The Masque of the Red Death - Book Report/Review Example

The Masque of the Red Death This story uses symbolism of time, rooms and the red death to show the fact that no human being is mortal. The narrator in the story speaks from a third person point of view and does not represent any character’s point of view (Griffin & Poe, p.13). The masque is held in Ancient Prince Prospero’s suite which contained the symbolisms. Colour is also used to show different aspects the writer wants to pass across including: Red This is used in “The Masque of the Red Death” in two instances to symbolize death and destruction. The colour is used in the title itself and in window panes at the death room to show a picture of bloodshed. Black There are black tapestries hanging in the ceiling and at strategic points in the walls at the seventh room. The carpet also has a black hue; this is a symbolism of the dark nature of death. At many funeral processions in contemporary society, black is used to symbolise the loss suffered and is always adorned by close relatives of the deceased. Ebony There is an ebony clock which constantly reminded the guests of death. Upon chiming, the guests grew increasingly pale and uneasy because they were expecting death. Blue/purple/green/orange/white/violet These are colours used in the first six rooms to represent the continuity of life; this is because they have a prismatic progression. However, in the seventh room, a colour out of the prism is used in Prospero’s room to depict some change since he came to the throne with new ideologies. B. The writer raises the tension in “The Premature Burial” by giving examples of two instances where human’s died in large numbers; these are the Lisbon Earthquake and the London Plague. He says that the magnitude of such deaths cannot be compared to human suffering felt when one dies individually by being buried alive. He goes ahead to give two instances of people who have been buried alive including a congressman’s wife, Victorine Lafourcade and an arms officer who suffered a concussion and eventually perished. In the story, the writer is depicted as having a medical condition known as catalepsy which is characterised by lack of response to external sensations and rigid muscles. During these attacks, the writer dreams of death and premature burial; this gives a depiction of the gradual phases of the dying process. This is a terrifying feeling as the victim gradually weakens until eventual death. I have a fear of heights which has the same nature as that of premature burial; the victim goes through intense suffering at the onset when faced with a fall. No one really knows the point at which the victim dies in the process but it is a terrifying experience. C. The writer stresses on the literary elements that make his work a romance; this is done by giving it a more open approach and not limiting himself to a particular point of view. He uses imaginative characters and events to pass his point across highlighting the need to use the story as a reference to guide human life in the succeeding times. In “The Ambitious Guest”, the writer uses the same fictional approach to adjust his characters to his theme. D. In the ambitious guest, irony is used by the writer to mean a direct opposite of what the writer is saying. A single and strong house stands in a gorge. There is a guest who visits them in the house and hates mediocre life; the young man advises the host to go for ambitious projects. As they were out fetching water, the mountains come crumbling down. This irony is that none of the characters has profited from their life ambitions; they have a strong house but when tragedy comes, they all flee for safety elsewhere. The following is said of the house’s condition the next day: “The next morning, the rescue party found an empty house, with the beds unmade and the family’s clothing lying on chairs and on the floor” (Mathews, p.19). E. Critics speak of this story as the beginning of modern ways of handling businesses which demands for high levels precision and accuracy to be efficient. He uses the characters to show different levels of incompetence plaguing the law firm. In the first instance, there is low human interaction as the scriveners are focused on their departments. Bartleby is looking for a young and competent copyist to be in charge of document processing; this is because he wants to introduce modern day competence to his run down law establishment. The modern day Bartleby can be the head of a law firm handling high profile financial claims cases in Wall Street. F. In this story, men are depicted as seasonal beings only working efficiently at specific times. Turkey is about the same age as the lawyer and works productively only in the mornings, however, he makes simple mistakes in the afternoon. He is also high tempered in the afternoon and so the lawyer handles him by giving less workload at these times. Nippers is young, driven and has a high sense of humour. He is the opposite of Turkey since he cannot work efficiently in the morning suffering constantly from stomach upsets. He however works well in the afternoon. Bartleby is hired by the lawyer and is a hard worker; however, he is stern when responding to the proofreading task given by the lawyer. He knows when the task is too much for him to handle. Ginger Nut is an errand boy doing routine tasks in the office; he is loyal and does everything he is requested to perform. The lawyer is an elderly man but wants to bring out the best in his employees by encouraging hard work; he symbolizes modern bay business environment characterised by high levels of performance. In doing this, he selects to highlight the story of his best scrivener (Bartleby) as a way of appreciating his contribution to business’ success. In the modern day offices, there still exist such characters and new traits may include employees not being conversant with computer programs used to analyse office data. Works cited Griffin, Bethany, and Edgar Allan Poe. Masque of the Red Death. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2012. Print. Mathews, Brander. "Notes to The Ambitious Guest By Nathaniel Hawthorne. Matthews, Brander. 1907. The Short-Story." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more. N.p., 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 11 June 2012. . Read More