High School

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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:

In Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," key excerpts highlight the insensitivity of the wealthy towards the suffering caused by the plague. Notably, Prince Prospero's decision to party while his realm suffers, his dismissal of grief, and the isolation of the abbey from the external crisis all reflect a profound lack of empathy. Together, these elements convey a critique of the upper class's indifference in the face of widespread death and despair.


Explanation:

Identifying Insensitivity in Poe's Excerpt

In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," several passages illustrate the insensitivity of the wealthy towards the devastating impact of the plague. Here are three key parts of the excerpt that highlight this theme:

  1. "When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends..."

    This line emphasizes the disconnection of Prince Prospero from the suffering of his subjects. While much of his realm is affected by death, he chooses to celebrate, illustrating a profound insensitivity to those who suffer.

  2. "The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think."

    This quote reflects the arrogance of the prince and his guests. They are so preoccupied with their own pleasures that they disregard the plight of others, treating grief as a distraction rather than an appropriate response to tragedy.

  3. "The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure... All these and security were within. Without was the 'Red Death.'"

    This part contrasts the opulence of the abbey, where the prince and his guests revel, with the horror outside. Their retreat into luxury signifies their failure to empathize with the suffering occurring just beyond their walls.

These examples collectively depict the wealthy as selfishly indifferent to the suffering of others during a crisis, underscoring the main theme of the excerpt.


Learn more about Insensitivity in Crisis here:

https://brainly.com/question/26981328


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