The parts of excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" which highlight the suggestion that the powerful and wealthy in the story are insensitive toward the outbreak of the disease and those who are suffering are:
“But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious.”
“The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think.”
“The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure.”
The story “The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe is literally and allegorically about death. Prince Prospero wanted to hide from death but is left not rescued from it. He arranged a party where he invited people from his kingdom. He ordered to decorate the halls with single colors each. The last hall was colored black which symbolizes death and the windows were painted red. There was an ebony clock which strikes everyone’s attention at the passing of every hour. Though people were busy in the celebrating the party with music and orchestra but at every hour when the clock rings which caught everyone’s attention. The tone in which Poe describes the rooms, the clock, the ringing of the clock, the activities of the people and the entry of death in the party gives an insight about the play that death is inevitable. Death is the central theme of the play. The Poe wants to focus on the issue that no one can be rescued from death by applying any means.
