Answer :
Final answer:
The detailed answer identifies three excerpts from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" that demonstrate the insensitivity of the wealthy toward those suffering from a devastating plague. These excerpts highlight the detachment and moral failures of the powerful characters as they indulge in pleasures while ignoring the crisis around them. Poe critiques this indifference through vivid descriptions of the characters' actions and sentiments.
Explanation:
Highlighting Insensitivity in Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death"
In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," the insensitivity of the wealthy towards the outbreak of the disease is starkly illustrated in several excerpts. The following three parts of the passage emphasize their disregard for the suffering caused by the "Red Death":
- "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."
- "The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think."
- "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..."
These excerpts reveal a chilling detachment from the realities of the plague; the wealthy and powerful characters in the story ignore the suffering of others while indulging in their own pleasures and distractions. Poe uses these descriptions to critique the moral failing of the elite who prioritize their own comfort over compassion for the afflicted.
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