This post is related more to our discussion last class than to the second half of the novel but I think it is fitting. I was surfing the GQ website earlier today and I stumbled across an article that will be published in this month's issue. The article, entitled "There's a Sucker Born Every Minute," examines how vampires have worked their way into pop culture. The article raises a few points that I found quite interesting including one that says the allure of vampires is that they can be used as metaphors for absolutely every issue in society. These metaphors change depending on what country you're in but the versatility of the vampire is universal. The author says that in the U.S, the appeal of the vampire is that they represent a life of "wishful privilege" that doesn't seem to have been worked for but rather just attained; which is really how all of us would like to live. By living hundreds of years, these characters become worldly, sexy, smart, and rich, but they didn't have to do anything to get these things. This could be viewed as a metaphor for our current way of American life. Personal politics aside, our society has become lazy and the work ethic of past generations is just a memory; people expect luxury to just fall into their laps, and as vampires, that just might happen. I think that some of the appeal of Dracula comes from his inexplicable wealth as well. It is a complete mystery how this monstrous man attained his immense wealth and that's intriguing. The reader doesn't know what he had to do to get rich, and honestly, it seems like most people don't care; all that matters is that he's rich and we want to be too. This regality without work is what makes America's newest vampire sweethearts (the characters from the Meyer books) attractive as well. They live a luxurious life and bring a blue collar worker's daughter into it. America has always had a fascination with blue blood families, but now it's far more interesting if they also happen to be supernatural entities.

I think America's focus on age also has something to do with the popularity of vampires. Americans do everything to look younger and age slower so what's more alluring than someone who doesn't age? By being young forever, vampires can live however they want and improve themselves over time. One of the best lines in the article says "maybe it takes a couple centuries' practice for an American to learn to be suave," and I think that sums up why these creatures are so popular, if we could live forever, we'd all be perfect.