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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?

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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 highlighted passages from Poe's story illustrate the detachment of the wealthy from the suffering of others during the outbreak of the 'Red Death.' They show a prioritization of pleasure and entertainment while ignoring the desperation outside their walls. Collectively, these excerpts reveal a profound insensitivity towards the plight of the afflicted.


Explanation:

Highlighted Parts Suggesting Insensitivity of the Wealthy

In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death", three key passages highlight the insensitivity of the powerful and wealthy towards the suffering caused by the outbreak of the "Red Death":

  1. "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." - This excerpt illustrates how Prince Prospero and his guests prioritize their entertainment over the suffering happening outside their walls.
  2. "They resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within." - Here, the courtiers’ decision to seal themselves off shows a blatant disregard for the external crisis, indicating their desire to escape reality rather than assist those in need.
  3. "The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime, it was folly to grieve, or to think." - This statement encapsulates their belief that the suffering of others is irrelevant to their extravagant lifestyle, highlighting their arrogance and insensitivity.

These passages collectively emphasize the selfishness and moral blindness of the wealthy in the narrative, as they retreat into a world of luxury while ignoring the horrors of disease ravaging their society.


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