Study Guide Questions for Dracula

  1. Describe the setting for the first part of the story. What does Jonathan Harker find waiting for him when he arrives at the Golden Krone Hotel and describe Harker’s interaction with the hotel landlady.
  2. When Harker tries to explore the outdoor grounds of Castle Dracula, what does he discover?
  3. What does the Count warn Jonathan not to do when he is alone at night?
  4. How does Jonathan see the Count leave the Castle?
  5. What does Jonathan Harker believe he hears coming from the bag the Count had thrown to the floor?
  6. The Count has Harker write three letters home. Why?
  7. What does Jonathan discover upon waking on 31 May?
  8. What does Jonathan Harker find when he goes back to the Count’s room to look for a key to the door?
  9. Who is Mina Murray?
  10. Describe the institution that Dr. John Seward runs?
  11. Describe Lucy.
  12. Identify Quincey Morris.
  13. Lucy receives many marriage proposals. Whose does she accept?
  14. What does the old man that Mina and Lucy meet claim about the tombstones in the cemetery?
  15. What unusual thing does Renfield eat and why?
  16. What is discovered on board the mysterious schooner?
  17. What is the only living thing on the ship?
  18. What happens to the old man who had befriended Mina and Lucy?
  19. What does Mina see in the moonlit churchyard when she goes looking for Lucy?
  20. On the night of August 13th, what does Mina see outside the window?
  21. On August 18th, what change does Mina begin to notice in Lucy?
  22. What changes are taking place in Renfield?
  23. How does Mina describe Jonathan in her letter to Lucy?
  24. What does Mina doe with Jonathan’s notebook?
  25. What begins happening to Lucy upon her return home to Hillingham?
  26. Arthur Holmwood asks Dr. Seward to examine Lucy. What are his findings regarding Lucy?
  27. Who is Van Helsing?
  28. What action does Van Helsing believe is necessary to keep Lucy alive?
  29. Who arrives and offers to help in Van Helsing’s first treatment of Lucy? What is this treatment?
  30. What does Mrs. Westenra tell Van Helsing that causes him to break down in tears?
  31. After he is attacked by Renfield, what act does Dr. Seward witness that “positively sickened” him?
  32. Describe what happens to Lucy’s mother.
  33. What strange action does Lucy do just as she is falling asleep aftehr the fourth transfusion?
  34. Describe the alarming physical changes in Lucy Westenra.
  35. What does Van Helsing do when Arthur attempts to kiss Lucy?
  36. What does Lucy ask Van Helsing when she awakens from her trance-like state?
  37. What happens when the maid sits by Lucy’s body during the night?
  38. Who is Lord Godalming?
  39. As Jonathan Harker walks down Piccadilly what does he see that causes him to suddenly go pale?
  40. After Harker’s sudden relapse, what does Mina declare it is time for her to do?
  41. What strange occurrences begin taking place in Hampstead not long after Lucy’s funeral?
  42. What does Mina plan to do with Jonathan’s diary?
  43. How does Van Helsing explain the bite marks found on the children of Hampstead Heath?
  44. What does Dr. Vincent believe made the marks on the children’s throats?
  45. What do Van Helsing an ddr. Seward do with the child they find in the cemetery?
  46. What do Dr. Seward and Van Helsing discover when they return to Lucy’s tomb the following afternoon?
  47. Dr. Seward, Van Helsing, Quincey Morris, and Arthur find Lucy’s tomb empty. What do they see in the cemetery the same night?
  48. Describe Arthur’s reaction when Lucy speaks to him in the cemetery.
  49. What happens to Lucy?
  50. How does Van Helsing prepare Dr. Seward and the others to go to Carax to find the Count?
  51. Where are the twenty-one boxes missing from Carfax taken?
  52. What changes does Jonathan Harker notice about Mina?
  53. Renfield says that he wants life from other beings, but he does not want something else. What is it he does not want?
  54. After Dr. Seward leaves Renfield, what does the doctor realize?
  55. What does Count Dracula promise Renfield in exchange for letting him into the asylum? Why does Renfield become angry with the Count?
  56. Describe the scene Van Helsing, Dr. Seward, Lord Godalming, and Quincey Morris witness after breaking down the door to the Harkers’ bedroom.
  57. Describe Mina’s description of her encounter with Count Dracula.
  58. Mina vows to kill herself if she will endanger the others in any way. Why does Van Helsing tell her this can not be?
  59. How does the Count escape capture from the group at Piccadilly?
  60. What is the noise that Mina hears outside their bedroom in the night?
  61. Where does Van Helsing believe that the Count is going?
  62. Why do Jonathan Harker and the others feel so compelled to follow the Count even though he is leaving the country?
  63. What request does Mina make regarding the group’s journey to follow the Count?
  64. How does the Count find out that Van Helsing and the others were chasing him?
  65. How does the group divide its members in order to best capture the Count?
  66. What precautions does Van Helsing take when he and Mina are forced to sleep outside at night?
  67. What does Van Helsing see in the mist during the night?
  68. What becomes of these visitors?
  69. How is the Count finally destroyed?
  70. What becomes of the members of the group after their terrible ordeal?