Tale Of The Body Thief Essay, Research Paper
Tale of the Body Thief is Anne Rice?s fourth book in the vampire series. Tale of
the Body Thief is the story of the dumbest decision Lestat ever made. A strange man,
named Raglan James, makes Lestat an offer that he cannot refuse. Raglan offers Lestat
the chance to become human again by switching bodies with himself by switching their
spiritual bodies into the other?s physical body. Even though two of his close friends,
Louis (a vampire whom he created) and David Talbot (his human friend who is a member
of an organization similar to the FBI known as the Telemasca), warn him that this man
may be out to steal Lestat?s preternatural body.
Lestat is intrigued by the offer and sees James again about what he wanted in
exchange for giving Lestat the chance to be human again. James merely wished to have
ten million dollars for a one day and two night switch. Lestat tells Raglan he will consider
the deal and they set up a meeting place if Lestat decides to go through with it. After this
meeting Lestat visits with both David and Louis who once again insist that it is to
dangerous to leave his body in the hands of someone he knows nothing about. Lestat
promises both of them that he will not go through with it, but his urge to see the sunrise
again and just to be human again is to much for him to pass up.
After the switch Raglan takes off with his body and Les
human body which he does not remember how to maintain. After a near death experience
with pneumonia Lestat turns to Louis for help. Louis refuses to help and Lestat?s creator,
Marius, also refuses to help. At this point Lestat turns to his last friend and last hope,
David Talbot. David agrees to help Lestat because he loves him and does not trust
Lestat?s body in Raglan?s hands. They figure out that Raglan is on a cruise ship in the
Caribbean. After David teaches Lestat how to spiritually jolt James out of the body and
take it back over himself they board the boat. After a confrontation with James, Lestat
recovers his body, while Raglan and David disappear.
After Lestat searches for David for a few days he finds him back at the Telemasca
Headquarters. David tells Lestat that he wants to be changed into a vampire and Lestat,
who loves David is more than willing to comply. After Lestat bites David he realizes that
its actually Raglan inside of David?s body. At this point Lestat throws Raglan head first
into the wall without thinking that the body is David?s, killing it. David then arrives in
Raglan?s body and Lestat does not know what to do. After realizing how much he loves
David, Lestat cannot bear to think about David really dying so he changes David into a
vampire against David?s will. Eventually David forgives Lestat for changing him and they
go to Rio together.