For this post I want you to respond to some of the symbols that are used in "The Masque of the Red Death". I know some of you are the type that wishes we could simply read stories and take it at face value. The issue with that, though, is that most authors WANT us to look deeper. The art of literature is the ability to convey a message poetically instead of directly.
Even though the story is short, it is filled with strong images. Now that you have read the story, I want to you to interpret the possible meanings behind the following aspects of the story. What could they possibly symbolize?
One sentence is not enough to show me that you have put thought in to this post. Remember to write your name at the end. Go ahead and copy this list on to your comment and follow each with you interpretation.
The Red Death
The 7 colored rooms (What could each color mean? What do they mean all together?)
The clock in the black room (Include what it means when the clock strikes midnight)
The masked figure
-Mr. Heiderich
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The Red Death-- this symbolizes the death and poverty and disease of the world at that time. People would die very quickly due to the lack of doctors and medicene.
ReplyDeleteThe 7 Rooms-- each of the rooms symbolize the steps of life, the journey even. They build up to the end of one's life as one's life gets darker and darker until you reach the blackness of death and sin.
The Clock-- this symbolizes the time of one's death. You can't escape it, it's inevitable. It also symbolizes that everyone is kind of scared of death in the way of everyone stopping to listen in fear to the omnious chiming of the hour.
It chiming at 12 means that it is the end of one day and the beginning of another. It is the same as death. The days will continue after death and so will the lives of others. At least those that are not dead.
The masked figure-- this symbolizes death. The figure is silent, dark, and slightly morbid. People tend to think of death in this manner. It also Shows that no matter who you are and where you live death will come for you.
--Mallory jean
The Red Death
ReplyDeleteSomething that affects everyone in a devastating way. It’s something that makes neighbors turn on one another and something that is hated and scorned. I think that the Red Death can represent things like (I agree with Mallory hear) poverty and its effects on people and also pestilence and disease.
The 7 colored rooms (What could each color mean? What do they mean all together?)
I’m not sure each room has a meaning. I think, however, that the rooms might represent the eccentricities of the nobility and ruling classes of the time. Was there a need for the odd rooms? No, but the prince built them anyway. I think Poe might be trying a bit a satire here. I think he’s showing the reader how the rich did what they wanted to even to the extent of stupidity. The last room, however, represents death (I think). It’s blood red windows and black trappings and giant clock seem too parallel with death to be coincidental. I also just read mallory’s post and I agree that rooms could represent a progression of life.
The clock in the black room (Include what it means when the clock strikes midnight)
I think that the clock in the back room could represent the hours of life being counted out. When it strikes twelve, the time is up, and death comes. I think the clock also represents human fear of death, because each time it rang people stopped and felt slight fear; just as we pause and feel afraid when someone passes from one life to the next.
The masked figure
The masked figure obviously represents the Red Death. He also represents the sneakiness of the plague. The partygoers thought they were safe but they were not. I think he could also represent karma, or that the partygoers got what they deserved for locking themselves up and having a grand time while others suffered.
The seven rooms- the rooms signify the life of humans and each room is darker than the room before it. The last room is the end of life and the darkness is the evil in peoples lives. The room that is described seems like hell.
ReplyDeleteThe Clock- The clock is death or what is signified as death.When the time of life ends the people die. the people who are dancing are mortal people who are wasting their lives and when time catches them unawares their life ends. this should be an eye opener for us. we often think that we have forever on this planet but we don't. though for us Christians we have eternal life with God to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteGabe said...
ReplyDeleteThe red death- Symbolizes a disease that has out broken in the area where it has occured.
The seven rooms- I thought about it and thought about it and I am really not sure what they represent. I read the part in the story several times and the rooms just seem like rooms in the castle. It does not seem to represent anything.
The clock- It represents life and the time a person has till death. I think when the clock striked midnight represented death. I think the room being black is represented to the people as fear of death.
The masked figure- He is represented as pay back for the people locking themselves up and leaving the others exposed to the disease. The people were selfish and only worried about themselves locking themselves up thinking they could avoid the disease, I think.
