Select one character, object, or the setting (a specific room for example) and explain what you think it symbolizes within "The Masque of the Red Death".
I think the man that invades the party symbolizes the disease, Red Death. This is shown when the prince approaches the unknown man and the prince just falls to the ground and dies. Also, I do not think that this man is a actual person but it is an inanimate thing to represent the disease
I think the 7 colored rooms in the story represent the cycle of life since the first room is blue and is connotation means peacefulness. In this case it is used to represent birth. More specifically, the last room is described being the color black, frightening and creating fear among many tempted to go in the room. Black is associated with death, mystery and evil. More context is given in the story as the final room window painting was describe as being the color scarlet and also the prince death in that room.
I believe that the tripods in the story symbolize life itself. This because they remain lit, illuminating the stain glass windows, for nearly the entire story, but at the end, after all of the people in the abbey have passed away, they flicker out. This shows that the light going out symbolizes the end of life, or death. The literal darkness that ensues once the flames have been extinguished also seem to represent the metaphorical darkness that comes along with death.
In "The Masque of the Red Death", the clock in the black room symbolizes the time that's passing towards the death. The theme of the story is that death is inevitable, so time flies as the guests were having fun in the abbey and unaware of death approaching them. Nevertheless, the clock makes a loud, creepy sound that generated much fright upon the guests and stopped all the music and dancing every time an hour passes, making a sign that death is coming closer hour by hour. Also, the clock stopped ticking after the intruder arrived and brought death to all the guests, symbolizing the denomination of death.
The lanky dude at the end symbolizes the Red Death. In the beginning of the story, the author states "The couriers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress to the sudden." The prince ordered for this to be done because he didn't want anyone infected with the disease to come into his castle. At the end, the lanky dude comes into the castle, somehow, wearing a (presumably) black cloak and a mask. When the Prince tries to go after said lanky dude, he dies. The lanky dude symbolizes the Red Death, because there was no way to get into the castle, for the reason of preventing the disease form entering, but somehow this mysterious lanky dude gets in. He then kills the Prince, in the ghastly black-colored room.
I believe that the man who invades the party at midnight represents death primarily because of what his mask looks like, what he is wearing, and what happens to Prospero when he confronts the masked figure. Another reason why the masked figure represents death is because of the spots of blood that were seen on his face. This is most likely the reason as to why everyone died at the end of the story
The masked man undoubtedly symbolizes quite a few things; the most prominent interpretation being that the man is a physical manifestation of the Red Death. Despite this being true, I feel that he symbolizes a deeper truth. The masked man symbolizes the inevitability of human fallibility as well. The world is stained with many influences that can have negative or sometimes fatal outcomes for humans. For example, despite the Prince's efforts to keep the Red Death out of his well-fortified castle, the fact that the pestilence still manages to penetrate the walls and kill all of the inhabitants must serve a deeper meaning. And so, Poe tries to explain that the masked man cannot be stopped or ignored, and all humans are will inevitably succumb to it's evil.
I feel that the clock represents the reminder of death or a near death experience. Every time the clock chimes everybody in all of the rooms stop and listen fearfully, they turn pale and are scared into silence. That type of reaction must have some connection with death. Especially because the masked man that invades the ball has some form of a connection with the clock and that man represents red death.
I think that the black room symbolizes death. There are 7 rooms in the Prince's household. Six of these rooms are brightly colored and happy, symbolizing life, but one of them is described as "ghastly" and terrifying. This room is all black, with a scarlet colored window painting. The colors black and scarlet are associated with death and blood. Seeing them both together makes the reader think of bad things such as evil and destruction. Everybody at the party is afraid to go into this room because of its dark and gloomy appearance, just like people are afraid of death. It is different from all of the rest of the rooms in the Prince's house, and they are afraid of what might happen if they step inside. This shows people's fear of the unknown that comes with dying. Also, when the prince steps into this room, he is stabbed by the masked figure and dies.
