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The Masque Of The Red Death Analysis

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The Masque Of The Red Death Analysis
Death is inevitable for every human being. Specifically, man may try to deny and run away from death but death will always find him. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, a grotesque and violent disease known as the Red Death, comes and kills the city’s people. Meanwhile, Prince Prospero tries to hide, thinking he could escape from the disease so he retreats into his abbey. The simple minded prince believes that he will not come into contact with the disease and the world will fix itself without his help. Later, due to the Prince’s selfish desires, the prince holds a masked ball for his guests. Additionally, in his abbey there are seven rooms each represented with a different color. During the ball, each room is filled with people dancing, …show more content…
H. Bell, Jr. acknowledges by means of analysis in “‘The Masque of the Red Death’: An Interpretation’’ that the actions and the symbols characters create can lead to death. All seven rooms, “represent Prospero’s life span … [and] represent the seven decades of his life” (102) according to Bell. Entering each room allows one to become closer and closer to the final room, the room of death. Additionally, Bell states that the apartments are “crooked and winding” (102) instead of being straight and long. The way the apartments are laid out suggests that Prince Prospero has lived a more difficult life than others. Furthermore, all seven rooms are represented by a different color, which symbolizes a different time or decade in Prince Prospero life. It starts with blue in the first room to represent beginnings and the Prince’s birth, and ends with the seventh room as black to represent ends and Prince’s inevitable death. Moreover, Bell reasons that Prospero runs head first at Death is due to, “acting from a self-destructive urge- attracted to that which he probably at the same time morally fears”(105). Due to the Prince’s headstrong attitude, the Prince wants to destroy Death but knows that he will never be able to defeat Death. Bell affirms that death can be caused when characters take action and create

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