything we wanted — when there would be no death to rob someone’s children of fair life by taking his life.
But undead creatures in Dracula made me despise immorality and my visualization.
Immortality has an appeal. But truth be told, immortality is the worst impossibility. Even stray thoughts about immoral give me a shiver.
Death is a weird road, but immorality is worse. If ever endless life were an option, it sure would make a horrible life. We’d be dead in the water in that world.
Dracula made it plain whenever someone imagines going against nature, he imprints a curse not on others but himself.
Dracula made me bold to face death because I have to. And now, despite fear of death and of errands left to run, I want to die when I have to.
Death may seem strange, but there is no reason to imagine another way.
Death is pure and natural, while a life without death would be static and worthless. Likewise, everything we do against nature takes us near turmoil.
2. Either understand every aspect of an incident or cooperate to get near reality.
We compare mundane stuff with two faces of a coin. But Dracula, like many other books, showed life never had just two faces.
I, for once, was sure there are two sides to stories. And all of us, see any of them. But Dracula proved my assumption was faulty. As each of us is unique, and our unique minds contemplate each situation differently.
So there can never be limited ways to look at a matter.
Each incident has several stories, as every person in that story has a different perspective.
No two individuals have the same mindset, so you and I cannot assume things by comparing them with our mindset.
Dracula taught me to dig deeper into the matter at hand — to know and understand the causes of things and trust cooperation.
Let me tell you how.
Picture all characters of Dracula. Each of them had a different outlook about undead bloodsucker lurking around them, but they kept their findings to themselves, which kept them from figuring out the truth. Had they been telling every bit of knowledge they had (like they did near the end), the situation would have been better.
To know another side of the story, we don’t have to look at the other side of the coin. Instead, we need to look at all possible sides of the coin. Since every side has a part, it’s prudent to look for each of them.
“Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.” -William James
So, life is a 3D Soccer ball. When you and I picture it, we are not sure about the other sides. But, we can only assume how it is from other sides.
You may not know every side of each story, but you can assume. And that assumption gets near reality when we interpret every aspect. Either by ourselves or by cooperation.
You can comprehend multifaceted life when you see through it. However, sometimes your awareness is not enough, and you have to reach out for other perspectives. By extensive understanding or cooperation, it's easy to figure out reality.
3. No matter, whatever happens, goodness will reign in the end.
When someone has sincerity and good intentions, his success is marked. The journey is slow, but success is assured.
Even if someone has infinite power, as in a book, only good intentions can keep this life going. I dreaded reading that book as it was seemed impossible for the protagonist to beat that undead being, but they did it.
That was not just an imaginative where success can come out of the blue.
They got near truth and success in small, consistent steps. By not giving up on their good intentions, they tasted the fruit of victory.
Good intention is an investment in installment. So you have to pay a bit of it every moment. So the progress is slow, very slow, and painstaking.
It seems some people are being punished for choosing goodness. The situation makes them question their judgment. But at the very end, only good intentions outshine despite all odds.
There is no shortcut, but there is a surety.
So, believe in the power, good intentions, and sincerity for long-term success.
A timid soul is strongest when it chooses goodness by help from background forces.
Summary
- Whenever someone thinks against natural ways, he only hurts himself.
- Life never had a limited outlook. To get near reality, either understand every aspect of an incident or seek help in cooperation.
- We eat fruits of our good intentions in the long run.
Any book that can add value to your life is worth reading and appreciating. That is the most inspirational book ever written for you despite its genre. And we must let it change our perspectives as per my experience with Dracula.
People might call it classic or boring, but it helped me anyway.
Every book must be given a chance to bring some change in your life, and if that book falls into the classic category, it has a greater chance to help you.
“When you reread a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than there was before.” — Cliff Fadiman
