Prospero And The Red Death

Edgar Allan Poe takes a very different approach to writing then others. He uses a very dark way of writing while also using many different components of style. Frequently you will notice he uses first person narration in his stories. Poe also uses hyphens to point out disturbance or fear in his stories. It is said by many that when more than one hyphen is present in a paragraph, the narrator is in a diversified state of mind. He is also remembered as the author who helped develop and create the short story form, which is America's one real significant addition to the world of literature. He identified that the short story form was a totally different and unique kind of fiction than the typical novel; he believed that for a story to have a dominant
This very short story presents many different significant symbols whose meanings combined together end up conveying a message. An allegory always goes off of two levels of meaning: the literal elements of the plot (for example, the colors of the rooms) and their matching symbols, which often involve large philosophical concepts (such as life and death). The reader can interpret this story as an allegory about life and death as well as the lack of humans to bypass or avoid death. The Red Death acts in place of death, both allegorically and literally. It goes to show in the end material things really don't matter. No matter how magnificent the castle he had, how upscale the food, how extravagant the clothing, nobody could escape death that night. The story also means to discipline Prospero's overbearing belief that he can use his riches and wealth to shield off the fateful process of life and death. Prospero's arrogance incorporates a disturbing emotionlessness to the condition of his less fortunate countrymen. Even though he has the riches to assist the people in need, he turns his wealth and riches into a method of self-defense and dissolution. His sensuality in deciding to throw the masquerade ball ended up being his downfall in the end. It put him in a spot where he couldn't go anywhere and it leads him to his death. The Red Death is a puzzling and secretive plague that plundered over the countryside, no other outbreak has ever been so horrid and fatal. It illustrates itself on the masked man that was bleeding from his face, and it inescapably ends with death within a half an hour timeframe. Once almost half of his people had died from this infestation, Prospero takes the knights and ladies of his court into his castle and closes the gates in attempt