The Masked Figure-I think that this figure is death, like the grim reaper. he comes when ever the time is right, silent, sneaky, and he always gets what he wants. he is always on the lookout for a victim to take. but we do not have to be scared of it because of Jesus Christ. He has conquered death so that we may spend eternal life with him.
ReplyDeleteNo.1 The Red death - is a sickness that has occurred and is on the rampage, killing everyone in it's path. no-one can survive it because of the poor medical skills that doctors have. so people die by the thousands and no-one can stop the illness.
ReplyDeleteThe Red Death: symbolizes all of the plagues, diseases, and countless deaths that occurred in this time due to a lack of medical staff and equiptment. It further symbolizes the rapid suffering that occurred with the diseases of this time.
ReplyDeleteThe 7 Rooms: each room symbolizes the stages and trials of a persons life. The "earlier" rooms begin with lighter colors, possibly symbolizing a sense of innocence or even purity with life. The darker the rooms get, the older the person gets. Theolder the person gets, the more evil and sin usually occupies his life. The last room could symbolize that the journey of life is at an end, and from this room there is no where else to go, simply that life is over.
The Clock: this could symbolize a number of things. To me, the clock seems to serve as an hourglass would. Counting down the hours of life remaining until the time of your death. The striking at twelve, symbolizes that time is up and that you are in the very presense of death. Everytime the clock strikes twelve, people around would pause, hoping that it wouldn't be their time to die. I think that these people would always be on their last nerve with unceasing thoughts about their exact moment of death.
The masked figure: this bluntly personifies death. It could also mean that no matter who you are, where you reside, or what sort of life you have lived- death cannot be avoided. The figure is dark, morbid, and even haunting to those who understand it. Poe uses symbolism in this case to help us relate to the figure as we would think of another human. By making the death on the same level as we are, changes the way one could think about death.
Kristina Kiser
THE RED DEATH
ReplyDeleteI think that the Red Death symbolizes death itself. Just like death, the Red Death attacks the rich and the poor alike. Prince Prospero, though rich, cannot escape the Red Death. Though he had built a fortress surrounded by thick walls and an iron gate that was welded shut, he did not escape the Red Death. The peasants were also tormented by the Red Death, just as, today, no man can escape the grip of death.
THE 7 COLORED ROOMS (WHAT COULD EACH COLOR MEAN? WHAT DO THEY MEAN ALL TOGETHER?)
I do not see each color meaning a certain thing, but I see the different rooms as the different stages of life with the black room as death. The rooms could also represent time as a whole, because Poe describes the rooms and going from east the west. The sun rises in the east, and sets in the west, and so the black room symbolizes the end of the day, or more specifically, the end of one's life.
THE CLOCK IN THE BLACK ROOM (INCLUDE WHAT IT MEANS WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES MIDNIGHT)
The clock in the black room and its sounding every hour is a reminder of one's own death, or maybe even the death of another. Just as the musicians swore that the next striking of the clock would not affect them, so some people swear that the death of someone will not affect them. For example, a few years ago, after my grandfather had had Alzheimer's disease for a few years, his time to die came. I swore that his death would not affect me, since I hadn't really known him, but only the shell of what the disease had left of him. But when he died, it affected me very much, just as the musicians were again caught breath taken after they swore not to be.
THE MASKED FIGURE
The masked figure in "The Masque of the Red Death" symbolizes the shrewd, sneaky ways of death. Just as the masked figure appears out of nowhere, so death sometimes strikes men. The masked figure also symbolizes death itself. Though the masqueraders feared the masked man, they could not escape his final slaughter. As humans, we may fear death, but in the end, we cannot escape its chokehold.
Katie May Hardegree
The Red Death
ReplyDeleteThe Red Death symbolizes death. It can also symbolize all the trials and tribulations of those in poverty at this time. Common medical practices were not available to people at this time, causing disease to often run rampant. Common people were often shunned for these diseases. The Prince believes that if he shuts out those with the disease, he will not die. He does not realize, however, that death is unavoidable.
