Knowledge in Stevensons The Beach of Falesa and Stokers Dracula Essay

Knowledge in Stevenson's The Beach of Falesa and Stoker's Dracula Several works of late 19th century British imperial literature contrast the role of information with the role of superstition in colonial encounters. Looking at Stevenson’s â€Å"The Beach of Falesa† and Stoker’s Dracula, we see that information plays an important role in both British and non-British characters’ abilities to dominate over their opponents. However, each of these works differs in its treatment of rational and irrational forms of knowledge. In â€Å"The Beach of Falesa,† the natives’ irrational belief in demons stands in contrast to the practical knowledge of the Europeans, which is shown as superior to knowledge based on superstition. The role of information in â€Å"The Beach of Falesa† also demonstrates that the high intellect of whites allows them to dominate over the native people whose land they colonize. Stoker’s Dracula counters this point by illustrating that both Europeans and their non-European oppo nents can use information as a tool for domination and conquest. While â€Å"The Beach of Falesa† portrays rational forms of knowledge as superior to beliefs in magic or folklore, Dracula shows the importance of utilizing multiple types of information in defeating the enemy. Comparing Dracula to Stevenson’s â€Å"The Beach of Falesa,† Stoker uses the theme of information to challenge the idea of a clear separation between Europeans and the â€Å"others† they encounter in imperial experience. In â€Å"The Beach of Falesa,† the protagonist Wiltshire asserts that the native Kanakas have a natural predisposition for superstitious beliefs. As he explores Case’s â€Å"devil’s bush,† Wiltshire tells the reader, â€Å"Any poor Kanaka brought up here in the dark, with the harp... ...defeat the enemy. By avoiding an overly simplistic connection between natives and magic and Europeans and science, Stoker forces the reader to consider a difficult question: if rationality and information does not distinguish the British from the â€Å"other,† then what does? While we may not be able to definitively characterize Stoker as a pro- or anti-imperialist based on the role he gives these types of information in Dracula, his novel shows how information can blur the distinction between Europeans and the â€Å"other.† Works Cited Bolt, Christine. â€Å"Race and the Victorians,† in British Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century, ed. C.C. Eldridge. St. Martin’s Press: 1984. Stevenson, Robert Louis. â€Å"The Beach of Falesa,† in Fictions of Empire, ed. John Kucich. Houghton Mifflin: 2003. Stoker, Bram. Dracula, ed. Glennis Byron. Broadview Press: 1998.