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Which three parts of this excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" highlight the suggestion that the powerful and wealthy in the story are insensitive toward the outbreak of the disease and those who are suffering?

"The 'Red Death' had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal—the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress, and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour."

"But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince's own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. 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. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the 'Red Death.'"

"It was towards the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence."

Answer :

Final answer:

The three parts of the excerpt that highlight the insensitivity of the powerful and wealthy towards the disease and the suffering of others are: the Prince holding a masked ball while the pestilence rages, the extensive precautions taken by the Prince and his courtiers to protect themselves, and the belief that the external world can take care of itself.


Explanation:

The three parts of the excerpt that highlight the insensitivity of the powerful and wealthy towards the disease and the suffering of others are:

  1. In the passage, it is mentioned that the Prince Prospero continues to hold a masked ball of unusual magnificence while the pestilence rages furiously outside. This suggests that he is more concerned with his own pleasure and entertainment than with the well-being of his people.
  2. The passage also mentions that the Prince has taken extensive precautions to protect himself and his courtiers from the disease, including isolating themselves in a strong and lofty abbey with gates of iron. This shows that they are willing to go to great lengths to protect themselves, but not to help those who are suffering.
  3. Furthermore, the passage describes how the external world could take care of itself, indicating that the wealthy and powerful believe they are immune to the effects of the disease and do not need to worry about it.

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Final answer:

The segments from "The Masque of the Red Death" by Poe depicting Prince Prospero's retreat to an abbey, the fortified seclusion, and the grand ball exemplify the insensitivity of the wealthy to the plague.

Explanation:

The excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" suggests that the powerful and wealthy are insensitive to the suffering caused by the disease outbreak through three particular segments. Firstly, Prince Prospero's retreat with his friends to an abbey, secluding themselves from the devastation, shows a blatant disregard for those suffering outside. Next, the fortification of the abbey, locking themselves in with iron gates, symbolizes a physical and emotional disconnection from the affected people. Lastly, the lavish masked ball held amidst the rampant disease underlines their indifference, as they indulge in opulence while death reigns outside.

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