Dracula 11

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 11 “Lucy Westenra’s Diary”

If you are looking for the beginning of the study of Bram Stoker’s Dracula then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of available book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Fate, Fortitude. Hospitality, Fear

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What did Mrs. Westenra do which turned Professor Van Helsing’s face “ashen grey?”

2. What positive effects did Lucy mention that the garlic in her room had upon her?

3. What had the interviewer from The Pall Mall Gazette come to the Zoological Gardens to learn about?

4. What incident did the Zookeeper, Mr. Bilder, tell the interviewer about which took place shortly before the wolf’s escape?

5. What was Mr. Bilder’s opinion about what the way a lone wolf would behave?

6. What surprise took place while the interviewer was still talking to Mr. Bilder and his wife?

7. What dangerous event took place in Dr. Seward’s private study?

8. What caused Dr. Seward to not receive Van Helsing’s telegram in a timely fashion?

9. What broke Lucy’s window and what happened as a result of this?

10. What happened to the maid in Lucy’s house?

11. What was the last thing Lucy reported in her memorandum having seen?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. What made Dr. Seward question his own sanity, worrying that “life amongst the insane is beginning to tell upon my own brain?”

2. What did Mr. Bilder mean when he said, “there’s a deal of the same nature in us as in them theer animiles?”

3. Why might Dracula have needed the wolf from the Zoo when he can transform into a large dog himself?

4. What should we infer from the fact that the wolf came back to his zookeeper in such a meek and mild manner?

5. Why might Renfield have suddenly decided to attack Dr. Seward when he did?

6. Lucy saw “a whole myriad of little specks” blowing into her broken window. What is she seeing? What does this call the reader back to from earlier in the story?

7. How might the sherry have come to have the Laudanum in it?

8. If you were in Lucy’s situation at the end of this chapter, what would you do to try to keep yourself safe?

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Seeing what had happened due to the unwitting actions of Lucy’s mother, Van Helsing cried out, “Is there fate amongst us still, sent down from the pagan world of old, that such things must be, and in such way?” Offer a definition for the concept of “fate.” How might we contrast the concept of fate with God’s providence? Should Christians affirm the concept of fate or is it merely a pagan sentiment? What do you think and why?

2. The interview from The Pall Mall Gazette said, “Just tell me how it happened; and when I know the facts I’ll get you to say what you consider was the cause of it, and how you think the whole affair will end.” Why might this approach be a good example of the proper methods of professional journalism (news reporting)? What do you think is the ultimate responsibility (duty) of an ethical news reporter?

3. Do you think Van Helsing has been prudent (or is he being reckless) in not sharing his suspicions about what is happening to Lucy more openly? Explain your reasoning.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Psalm 42. How might we relate this Psalm to our present story?