College

Select the correct text(s) in the passage.

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?

"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," the text highlights the indifference of the wealthy through key excerpts. Three significant lines emphasize their insensitivity: the devastation of the country, the dismissal of grief, and the notion that the external world can fend for itself. These sections powerfully reflect the noble characters' disconnection from the reality faced by the suffering population.


Explanation:

Identifying Insensitivity in "The Masque of the Red Death"

In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," several portions of the text highlight the insensitivity of the wealthy Prince Prospero and his guests towards the suffering caused by the Red Death plague. Here are three extracts that underscore this theme:

  1. The Red Death had long devastated the country. This opening line establishes the extent of the devastation caused by the plague, suggesting that many are suffering, while contrasting with the prince's response.
  2. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think. This statement reflects the careless attitude of Prospero and his courtiers; rather than acknowledging or empathizing with the suffering outside, they dismiss it as folly.
  3. The external world could take care of itself. This phrase encapsulates the elite’s disregard for the plight of others, highlighting their detachment from the reality of the disease raging outside their luxurious isolation.

Through these excerpts, Poe effectively critiques the indifference of the powerful towards the suffering of the less fortunate, emphasizing a broader commentary on social responsibility and empathy.


Learn more about insensitivity of the wealthy here:

https://brainly.com/question/41353508


Other Questions