The books I’ve read all have their own descriptions of a vampire’s strengths. However, I found the description in “Interview with the Vampire” to be much more in depth and interesting. This is most likely because, unlike many other novels, the entire story is told from a vampire’s point of view.
When Louis wakes up after dying (as a human, anyway) he is awakened as a vampire immediately. He feels detachment from human emotions. Louis also sees things in a new way. As a vampire, all details and colors seem more vivid and alive. All sights and sounds have new details and he says the experience was “as if I had only just been able to see colors and shapes for the first time” (21). Lestat pays very little attention as Louis makes this transformation. In the weeks and months following, Lestat tells him that there is much that he doesn’t know and that only he can tell him, but Louis suspects this is only to keep him from leaving.
Compared to other novels I’ve read, the vampires in “Interview with the Vampire” have many fewer weaknesses. Louis mentions Lestat gave his father a rosary and the boy asks about crosses (because rosaries have crosses). Louis tells the boy that this rumor is “sheer nonsense” (23). He then goes on to say that stakes have no effect and that they aren’t able to go through keyholes by turning into steam. The vampires of this story have “no magical powers whatsoever” (24). However, they are unable to go into the sunlight like most traditional vampires. Just as a note of interest, they also sleep in coffins. Louis and Lestat have to drink blood every night to survive.
The vampires of this book are quite different from those in other book. They are monsters in the sense that they kill people and have to do so to survive. However, they are capable of interacting with humans and having intelligent conversations. These vampires aren’t mindless monsters whose sole purpose is to scare people and kill them. They live like people but on a different diet and time schedule. Maybe they just seem different because they are the ones telling the story and not mortals.
2 comments:
Is this like an actually interview with someone or is that just the title?
I think its good that you are notifying the differences between these vampires in the books.
In the story, there is a boy (only called boy, no name) who is interviewing this vampire. However, it really isn't as much of an interview as it is Louis telling the story of his life. The boy is recording the entire interview, but he isn't really asking questions as much as listening to Louis.
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