Human Denial in The Masque of Red Death
In "The Masque of Red Death", Edgar Allen Poe tells a story of human denial
and struggle with death, especially among the wealthy. Poe uses powerful
images of sensual texture, color and symbols to show the passing of time
and life.
Prince Prospero along with "a thousand hale and lighthearted friends from
among the knights and dames of his court" (202) sought a haven from the
"Red Death" that is devastating the country. They lived together in the
prince's luxurious abbey with all the amenities and securities imaginable.
The Prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. "There were
buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet dancers, there were
musicians, there was beauty, there was wine. All these and security were
within. Without was the "Red Death" (202). Prince Prospero had the gate
bolts of iron welded closed to prevent anyone else to enter or leave. "The
external world could take care of itself" (202). As if being wealthy means
he is not responsible for the less fortunate and only those few selected
should be cared for.
After the fifth or sixth month together a masquerade is planned, and in
typical "Poesque" fashion the great halls are described in imagery that
foreshadows a horror to follow. The "masque" takes place in the imperial
suite, which consisted of seven very distinct rooms. Seven being a symbol -
seven wonders of the world, seven deadly sins with seven corresponding
cardinal virtues. Seven also suggesting the stages of one's life, from
birth to death (Birth, childhood, teenage, young adult, middle age, old age,
death).
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...ce Prospero) seeks to hide from
death; however, the Biblical reference (I Thessalonians 5:2-3) at the end
of the story reminds us that death comes "like a thief in the night" (206).
Death holds "illimitable dominion over all" (206).
Works Cited and Consulted
Halliburton, David. Edgar Allan Poe: A Phenomenological View. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1973.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque Of The Red Death." Bridges: Literature across Cultures. Eds. Gilbert H. Muller and John A. Williams. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. 495-498.
Wilbur, Richard. "The House of Poe." The Recognition of Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Eric W. Carlson. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1966.
269-277.
Womack, Martha. "Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Masque of the Red Death.'" The Poe Decoder. Online. Internet. 20 May 1998.
In the "Masque of the Red Death," the first sentence, "The Red Death had long devastated the country," sets the tone for the whole story. Poe describes the horrors of the disease, stressing the redness of the blood and the scarlet stains. The disease kills so quickly that one can die within thirty minutes of being infected with the disease. To create a frightening effect of the revulsion of this disease, Poe uses words such as "devastated," "fatal," "horror of blood," and "sharp pains and profuse bleeding." In summary, the story relates the prince, trying to be safe and away from the horrible death, invites a thousand friends to be in seclusion in his abbey away from the disease. During a celebration , a masked ball at the abbey - with incredible described rooms and moods - a surprise masked intruder causes death to all.
Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, "The Telltale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death" are two very different stories. One is about a simple man, perhaps a servant, who narrates the tale of how he kills his wealthy benefactor, and the other is about a prince who turns his back on his country while a plague known as The Red Death ravages his lands. Yet, there are some similarities in both. Time, for instance, and the stroke of midnight, seem to always herald the approach of impending death. Both are killers, one by his own hand, the other by neglecting his country. One seeks peace, the other seeks pleasure, but both are motivated by the selfish need to rid themselves of that which haunts them, even at the expense of another's life. However, the point of this critique will show that their meticulous plans to beat that which torments them are undone by a single flaw in their character - overconfidence.
Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Mask of the Red Death." The Works of Edgar Allen Poe. Ann Arbor, MI: State Street Press.
During Goodman Brown’s journey, he recognized Goody Cloyse, his catechism teacher, the preacher, and Deacon Gookin is going to the devil’s meeting. However, after seeing his church members at the devil’s meeting, Goodman says, “My Faith is gone! and There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil! for to thee is this world given” (Hawthorne 27). “But, where is Faith?”, asked Goodman Brown (Hawthorne 29). As hope came into his heart, he trembled when he found the pink ribbon of his wife, Faith, in the forest. At that moment, Goodman Brown lost his faith in his family and church members. Goodman becomes unforgiving of others and believes only evil can be created from evil and there is nothing that anyone can do to change it. Here, Hawthorne demonstrates that a naive faith in our family, friends, and church member’s righteousness could lead to distrust. While, “Young Goodman Brown” lives a long life with Faith, he never loses his meanness toward humanity and the evil in the world, “for his dying hour was gloom” (Hawthorne
“The Masque of the Red Death” is a story written by Edgar Alan Poe. He is a writer who centered his writing career on fiction and macabre stories (Digital). “The Masque of the Red Death” is one of those stories. Poe’s Romantic ideology uses the seven chambers as a symbol of death and evil to apply the Still Life “Vanitas” genre and use it as the focus not only for the setting of the story, but also to teach the reader how an individual with a power position can forget morality by getting attached to frivolous pleasures, and material possessions, resulting in wickedness. Poe also reminds the reader about the fragility of human’s life, by using the plague brought for the Red Death. Both death and evil bring devastation to people’s lives, and no one can escape to their force.