I believe that the man who comes into the party represents Red Death. This is because of him being dressed in dark clothing and having blood coming from his pores. Also, his face was "besprinkled with the scarlet horror". Another reason is at the end of the story Prospero was stabbed and killed by him. Following his death, the revellers came into the black room where the masked man was and died one by one from encountering Red Death.
The masked man at the end of the story represents death. One can tell this because he has a mask and covered in blood. Also, when he comes in contact with the prince in the seventh room the prince falls to the floor and dies. Soon everyone in the palace ends up dying from the red death, even though the goal of the party itself was to keep the disease out. However, the red death manages to still enter the castle, who the guests imagine to be a man and not a disease.
I think the prince represents ignorant bliss. He created this "perfect" world inside the castle walls to keep the uninfected people from having to feel the pain from reality. He symbolizes the shield we cover ourselves in to hide from the things that hurt.
The masked man who invaded the party symbolizes death. We, as readers, can figure this out because he is covered in black. The man also has blood dripping down his pores, and these two pieces of information symbolize death. Later on in the story it is the masked man who kills the prince and all of the others in the dark room. This is how the death is represented.
I think the clock stopping and the candle flames going out are a symbol of death. Notice in the story that when everyone is alive and partying the candles and clock are "alive" (working). But when revellers throw themselves at the masked man and die, the objects also go out. This symbolizes the death of pretty much every "living" object.
If the colored rooms do represent the cycle of life, then i think the people being bolted in is showing how one cannot escape from the path of life.These people could not escape dying because they had no way out. Just like someone has no way out of life's end
the man at the end of the story represents death. this is because he not only kills the prince but has blood coming from his pores. The revellers at the end of the story all contract red death from him and eventually die, supporting the idea that he symbolizes death.
The masked character in Poe's "The Masque of Red Death" represents death. No matter the precautions Prince Prospero took to avoid the red death, which included isolating the healthy from the sick and also bolting all entrances so no infected could get in, the red death still reaches him through the masked character. It shows that no matter whether you try to hide from death or fight you, in the end you will reach an inevitable demise. Additionally, when the masked character chases Prospero through all of the rooms, it symbolizes death chasing you throughout your life since the rooms represent the stages of life, and when Prospero reached the last room, the black room, the masked figure caught up to him just like death catches up with you at the last stage of your life.
I feel that the character Prince Prospero is very symbolic. When the Red Death wipes out half his kingdom, he is very apathetic, and proceeds to hold a masquerade ball in his abbey in order for him and his guests to avoid infection. However, the stranger brings it in anyway. Due to this, I think Prince Prospero represents ignorance and apathy, as he is not shown to care for those who are dying of the Red Death, at least not until he is killed.
The castle represents protection and fortitude. The people that are in the castle are safe and sound for a while. Eventually the Red Death infiltrates the castle and kills all of the revelers. This shows that protection is helpless against the forces of evil and death; protection can only get y6u so far.
The 7 different rooms represent the cycle of life. The blue room at the begining represents a baby because blue is often a baby color. The last room is black and it represents death. Black is often associated with death
Prince Prospero represents man's self centered nature. Although he holds a ball to keep people safe from the infection, he seems to not worry for the already infected. Until he feels the pain of the red death firsthand, he does not try to help those outside of his castle who are infected, thus showing his care for only himself.
Prospero represents people who prefer to delude themselves into a state of happiness rather than accepting the depressing parts of life. Despite the deaths of his followers, he throws a masked ball, completely ignoring the depressing events occurring around him. Eventually, his life is taken by the masked figure, which represents that his ignorance will not prevent a bleak future.
I feel as if Prospero himself is a symbol in the story. He represents ignorance. This is because he believes that by hiding in his fort he can escape death, when in reality death is unavoidable. The mask that he wears is as if he was trying to hide from death. Because the King is ignorant, the people are too. This is why death kills them all to show them that no one can escape him.
