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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 excerpts from Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" underscore the insensitivity of the wealthy towards the suffering from the plague. Key lines reflect their disregard for the external world's plight, highlighting their desire for indulgence and celebration despite the tragedy surrounding them. This illustrates a moral decay among the powerful amidst a humanitarian crisis.


Explanation:

Highlighting Insensitivity in Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death"

In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," the rich and powerful exemplify a stark insensitivity toward the suffering caused by the Red Death. Here are three excerpts from the passage that illustrate this theme:

  1. "The external world could take care of itself." This line reflects the Prince Prospero's disregard for the plight of those suffering from the disease outside his abbey, showcasing a callous detachment from the struggles of the lower classes.
  2. "It was folly to grieve, or to think." This suggests that the wealthy choose to ignore the tragedy surrounding them, preferring instead to indulge in enjoyment and revelry, further emphasizing their insensitivity.
  3. "...when his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends..." This demonstrates the prince's indifference to the suffering of his subjects, as he gathers his friends for a lavish gathering while neglecting those who are dying.

Through these excerpts, Poe critiques the selfishness and indifference of the wealthy to the suffering caused by the plague, highlighting the moral decay within those who seek only pleasure amidst chaos.


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