In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. Hawthorne’s primary concern is with evil and how it affects Young Goodman Brown. Through the use of tone and setting, Hawthorne portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. He shows how discovering the existence of evil brings Brown to view the world in a cynical way. Brown learns the nature of evil and, therefore, feels surrounded by its presence constantly.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown struggles with staying pure and not giving in to the devil. Hawthorne utilizes allegory and ambiguity to leave unanswered questions for the reader.
Kennedy, Gerald J. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2001
In a female oppressive story about a woman driven from postpartum depression to insanity, Charlotte Gilman uses great elements of literature in her short story, The Yellow Wallpaper. Her use of feminism and realism demonstrates how woman's thoughts and opinions were considered in the early 1900?s.
"The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, depicts a woman in isolation, struggling to cope with mental illness, which has been diagnosed by her husband, a physician. Going beyond this surface level, the reader sees the narrator as a developing feminist, struggling with the societal values of the time. As a woman writer in the late nineteenth century, Gilman herself felt the adverse effects of the male-centric society, and consequently, placed many allusions to her own personal struggles as a feminist in her writing. Throughout the story, the narrator undergoes a psychological journey that correlates with the advancement of her mental condition. The restrictions which society places on her as a woman have a worsening effect on her until illness progresses into hysteria. The narrator makes comments and observations that demonstrate her will to overcome the oppression of the male dominant society. The conflict between her views and those of the society can be seen in the way she interacts physically, mentally, and emotionally with the three most prominent aspects of her life: her husband, John, the yellow wallpaper in her room, and her illness, "temporary nervous depression." In the end, her illness becomes a method of coping with the injustices forced upon her as a woman. As the reader delves into the narrative, a progression can be seen from the normality the narrator displays early in the passage, to the insanity she demonstrates near the conclusion.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s allegorical story “Young Goodman Brown” is set in Salem, Massachusetts during the late sixteen hundreds in a time of religious hysteria and only a few generations after the infamous witch trials. Although "Young Goodman Brown" is a fictional tale, it is based on the cynical environment of Salem during this time period. The short story is filled with many literary elements, leading you to question what did exactly happen to the main character at the conclusion. When analyzing a story like "Young Goodman Brown", one must recognize that the story is at whole symbolic. In the text, symbols are used to uncover the truth of the characters. The role of Faith as both a character and a spiritual element are crucial to both the story and the character of Young Goodman Brown.
Nathaniel Hawthorne did not write Young Goodman Brown to insult the Puritans’ views on religion. By the time he wrote this short story, the Puritans did not exist anymore. Hawthorne simple shows how their way of religion can affect a person’s life and how they struggle to live to the standards of a “good Christian”. Goodman Brown seems to struggle with being what the Puritans consider a good Christian man. He fits the image of a good Christian but did not have the relationship that one should have. If he did have a Christian like faith he would not have fallen deep into temptation, lose faith in his religion and became a stern bitter man.
Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Masque of the Red Death." Responding to Literature Orange Level. By Margaret
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The American Tradition in Literature. Ed. George Perkins and Barbara Perkins. ___________________: McGraw Hill., 2008. Pg-pg. Print.
Written words can be preserved for long periods of time and can be read by those who stumble upon the written work; however, I write only when I feel it is necessary or is asked of me. I seldom feel the urge to get out of bed to write my thoughts of paper. A smaller form of writing that I choose to use every day is when I am messaging someone on my phone or I am making notes for something I have to do later.