Death is just one of the many things that are feared; however, it is inevitable. Throughout time there has been many deaths. Some might have lived a care free life, whereas others were constantly worried for their day to come. In “Masque of the Red Death” written by Edgar Allan Poe, the story shows death is a matter of time. Death comes to all those, either noble or poor. Many have come to accept death as a sign a life was well lived. However, there are others that believe their lives were not long enough for them to accept the afterlife. No matter how much a person tries to run or hide from death it cannot be escaped. In the story “Masque of the Red Death,” there is a prince who feared a foe called death, and hid from the outside world. …show more content…
Only locking ones self-up without helping others proved Prospero had become a narcissi’s. The prince might have helped people, but these people were only saved because they proved to be important to Prospero. Saving only those important to him instead of the ones really in need, proved Prospero had no remorse for the people in the kingdom. Without offering protection to the fellow people, Prosepro only cared for personal lives. The prince looked at himself highly as the only one who would not be killed. The bubonic plague, such as the Red Death, killed many innocence. According to “History of black death.” The bubonic plague killed countless lives. To be more specific, more than one-third of the population. Instead of trying to help others during this plague, Prospero as only worried of personal health. In the name of the Red death Prospero would soon be a victim of the killing machine as …show more content…
During this period of hiding a ball was thrown by the prince to celebrate the many still living within the castle. In the castle were seven rooms all lit up by different colors. These rooms symbolically stood for the seven stages of life. According to “Masque of the Red Death,” these rooms were in the color of blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet and black. As the party commenced a mysterious figure in black appeared and frightened many who saw it. Prospero took this this figure as an enemy of his, and boldly tried to rid the figure from the party. As bold as it may seem, Prospero’s action was simply a foolish one. As the prince made his way to the dark figure, he fell to his death within being 3 feet of the figure. Many watching in horror of the prince falling; however the people unknowingly would soon meet the same
Similarly, in “The Masque of the Red Death”, Prince Prospero is confident he can cheat death, but he is in disbelief when a masque figure resembling the Red Death shows up to his masquerade ball in his protected castellated abbey. “The mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His venture was dabbled in blood and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror” (518). Prince Prospero angered attempts to defeat the masked figure, but “there was a sharp cry and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which, instantly afterward, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero” (519). After Prince Prospero’s death, “was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night” (519). Comparably both Brown and Prince Prospero believed they could overpower the antagonist, which did not occur in either
“The scarlet stains upon the body, and especially upon the face of the victim, caused terror in those watching the afflicted” (7). The story starts off with the prince getting away to a castle with his healthy friends. They were going to throw a masque party, and all was going well until the masker showed up. Everyone was scared including the knights. As the masker made its way from the blue room to the black room, nobody moved. The prince felt like it was his job to get up and take control. He entered the black room with the Masker and that’s when everyone heard a scream, the prince was dead. Eventually, all his friends dropped dead too. In “The Masque of the Red Death” the seven rooms represent the seven stages of life; infancy, childhood,
Pale as the ghost he was going to become, Prospero gentley landed on the floor of the black room, where he was certain he would meet his demise. The black room contained the ominous ornaments and tapestries as it always had, but it now had Death. The blood red pane cast an eerie light that bathed the entire room in a dim, bloody light. Death loomed over the guant figure barely recognizable as the once honorable Prince Prospero, for he now had the appearance of an elderly man with greyed hair that sprouted from his leathery, wrinkled skin. The eleventh toll chimed and the prince was reduced to a pile of black ash, indistinguishable from any other dust pile. When the final twelfth toll sounded, Death vanished along with the light from the brazier in the black room, leaving the entire castle empty and devoid of any life.
The characters in “The Mask of the Red Death” include Prince Prospero (who is the only person that speaks in the story), a multitude (a thousand) of the Prince’s wealthy friends, and the masked figure, which doesn’t appear until the end of the story. Prince Prospero’s name signifies happiness and good-fortune. Ironically, this is not the tone of the story. The prince is an unusual man with strange tastes. “His plans were bold and fiery, and his conceptions glowed with barbaric luster". After half of his dominions were killed by the disease is...
In the story “The Masque of the Red Death” the title slightly reveals the story. The story is about a fatal disease known as “The Red Death” and Prospero not caring about and dies. Poe writes this story in third person .Prince Prospero knew about the people dying from the disease but he paid it no attention. So one day Prospero decides to throw a masquerade ball. In the ball there are seven rooms. The seven rooms are different colors such as blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, and black. While people are in enjoying the ball, midnight strikes and everyone silently fall to their deaths. Prospero see that everyone is dead and becomes frightened. Prospero runs in a rage and The Red Death catches him and Prospero dies.