I think the man that invades the party symbolizes the disease, Red Death. This is shown when the prince approaches the unknown man and the prince just falls to the ground and dies. Also, I do not think that this man is a actual person but it is an inanimate thing to represent the disease
ReplyDeleteI think the 7 colored rooms in the story represent the cycle of life since the first room is blue and is connotation means peacefulness. In this case it is used to represent birth. More specifically, the last room is described being the color black, frightening and creating fear among many tempted to go in the room. Black is associated with death, mystery and evil. More context is given in the story as the final room window painting was describe as being the color scarlet and also the prince death in that room.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the tripods in the story symbolize life itself. This because they remain lit, illuminating the stain glass windows, for nearly the entire story, but at the end, after all of the people in the abbey have passed away, they flicker out. This shows that the light going out symbolizes the end of life, or death. The literal darkness that ensues once the flames have been extinguished also seem to represent the metaphorical darkness that comes along with death.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Masque of the Red Death", the clock in the black room symbolizes the time that's passing towards the death. The theme of the story is that death is inevitable, so time flies as the guests were having fun in the abbey and unaware of death approaching them. Nevertheless, the clock makes a loud, creepy sound that generated much fright upon the guests and stopped all the music and dancing every time an hour passes, making a sign that death is coming closer hour by hour. Also, the clock stopped ticking after the intruder arrived and brought death to all the guests, symbolizing the denomination of death.
ReplyDeleteThe lanky dude at the end symbolizes the Red Death. In the beginning of the story, the author states "The couriers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress to the sudden." The prince ordered for this to be done because he didn't want anyone infected with the disease to come into his castle. At the end, the lanky dude comes into the castle, somehow, wearing a (presumably) black cloak and a mask. When the Prince tries to go after said lanky dude, he dies. The lanky dude symbolizes the Red Death, because there was no way to get into the castle, for the reason of preventing the disease form entering, but somehow this mysterious lanky dude gets in. He then kills the Prince, in the ghastly black-colored room.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the man who invades the party at midnight represents death primarily because of what his mask looks like, what he is wearing, and what happens to Prospero when he confronts the masked figure. Another reason why the masked figure represents death is because of the spots of blood that were seen on his face. This is most likely the reason as to why everyone died at the end of the story
ReplyDeleteThe masked man undoubtedly symbolizes quite a few things; the most prominent interpretation being that the man is a physical manifestation of the Red Death. Despite this being true, I feel that he symbolizes a deeper truth. The masked man symbolizes the inevitability of human fallibility as well. The world is stained with many influences that can have negative or sometimes fatal outcomes for humans. For example, despite the Prince's efforts to keep the Red Death out of his well-fortified castle, the fact that the pestilence still manages to penetrate the walls and kill all of the inhabitants must serve a deeper meaning. And so, Poe tries to explain that the masked man cannot be stopped or ignored, and all humans are will inevitably succumb to it's evil.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the clock represents the reminder of death or a near death experience. Every time the clock chimes everybody in all of the rooms stop and listen fearfully, they turn pale and are scared into silence. That type of reaction must have some connection with death. Especially because the masked man that invades the ball has some form of a connection with the clock and that man represents red death.
ReplyDeleteI think that the black room symbolizes death. There are 7 rooms in the Prince's household. Six of these rooms are brightly colored and happy, symbolizing life, but one of them is described as "ghastly" and terrifying. This room is all black, with a scarlet colored window painting. The colors black and scarlet are associated with death and blood. Seeing them both together makes the reader think of bad things such as evil and destruction. Everybody at the party is afraid to go into this room because of its dark and gloomy appearance, just like people are afraid of death. It is different from all of the rest of the rooms in the Prince's house, and they are afraid of what might happen if they step inside. This shows people's fear of the unknown that comes with dying. Also, when the prince steps into this room, he is stabbed by the masked figure and dies.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the man who comes into the party represents Red Death. This is because of him being dressed in dark clothing and having blood coming from his pores. Also, his face was "besprinkled with the scarlet horror". Another reason is at the end of the story Prospero was stabbed and killed by him. Following his death, the revellers came into the black room where the masked man was and died one by one from encountering Red Death.
