Van Helsing or Dwight Schrute

Dr Van Helsing and Dwight Schrute may not seem very similar at first glance, but let me tell ya, they are more alike than they are different. Both of these two fabulous characters play a heroic role in each of their stories, though neither one fits the typical “hero” mould.  

Lets take a look at Van Helsing. He is an older man who—though he would never admit to it—has some very feminine tendencies (like breaking down into "hysterics"), and seems to be a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to the medical field. Dwight Schrute on the other hand is a paper salesman by day, and a beet farmer by night. He is a character known for his ridiculousness and his beet farm. They may not seem very hero-esque, and yet, they both manage to be an integral part of the heroic acts in their respective stories. For example, Van Helsing is the fist character to really put two and two together when it comes to Dracula, and is by far the most knowledgeable about the whole vampire problem. Without him having forced his theories into Jonathan's head, who knows when the others would have caught on? He also takes action when necessary, and saves his friends on several different occasions, like when he "sprang forward, and held between [Lucy and Arthur] his little golden crucifix," in order to save Arthur from his undead wife (188). Dwight Schrute reacts in a similar way when one of his coworkers is threatened, and reacts quickly to save one of them from an attacker with pepper spray, which he keeps under his desk. 

It could be argued that both men also harbor a secret desire to enter law enforcement/criminal justice. Throughout the novel, Van Helsing acts as though he is a detective solving a crime, hell-bent on catching the blood-sucking fiend that kills Lucy. He is a man of conviction, and will not stop hunting the Count until justice is served. Dwight also views himself as a protector of the law, and is a volunteer sheriff on the weekends. In the Office, he takes it upon himself to enforce the rules down to the T, and takes his job very seriously. 

Van Helsing and Dwight are also both experts on a variety of topics. As was previously mentioned, Van Helsing has quite the lengthy background in medicine, and “knows just as much about obscure diseases as any one in the world” (105). On top of this knowledge, he is also an expert on vampires, and the best ways to get rid of them. He has a very broad range of interests. Dwight is much the same way. He is considered to be one of the best salesmen at the paper company, and is also an expert on all things involving “beets, bears, and battle star galactica.” Both of these characters are the absolute best at what they do.

Both characters are strange and entertaining in their own unique ways, and the plots of either the text or the TV show would not be the same without them. Though they have very different monsters to face (except for the episode where Dwight is convinced that one of his coworkers is a vampire and plots to stab him with a wooden steak), they are more similar than you might think.