Chapter 20 Practice Quiz — Dracula
by Bram Stoker — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 20
What does Jonathan Harker learn from Joseph Smollet about the earth-boxes?
Smollet took six boxes to 197 Chicksand Street, Mile End New Town, and six more to Jamaica Lane, Bermondsey—twelve boxes total from Carfax.
How many boxes did Sam Bloxam move, and where did he take them?
Bloxam moved nine boxes from Carfax to a house in Piccadilly, in two loads (five and four).
What alias does Dracula use to purchase the Piccadilly house?
Count de Ville. He paid the full purchase price in cash ("notes over the counter").
Why is Thomas Snelling unable to help Harker with information?
Snelling had begun drinking too early in anticipation of Harker's visit and was too intoxicated to remember anything.
What happens to Renfield at the end of Chapter 20?
He is found lying face-down on the floor of his cell, covered in blood, after a wild yell is heard from his room.
What does the letter from Mitchell, Sons & Candy reveal?
It confirms the Piccadilly house (No. 347) was sold by the executors of Mr. Archibald Winter-Suffield to Count de Ville, who paid in cash.
What biblical figure does Renfield compare himself to, and why?
Enoch, "because he walked with God." Renfield sees Dracula as a deity who will grant him eternal life without death.
How does Sam Bloxam describe Dracula's physical strength?
He says the Count "took up 'is end o' the boxes like they was pounds of tea" despite being an old, thin man with a white moustache who looked like "he couldn't throw a shadder."
What symptoms does Mina display in Chapter 20?
She is pale, sleepy, heavy-looking, and appears to have been crying. She shudders at any mention of Dracula.
What does Renfield insist he does not want, and what does he crave?
He insists he does not want souls but craves "life." He says he has "all I want" and will "never lack the means of life."
How does the men's decision to exclude Mina create dramatic irony?
They believe shielding her from knowledge protects her, but her pallor and withdrawal suggest Dracula is already victimizing her—their secrecy has left her more vulnerable.
What theme does Renfield's soul-versus-life distinction illustrate?
The peril of the soul: Renfield craves the immortality Dracula offers but dreads the spiritual damnation that accompanies it, reflecting the novel's anxiety about immortality's true cost.
How does class function as a theme in Harker's investigation?
Working-class informants like Smollet and Bloxam hold crucial information, but Harker needs professional credentials and Lord Godalming's aristocratic title to unlock the estate agent's cooperation.
What narrative technique does Stoker use to structure Chapter 20?
The epistolary method: the chapter shifts between Harker's journal, Seward's diary, and a formal letter from Mitchell, Sons & Candy, creating a mosaic of perspectives.
How does Stoker use dialect writing in this chapter?
The phonetically spelled speech of Smollet, Bloxam, and the "depity" (deputy) at the lodging house grounds the Gothic horror in realistic social texture and provides comic relief.
What is the effect of the cliffhanger ending?
Renfield's bloody discovery creates immediate suspense and propels the reader into Chapter 21, signaling that Dracula has launched a counter-offensive against the household.
Name three London locations Harker visits while tracking the earth-boxes.
Bethnal Green (Snelling's home), Walworth (Smollet's home), and Poplar (cold-storage construction site where Bloxam works). He also visits Piccadilly and Sackville Street.
What is the address of Dracula's Piccadilly lair?
No. 347 Piccadilly—a dusty, long-untenanted house with a stone front, a bow window, and high steps.
What does Seward conclude about Renfield's behavior at the end of his diary entry?
"Merciful God! The Count has been to him, and there is some new scheme of terror afoot!" Seward realizes Renfield's assurance of "higher life" comes from Dracula himself.
Why does Seward compare Renfield's smile to Malvolio's?
Malvolio is Shakespeare's pompous steward in Twelfth Night. The comparison suggests Renfield's self-satisfaction is delusional and slightly absurd, masking his servitude to Dracula.