ReplyDeleteThe masked man at the end of the story represents death. One can tell this because he has a mask and covered in blood. Also, when he comes in contact with the prince in the seventh room the prince falls to the floor and dies. Soon everyone in the palace ends up dying from the red death, even though the goal of the party itself was to keep the disease out. However, the red death manages to still enter the castle, who the guests imagine to be a man and not a disease.
ReplyDeleteI think the prince represents ignorant bliss. He created this "perfect" world inside the castle walls to keep the uninfected people from having to feel the pain from reality. He symbolizes the shield we cover ourselves in to hide from the things that hurt.
ReplyDeleteThe masked man who invaded the party symbolizes death. We, as readers, can figure this out because he is covered in black. The man also has blood dripping down his pores, and these two pieces of information symbolize death. Later on in the story it is the masked man who kills the prince and all of the others in the dark room. This is how the death is represented.
ReplyDeleteI think the clock stopping and the candle flames going out are a symbol of death. Notice in the story that when everyone is alive and partying the candles and clock are "alive" (working). But when revellers throw themselves at the masked man and die, the objects also go out. This symbolizes the death of pretty much every "living" object.
ReplyDeleteIf the colored rooms do represent the cycle of life, then i think the people being bolted in is showing how one cannot escape from the path of life.These people could not escape dying because they had no way out. Just like someone has no way out of life's end
ReplyDeletethe man at the end of the story represents death. this is because he not only kills the prince but has blood coming from his pores. The revellers at the end of the story all contract red death from him and eventually die, supporting the idea that he symbolizes death.
ReplyDeleteThe masked character in Poe's "The Masque of Red Death" represents death. No matter the precautions Prince Prospero took to avoid the red death, which included isolating the healthy from the sick and also bolting all entrances so no infected could get in, the red death still reaches him through the masked character. It shows that no matter whether you try to hide from death or fight you, in the end you will reach an inevitable demise. Additionally, when the masked character chases Prospero through all of the rooms, it symbolizes death chasing you throughout your life since the rooms represent the stages of life, and when Prospero reached the last room, the black room, the masked figure caught up to him just like death catches up with you at the last stage of your life.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the character Prince Prospero is very symbolic. When the Red Death wipes out half his kingdom, he is very apathetic, and proceeds to hold a masquerade ball in his abbey in order for him and his guests to avoid infection. However, the stranger brings it in anyway. Due to this, I think Prince Prospero represents ignorance and apathy, as he is not shown to care for those who are dying of the Red Death, at least not until he is killed.
ReplyDeleteThe castle represents protection and fortitude. The people that are in the castle are safe and sound for a while. Eventually the Red Death infiltrates the castle and kills all of the revelers. This shows that protection is helpless against the forces of evil and death; protection can only get y6u so far.
ReplyDeleteThe 7 different rooms represent the cycle of life. The blue room at the begining represents a baby because blue is often a baby color. The last room is black and it represents death. Black is often associated with death
ReplyDeletePrince Prospero represents man's self centered nature. Although he holds a ball to keep people safe from the infection, he seems to not worry for the already infected. Until he feels the pain of the red death firsthand, he does not try to help those outside of his castle who are infected, thus showing his care for only himself.
ReplyDeleteProspero represents people who prefer to delude themselves into a state of happiness rather than accepting the depressing parts of life. Despite the deaths of his followers, he throws a masked ball, completely ignoring the depressing events occurring around him. Eventually, his life is taken by the masked figure, which represents that his ignorance will not prevent a bleak future.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if Prospero himself is a symbol in the story. He represents ignorance. This is because he believes that by hiding in his fort he can escape death, when in reality death is unavoidable. The mask that he wears is as if he was trying to hide from death. Because the King is ignorant, the people are too. This is why death kills them all to show them that no one can escape him.
ReplyDelete