The 7 colored rooms (What could each color mean? What do they mean all together?)
Each colored room represents a stage of life. It pertains to the cycle of life. It starts out blue to represent the birth and gets darker from room to room. The last room is black to represent the end, or death. People avoid the last room because they are afraid of what it might hold.
The clock in the black room (Include what it means when the clock strikes midnight)
The clock strikes hourly to remind the people that death is nearing. The people are not aware of its true purposes, because they are too busy with their own lives. With each strike, death comes closer. The strike at midnight represents deaths arrival.
The masked figure
The masked figure signifies everything the Prince has tried to keep out. He has shunned those whom he believes lower than himself. Even though he has locked his gates, death can still find its way into any place. The masked figure represents all of the people who have been shunned from society from contracting a disease.
Amy Heath
The Red Death- This Red Death is clearly talking about the terrible plague hitting the people at the time. It killed many very quickly.
ReplyDeleteThe 7 colored rooms (What could each color mean? What do they mean all together?)- The colored rooms represent a journey of life, from beginning to end. The last room is dark and dreary. The last room represents old age and death.
The clock in the black room (Include what it means when the clock strikes midnight)- The clock represents the time you have left in your life to live. Each ominous tick-tock takes seconds from your life until it strikes midnight. Once it strikes midnight, your life has come to an end.
The masked figure- This scary and dark figure represents death. He waits for your age and the life you have lived to catch up with you. Then he comes and steals you away. Poe also shows us that everyone dies someday. No one can avoid death.
-Drew Martinez-
The Red Death:
ReplyDeleteI think that the red death represents the things that cause people to die, or things that cause hardship or strife in one's life. I also think that it could represent something like the Black Death which was a while before this time but was very devastating.
The 7 colored rooms (What could each color mean? What do they mean all together?):
I think that since the rooms start at a lighter color and then progressively get darker and more melancholy, that they represent life. The earlier, lighter rooms represent early childhood and innocence while the darker rooms represent middle and old age, ultimately leading to death.
The clock in the black room (Include what it means when the clock strikes midnight):
I think that the clock definitely represents the span of life, kind of like a countdown timer. When the clock strikes midnight, it means that the life is over, that someone will die, or someone around will die.
The masked figure:
The masked figure for sure represents death, and how death can come to anyone at any time, no matter how old or rich one is. It also kind of represents irony because the people in the party think they are safe but the Red Death comes and finds them when they think they have "cheated the system."
Aubrie Hood
The Red Death
ReplyDeleteI believe that in some ways The Red Death symbolizes eternal damnation. If, as I will talk about later, the Masked Figure symbolizes the devil, then The Red Death symbolizes the way that we are damned by God. So The Red Death essentially symbolized death itself, but in a grotesque, rather macabre manner to symbolize God's wrath.
The 7 colored rooms
The colored rooms could symbolize danger levels, like "Code Red" or "Code Blue." The Prince in the story starts out at the bottom of the "danger scale" (the room farthest from the Black) and works his way up as he pursues the masked figure.
The clock in the black room
This could possibly symbolize the time until death. If life were looked at as one day, then life would end at midnight, when the clock strikes.
The Masked Figure
I believe that the Masked Figure represents the devil. The Prince had walled himself away from the world to prevent Red Death (eternal damnation), but the death still got to him. In the same way, Christians can try to stay away from the world, but the devil can still find ways to tempt them. The Prince thought he was protected, but the figure (the devil) still got to him. The moral we should learn from this is to never get a sense of security. The devil will always find ways to get to us, so we should constantly be on our guard against his schemes.
I hope these make sense! They did in my head at least.
~Brantly H.
The Red Death
ReplyDelete>> I believe that this symbolizes not only death and disease, but also anything that cannot be stopped; anything that is utterly inevitable. The Prince Prospero creates his own world, in a sense, in which he feels safe and totally protected against the Death. Ultimately, however, he fails to keep the illness away and dies in the end. Thus the inevitable can never be stopped, which is the whole concept of inevitability.
