Where the Sun Fails to Shine on the Empire

Where the Sun Fails to Shine on the Empire

“When the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demoniac fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat. I drew away, and his hand touched the string of beads which held the crucifix. It made an instant change in him, for the fury passed so quickly that I could hardly believe that it was ever there” (Stoker 33). Vampires often provoke thoughts of aggressive, bloodthirsty monsters with uncontrollable barbaric inclinations. Yet, how often do they influence thoughts of imperialism and foreign invasion? Bram Stoker’s Dracula signifies apprehensions about the progressive deterioration of a nation and the decline of the imperial race. George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” conceptualizes the views of imperialism from the perspective of the oppressors and the oppressed. It shows a character who doesn’t agree with imperialism, yet feels trapped by the responsibilities it forces on him. The story appeals to the British to cease colonialism to maintain their own freedom. The late nineteenth century was marked by a troubling sensation that the structured world of Victorian values had begun to irrevocably disintegrate. Bram Stoker’s Dracula and George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” challenge English authority numerous times but eventually lead to a resolution. However, the price of the resolve comes with the embrace of several unaccepted elements that invoked panic and challenged authority.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula embodies many issues of imperial ideology and threatened the belief in English superiority and civilization. England reigned as one of the most dominant nations in the nineteenth century. They conquered and colonized other nations and viewed their race as the utmost superior. Dracula brought the idea of a force more powerful and unrivaled by anyone, especially England. Stephen Arata claims, “In Count Dracula, Victorian readers could recognize their culture’s imperial ideology mirrored back as a...