Artistic Details in the Vampire Diaries Series

                When I began watching the TV show, The Vampire Diaries, I never realized it had been based on a book until I saw it in the credits. After that, I decided to try out the books. The books tell a similar story with a few differences. But the theme and major events are mostly the same. Stefan Salvatore moves to a small town in Virginia where he meets Elena Gilbert. At first he hates her, but she learns the truth when he opens up to her and she learns that he and his brother Damon were in love with the same woman named Katherine. Katherine was almost identical to Elena. But Katherine was a vampire who ended up turning Damon and Stefan in the fifteenth century. Damon has been following Stefan around, trying to make Stefan’s life miserable. The author, L.J. Smith, uses artistic details in The Vampire Diaries series to show traits about characters to the readers and to make the readers think.

        I noticed this first with Damon. In the book, Damon was portrayed as a crow and as the Grim Reaper. Both of these things are associated with death. For instance he dresses as the Grim Reaper during the Halloween Haunted House at Elena’s school. In this scene, Elena describes Damon as a “hooded figure in black robes.” She mentions that she hadn’t remembered seeing that costume at any of the Halloween parties she had attended.  He also takes the form of a crow sometimes. A crow is the bird that usually symbolizes death. Elena sees the crow around Fell’s Church. She doesn’t know about vampires yet, so she doesn’t know it is Damon. This crow is very similar to Damon, because Damon is the very image of death. Damon is cruel and evil. Elena’s best friend, Bonnie, who was descended from the druids, has premonitions. While at a dinner at Elena’s house, Damon was also there, she said, “Death is in the house” during one of her trances. This is clearly a description of Damon because technically, he is dead. Though, he did came back as a vampire when he changed. What I'm really trying to say is that the author includes these details to try make the reader understand Damon and to show the reader that he is dangerous.

       Damon’s actions reflect is appearance. While at the Halloween Haunted House, he kills on of Elena’s teachers, Mr. Tanner. I think that Damon does this without remorse because he was hungry, and he believes that humans are at his dispose. Damon thinks he is better than humans because he is stronger, faster and immortal. He doesn’t care if they die. This makes him who he is. This makes him cruel and inhumane. This makes him like a grim reaper. He kills humans; he brings death and attacks to Fell’s Church. Even when he was at Elena’s house, he threatens to kill Elena’s sister, Margret. Vampires cannot enter a building that people sleep in and live in without being invited in. Damon gets invited into Elena’s house, just not all of it. Part of her house burned down in the civil war, so the new house was built onto what was remaining of the old house. Elena’s room was in the old part, and Damon had only been invited into the new part when he came over for dinner. Later that night, Damon comes to visit Elena because he is thirsty and wants her blood. Elena feels like she has won until he threatens her sister. Damon will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He hurts people when he kills their friends or family. He wants Elena so badly he threatens her even if he wants her. I think the author created Damon because the story needed a villain. Everything was going so well with Stefan, apart from the fact he’s a vampire. There’s no conflict and excitement. Damon was created to add both of these things. When we read about Damon and think of him, we are supposed to understand that Damon was good once and that once he turned he became of creature of the darkness. Damon just needs his hard shell around his soul to be broken, so he can learn of feel, care and love.