The Rooms
>> As far as specific color meanings go, I would think that blue would represent a beginning and black would symbolize an end. The other five colors I am sadly unsure about, but I do believe that each room represents a stage in any process (i.e. life, mentality, etc.). I think that the fact that Prospero stands in the blue chamber when he notices the Red Death symbolizes the beginning of his end. He passes through each room, with each step (I believe) coming to a new level of awareness regarding his situation, which is why he stops in the sixth room, refusing to pass into the seventh and final chamber. He does not welcome the end of his end. Does that make sense? I'm very sorry if it's confusing.
The Clock
>> While a clock would certainly represent time and it's constant passing, I believe that this clock also symbolizes the psychological mind. The clock chimes at every hour and disrupts the party in Prospero's quarters. Everyone goes still and the music is affected as well. I think that the chiming of the clock represents the awareness that death is an inevitable force that we will all one day meet by some means. I think that the clock striking midnight symbolizes both an end and a beginning. Midnight is the fine line between the ending of a day and the start of a new one. It represents a cycle. Midnight comes and there is an end, but there is a beginning in the EXACT same instant. The clock is located in the final room because it stands in the center of this paradox.
The Masked Figure
>> The Red Masque represents death, but also Prospero's hand in his own end. The figure comes into Prospero's house, passes through every room and, and waits in the final room. Prospero follows him and tries to kill him but dies in his attempt. Everyone else dies as well. While the man represents the Red Death and the literal end of life, he also symbolizes Propero's arrogance and complacency. Prospero thought he could simply lock himself away from the disease that claimed so many lives. He instead just trapped himself in his own world of ignorance and ultimately brought his own end. So besides being a walking interpretation of death, the masked figure represents man's part in his own death.
That's how I see it. This story was very enlightening. As morbid and grotesque as it was, I truly enjoyed reading it. Poe never ceases to amaze and horrify me!
Bryson Travieso
The Red Death:
ReplyDeleteI believe the Red Death symbolizes death, obviously, but I think Poe meant for the graphic way he portrays death to strike a sense of fear and foreboding into the heart of his audience. Poe doesn't in any way candy-coat the reality of death's grip on our bodies and minds. It is a bloody, painful, horrific experience that no man can ward off in Poe's realist view. The effects are so brutal, that even friends and family can do nothing more for you then watch you bleed away into darkness. Red Death's consuming of the body in mere minutes also symbolizes that death can come quickly and at any moment. Any second can be your last.
The 7 colored rooms (What could each color mean? What do they mean all together?)
I believe the 7 colored rooms symbolize the stages of life every man goes through. Just like Prince Prospero's winding chambers clothed in elaborate colors that change with each step you take, life takes twists and turns from hues of comfort and light found in the innocence of youth, to shades of despair and darkness as you near death's door.
The clock in the black room (Include what it means when the clock strikes midnight)
The clock symbolizes the minutes and hours left here on earth. In this story, those in the chamber laughed and danced their lives away, purposely ignorant of the presence of time even though it loomed over them in the form of a towering clock. However, every man and woman was forced to render to time when the large clock voiced the hour. The clock struck fear into the group's heart with every chime. Unease was felt by both young and old, although the old had more of a firm grasp on the fact that the clock was reminding them that time was indeed running out. When the clock strikes midnight, this is death's cue to collect his victims. Time is up; the clock of life has run out and no one can rewind it's frozen face.
The masked figure:
The masked figure symbolizes the grim reaper. Just like in many tales in literature in which death takes on the form of a silent and faceless thief in the night, the masked figure in Poe's tale steals into the joyful scene and drags away his prize. Nothing can stop him. He is an unstoppable force who takes what is due him in time, and collects his spoil in eerie silence. Death comes without a sound, and leaves in the same matter. He will forever remain faceless and heartless in the biographies man conjures of him.
Megan Parker