In the short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe always has some sort of symbolism for each main element. He is never straight to the point and typically extends one short sentence into a whole paragraph. Almost everything in this story has a significant meaning such as the title itself, Prince Prospero,the rooms, and the mysterious figure. Not only does this story include all these elements, but it also has a lesson at the end of this which is that it does not matter what type of person one is; one can never escape death.
“The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave.” (page 389). Prince Prospero demanded the stranger to be seized and unmasked, however no one wanted to be the one to do it. Even Prince Prospero was too much of a coward to approach the stranger. The stranger or Red Death, ends of killing the Prince with his dagger and the others as well. Poe describes Red Death as “coming like a thief in the night”. None of us know the day or hour of our own death, but eventually we will all die.
Hundreds of people thought that they were being isolated from a deadly contagion, but it had seemed to find another form of an entrance. “The Masque of the Red Death”, was written by Edgar Allan Poe, a poet from the mid-1800’s, with a wife who had tuberculosis. The short story begins with a lengthy description of the pestilence, which can be interpreted as tuberculosis, that has infested the fictional country. The wealthy Prince Prospero decides to house a thousand of his friends, in order to keep them safe. The artistic home of this Prince has seven rooms, each decorated with a separate color. After five or six months of being sheltered from the contagion, Prince Prospero decides to throw a masquerade ball. As the party progresses, the large ebony clock in the black room chimes, on the twelfth chime, a new guest appears. The rooms turn silent as the ghost of the red death slowly walks through, the fearless Prince Prospero follows
Edgar Allen Poe wrote the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” in 1842. While only one character is actually named, Prince Prospero, the story builds apprehension just based on the descriptions and not on dialogue. The narrator is never named and it is a mystery as to this person’s involvement in the story. The ambiguousness of the narrator also helps build the drama throughout the story. “The Masque of the Red Death” tells the story of a group of wealthy people who are trying to ignore and separate themselves from a terrible disease that is sweeping across their country. The disease is swift and brutal and can cause death within 30 minutes. The people infected weep blood from the pores on their faces and bodies, which causes a disturbing visual image. Poe uses the setting and symbolism to reiterate to the reader that death is inevitable.
He shows off his prosperity while ignoring the sick people of his land. Poe unmasked, “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."”(Poe 1). Prince Prospero shuns the Red Death without worries; he mistakenly believes his wealth will protect him from death itself. Unlike the Prince, Goodman Brown falsely assumes that his faith will protect him. The two characters rival in thought and inevitably both pay the price for
“The Masque of the Red Death” is an allegory that explains lots of features of life and death. One symbol is the clock, the clock is the timeline for people's lives in the story and death. I think this because the clock is the the black room which leads me to my next point which is the seven rooms. The seven rooms are from east to west like the sun. The rooms altogether represent the stages of life. In a way PRInce Prince Prospero symbolizes mankind and its inability to deal with the realities of death. Prospero, like many men, thinks he can avoid death or at least put it off. When the Red Death begins to kill most of the people in Prospero's kingdom, he attempts to use his wealth and possessions to escape death, but that doesn't work in the
"The Masque of the Red Death" shows a wealthy guy named Prospero who locks himself in his palace to party with a thousand people who he invited and he believe's nothing or nobody will enter without his consent, but little does he know death was trying to party too. There is said to be seven stages to a life spam, and Prospero had a Masque theme in his palace displaying those seven stages in room's separately. The rooms go from birth, toddler years,childhood, teenage years, adult years, senior years, and last but not least death. They go from West to East representing the sun rise to sun down. Prospero also had a large ebony clock, that
The Masque of the Red Death is a story about a prince named Prince Prospero. Prince Prospero is running away from the so called Red Death. The Red Death is to be disguised as the plague. One night, after several months, the prince threw a ball. This was a celebration, symbolizing that he escaped the Red Death.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." Selected Tales, New York: Vintage Books,
The noble’s attempts to stave off mortality were futile; thus, through time they impelled to perceive the coming vengeance of the lower class. Therefore, justice triumphed through the power of death against the wealthy; both the rich and poor are all equal in the eyes of death. Prince Prospero knew that the prosperity of the illusion of safety, relied upon psychological transformation and ignorance of the outside world and of the Red Death, "summoning the wild courage of despair, a throng of the revelers at once threw themselves into the black apartment...gasped in utterable horror at finding the grave-cerements and corpse-like mask...untenanted by any tangible force". When the force of the Red Death exposed itself, it shed light upon the sins of the aristocrats. The use of revelry as a defense mechanism against the fear of the poor, indefinitely exposed of the guilt that lied within the noble's was enough to bring them to their end.