Dracula, Chapter 27 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Mina report during her hypnotic trance at the beginning of Chapter 27?

   • She sees Dracula walking through the castle corridors at night
   • Correct answer: "Darkness, lapping water and creaking wood" — indicating Dracula is still on a river vessel
   • She hears wolves howling and the sound of Dracula's voice calling to her
   • She describes the interior of Dracula's coffin in vivid, terrifying detail

   Mina's hypnotic answers consistently describe "darkness, lapping water and creaking wood," confirming Dracula is still being transported by boat up the river.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What troubling change occurs with Mina as she and Van Helsing approach the castle?

   • She becomes aggressive and tries to attack Van Helsing during the night
   • She develops a fear of sunlight and refuses to travel during daylight hours
   • Correct answer: She sleeps excessively during the day, loses her appetite, and cannot be hypnotized
   • She begins speaking in an unknown Eastern European language she has never learned

   Van Helsing observes that Mina "sleeps, and sleeps, and sleeps," has lost her appetite, claims to have already eaten, and becomes increasingly resistant to hypnotism — all signs of growing vampiric influence.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does Van Helsing use to create a protective barrier around Mina?

   • A ring of garlic flowers arranged in a circle on the ground
   • Correct answer: Crumbled Communion wafer scattered in a ring around her
   • A cross scratched into the earth with running water poured over it
   • Silver chains blessed by a priest and laid in a circular pattern

   Van Helsing draws a ring around Mina and passes "some of the wafer" over it, breaking it fine "so that all was well guarded." This holy circle keeps vampires out and also prevents Mina from leaving.

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4. 4

   Question 4. How does Mina react when the three vampire women appear and call her "sister"?

   • She walks toward them willingly before Van Helsing pulls her back
   • She falls into a deep sleep and does not see or hear them at all
   • Correct answer: She shows terror and repulsion, confirming she has not yet turned
   • She screams for Jonathan and begs Van Helsing to drive them away

   Van Helsing sees "the terror in her sweet eyes, the repulsion, the horror" and his heart leaps with gladness because it proves Mina is "not yet of them." Her revulsion is evidence she can still be saved.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Which of the following events actually occurs in Chapter 27?

   • Correct answer: Van Helsing stakes and beheads the three vampire women in their tombs
   • Dracula appears in person to fight Van Helsing inside the castle
   • Mina crosses the holy circle to confront the vampire women directly
   • Jonathan arrives at the castle in time to help Van Helsing destroy the tombs

   Van Helsing enters the castle alone and destroys all three vampire women by staking and beheading them, describing it as "butcher work." Dracula is not in the castle — he is being transported in his coffin by the Szgany.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Van Helsing place inside Dracula's empty tomb?

   • A wooden stake and a crucifix to ward off evil spirits
   • Jonathan Harker's diary as a warning to future visitors
   • Correct answer: Communion wafer, so that Dracula can never return to it
   • Garlic and wild roses to seal the tomb permanently shut

   Van Helsing writes: "I laid in Dracula's tomb some of the Wafer, and so banished him from it, Un-Dead, for ever." This ensures the Count has no refuge to return to.

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7. 7

   Question 7. How do the four parties converge on the Szgany wagon in the climax?

   • All four men ride together from the south in a single group
   • Correct answer: Jonathan and Godalming come from the north; Seward and Morris come from the south
   • Van Helsing leads all four men down from the castle on foot
   • Seward and Godalming attack from horseback while Jonathan and Morris approach by river

   Mina sees "two horsemen follow fast, coming up from the south" (Seward and Morris) and "on the north side of the coming party two other men" (Jonathan and Godalming). Van Helsing and Mina watch from a rocky shelter above.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Why is the sunset so critical during the final confrontation with Dracula?

   • Sunlight is the only thing that can permanently destroy a vampire
   • Correct answer: Dracula would regain his full powers and could escape in many forms after dark
   • The Szgany have sworn to fight only until sunset and will leave afterward
   • Van Helsing's holy circle loses its power once the sun goes down

   Mina explains: "at sunset the Thing, which was till then imprisoned there, would take new freedom and could in any of many forms elude all pursuit." During daylight, Dracula is trapped in his coffin and powerless.

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9. 9

   Question 9. How is Count Dracula ultimately destroyed?

   • Van Helsing stakes him through the heart inside Castle Dracula
   • He is exposed to sunlight when the coffin lid is opened at dawn
   • Correct answer: Jonathan slashes his throat while Quincey Morris stabs his heart
   • The Communion wafer in his tomb causes him to burn and disintegrate

   Jonathan's "great knife" shears through Dracula's throat while "at the same moment Mr. Morris's bowie knife plunged into the heart." The body crumbles to dust almost instantly.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does the word "vindictive" mean as used to describe Dracula's expression: "the red eyes glared with the horrible vindictive look"?

    • Filled with confusion and disorientation after being awakened
    • Correct answer: Showing a strong desire for revenge; spiteful and hateful
    • Expressing extreme sadness and regret over past actions
    • Displaying supernatural power and otherworldly menace

    "Vindictive" means having or showing a strong desire for revenge. Dracula's hateful glare reflects his malice toward the humans who have pursued him across Europe.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What happens to Mina's forehead scar when Dracula is destroyed?

    • It turns from red to white, becoming a permanent but painless mark
    • It begins to bleed as proof of the psychic connection breaking
    • Correct answer: It vanishes completely, proving the curse has been lifted
    • It remains unchanged, and only fades gradually over the following weeks

    Quincey Morris points to Mina and says with his dying breath: "the snow is not more stainless than her forehead! The curse has passed away!" The scar disappears instantly when Dracula dies.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What detail about the Harkers' life is revealed in the final note set seven years later?

    • They have returned to Transylvania permanently to guard the castle
    • Correct answer: Their son was born on the anniversary of Quincey Morris's death and is named after him
    • Jonathan has written a bestselling book about their experience with Dracula
    • Mina still has occasional nightmares and cannot visit Eastern Europe

    The note reveals their son's birthday is the same day Quincey Morris died. "His bundle of names links all our little band of men together; but we call him Quincey."

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does "dissolution" mean in the phrase "in that moment of final dissolution, there was in the face a look of peace"?

    • A state of moral corruption and depravity beyond redemption
    • A violent explosion or sudden burst of destructive energy
    • Correct answer: The process of disintegrating, breaking apart, or ceasing to exist
    • A formal legal proceeding that ends a binding agreement or contract

    "Dissolution" means the process of dissolving or disintegrating. Here it describes Dracula's body crumbling to dust at the moment of his destruction.

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14. 14

    Question 14. Which of the following is true about the final confrontation in Chapter 27?

    • The Szgany surrender peacefully when they see the Winchester rifles
    • Correct answer: The gypsies flee in terror after Dracula's body crumbles to dust
    • Lord Godalming is wounded by the Szgany during the fight
    • Van Helsing fires his rifle to signal the four parties to converge

    "The gypsies, taking us as in some way the cause of the extraordinary disappearance of the dead man, turned, without a word, and rode away as if for their lives."

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