Interview With a Vampire

  For this week's assignment, I read Interview With a Vampire by Anne Rice.  I found this novel to be quite interesting, especially when evaluating the relationships between the characters.  One thing I found to be very interesting is the point of view that this novel is written in.  It is essentially told in third person perspective, yet it seems as though Louis is narrating the story.  In a way, he is, but it is told through pretty much all dialogue.  This way of writing makes the character of Louis seem more mysterious, because as readers we aren't necessarily getting all of his thoughts.  This (for me) makes Louis a fairly unreliable character.  I felt like I had a tough time trusting him, because although the story is told mainly within his dialogue, we still didn't truly get a deep sense of his thoughts about different characters and situations. 
  Another character I found fascinating in this novel is Claudia.  The portrayal of women in the horror genre is something that has always been fascinating to me, and Claudia's character definitely plays into common themes I've noticed in horror.  Often, women in horror are secondary characters and somewhat objectified.  The common referring of Claudia to a "doll" definitely dehumanizes her and objectifies her.  There's an underlying sense of sexuality to Claudia's character that is present throughout.  This is a strange concept, because sexuality is a very human thing, yet she is compared to a doll often. 
  Something that I also found prevalent is the portrayal of Lestat.  Vampire stories became quite popular in the 2000s and 2010s, and Twilight was a big reason why.  I couldn't help but draw parallels between Lestat and Edward from Twilight, as they are both depicted as handsome and manipulative.  I haven't read Twilight and I'm not a fan of the films, but I did think that Stephanie Meyer drew some inspiration from Interview With a Vampire. 

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