However, not so many actually know where and how these sentiments actually originated from. This topic has been selected and is believed to be significant due to the need to provide an explanation to the existing curiosity about the development of fear in these genres. These curiosities lead to what I want to unfold through this essay is, "How exactly is fear being manipulated by literary elements in the horror and thriller genres, as illustrated in Patrick Suskind's Perfume and Bram Stoker's Dracula? ".
Character Development .
Perfume by Patrick Suskind is a story about Jean Grenouille, a scentless murderer who carries super olfactory abilities. Jean has always wanted to have an identity, a scent. This desire motivates him to kill virgins to able to create a perfume for him. On the other hand, Bram Stoker's Dracula tells a story about one of the most terrifying monster in myths, the vampire Dracula. Upon the first glance, Perfume and Dracula, the two protagonists, Jean Grenouille and Dracula are both created as devil-like creatures. However, the way that other characters portray the protagonist contrasts through the use of diction by the authors. .
Dracula is painted as a noble count through various imageries and diction that automatically ranks him higher in the society. Dracula is portrayed to live in a castle where "everywhere a bewildering mass of fruit blossom " and the "green grass under the trees spangled with the fallen petals " (Suskind 10). This mesmerizing imagery of the castle contrasts with Jean Grenouille's horrendous living condition in Perfume. Instead of having a blissful life in a castle, Jean lives in a cave where "he fed himself on the stiff carcasses of frozen bats ". Moreover, through the course of the book, more powerful dictions are used to portray Dracula. During Dracula's first encounter with Jonathan Harker, a young lawyer who travels to Transylvania to conclude a real estate transaction with him: Dracula's features are described as "strong " and "massive " to an extent that Harker called his presence an "extraordinary pallor " (Stoker 135).