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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 answer identifies three key parts of Edgar Allan Poe's excerpt that highlight the insensitivity of the wealthy toward the suffering caused by the disease. These passages reveal the stark contrast between the lavish lifestyle of the courtiers and the horrific reality of the 'Red Death.' Overall, they underscore the moral detachment of the powerful from the devastating circumstances affecting the majority.


Explanation:

Identifying Insensitivity in Edgar Allan Poe's Work

In this excerpt from "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe, three parts highlight the insensitivity of the wealthy towards the suffering caused by the disease:

  1. The "Red Death" had long devastated the country. This line establishes the severity of the disease and the widespread suffering it had caused, suggesting that while the wealthy are isolated, much of the population is in crisis.
  2. The courtiers... resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within. This demonstrates a deliberate decision by Prince Prospero and his guests to isolate themselves from the 'Red Death', indicating a dismissive attitude towards the plight of those outside their privileged bubble.
  3. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think. This reflects a willful ignorance and insensitivity among the wealthy, as they indulge in pleasures and frivolity while catastrophe rages outside their walls.

These passages collectively emphasize the wealthy's moral and emotional detachment from the suffering of others, contrasting their lavish lifestyle with the grim reality faced by the rest of society.


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