ANALYSIS ON THE SHORT STORY FROM EDGAR ALLAN POES THE MASK OF THE RED DEATH In 1842 the

American poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849), wrote The Masque of the Red Death, and his specialty was the short story fiction and psychological horror, was the forerunner of a thriller and crime fiction. The Masque of the Red Death is a short story of fictional nature and horror a short story that tell us the story of Prospero, a wealthy Italian prince who died in his efforts to prevent the plague. The Masque of the Red Death is a story that tells how the death disguised as a red mask is entered in the party and kills Prince Prospero ending with happiness and excitement in which he found to have cheated the death while a people languishing behind those walls that seemed impenetrable. The Masque of the Red Death turns around the question of mortality, being the main theme a disease known by the name of the Red Death, which haunts the reign of Prince Prospero, who is seeking to isolate it with some of his courtiers. Throughout the story you can find the influence of the author. Poe gives a part of himself to his works and this is no exception, ranging from his ideas, something grotesque perception of things and especially the life and physical things but remembering their childhood or certain times in your life, all this is expressed in a symbolic way throughout the story. For example, in this story Poe had in mind the Black death of the Middle Ages, or the relationship between blood and death points to Poes obsession with Virginias illness at the time he was writing the tale. The worst fault of all humanity is selfishness. Selfishness has been, and rightly, considered one of the vilest acts has contributed to the ruin of mankind, loss of consciousness of civilized man and the condition thereof. Strange mix this element in a tale of terror, but Poe uses it in a clear and concise to let us know the personality that shapes the mind of Prince Prospero, the protagonist of the same. The prince has many subjects, which undertakes to build a wall for not leaked the plague that was destroying the people of the Red Death. He is selfish, because a man who has so much power and can help so many people through that wall, built around the palace and not the whole country. We know that Poe was a man despondent, alcoholic, disillusioned with life, but in this precarious situation by making history writes this account, very punctual, through this short story, flaws and all acts that constituted either way directly or indirectly, in his personal ruin. We do not know if Poe wanted to alert other people that they should read your story about how bad all the good things reserved for himself and not look after the others, but what we know with great certainty is that you leave a clear message, is in a threatening way, that man must serve and help others, and more if you have the possibilities and the power required. Each of the characters is a symbol that can be applied to the reality in which man lives and it is revealed by Poes pen: Prince Prospero, as I introduced before, represents the opulence in which an area of the population lives, in this case, those with greater economic possibilities to survive to the great human illness, which in most societies is a minority group, and the population, that primarily represents those who do not have choice but they must wait with resignation the arrival of this plague. Prince Prospero embodies the feeling of selfishness and lack of love for

others, which is one of the greatest evils with which society is contaminated, where the struggle for survival always the fittest win no matter whom you trample, the important thing is to save myself. The Red Death is the character who represents the evils that afflict the human being, poverty, disease, even loneliness and agony that played without distinction of social class, gender, creed and the man he becomes impotent like it happened to the Prince Prospero and bends the pride of man, who thinks he has achieved everything in this world and holds regardless for the evil of others. The party is the representation of the mockery that the human being does for the evil of others. The clock symbolizes the justice, I main; sooner or later it will arrive the time of receiving the evil that every human being deserves. The story is universal without limit in space or time because these themes implicit in the story can be applied to our day, not just at the time it was written mid-century (XIX), leaving a space to reflect the human tasks. It is curious how Poe makes us reflection about the reason of the life, how the death does not wait for anybody and it does not opportunity to the material things, the gold, and wealth. This reflection symbolizes the allegorical double story, that is, the pure storytelling and the allegorical one. In which we have identified the name of Prospero, the Red Death, and the Clock.

DISCUSSION AND ESSAY QUESTIONS ON THE MASK OF THE RED DEATH

1. In his stories we often understand like credible scenarios full of supernatural elements, castles marked by curses, ghosts that swarm at night and blood stains on the wall. Poe is considered the father of the "psychological terror" for his treatment of history; his interest is not the shock or scares itself especially, but the emotional effects. With Poe, happy endings and rational explanations are removed. It is created a strong atmosphere of loneliness, smallness of man before death, we see an imminent defeat or challenge the man who evaded death, and fear is again present. 2. The symbolism of the work is shown when the end comes followed by the sound of the clock midnight like if it was the end. Then death appears physically but at the same time it is something intangible that is what represents the symbolism. Poe represents the symbolism as nobody knew and even some important writers do not know understand. Each element as I explained in the commentary has his importance, Prince Prospero embodies the feeling of selfishness and lack of love for
others, which is one of the greatest evils with which society is contaminated, where the struggle for survival always the fittest win no matter whom you trample, the important thing is to save myself. The Red Death is the character who represents the evils that afflict the human being, poverty, disease, even loneliness and agony that played without distinction of social class, gender, creed and the man he becomes impotent like it happened to the Prince Prospero and bends the pride of man, who thinks he has achieved everything in this world and holds regardless for the evil of others. The party is the representation of the mockery that the human being does for the evil of others. The clock symbolizes the justice, I main; sooner or later it will arrive the time of receiving the evil that every human being deserves.

3. The rooms have a different color and decoration. Interpretations may be different: The first one is for me an allegory of the human being, birth, childhood and adolescence, adulthood, maturity, middle age, old age and finally death. I think that, another interpretation could be closely linked to the first, is the mood and emotional qualities that we, as humans, we are bound: anger, hatred, fear, joy, lust, humility I think the most interesting interpretation could be found in the Red Room with Black a clear expression of the shadow of death to which no one present could never escape, even immortals who sit in the course of each hour. There is a clock that leaves them in the uncomfortable and sorrowful silence of those who know that the end will come. His attempt to disguise themselves, like Adam and Eve attempted to cover the eyes of God, as well as noise and fanfare which prey during their stay in the fortress are only crude illusions, however, nothing can against the passage of time, and Death, clearly in the story, it is seen as a relentless pursuer, a relentless predator. I also think that it could be a metaphor about the inexorable progression of time (through the different rooms) until death, that is interesting the role of the clock, for all to hear silent but then continues to the party, could represent a reminder of what they preferred to forget but I also think it has to do with the contrast between the world created within a palace full of excesses and masks, and the real world outside where people suffer and die, that could be

considered the attitude taken by the rich and powerful to the miseries of the world that try to ignore but at the end is inevitable. 4. To reinforce the idea of symbolism, this concept of inspiration, the romantics invented the technique of symbolism; in a sense is a development of another technique, the allegory. The difference is that an allegory only has one meaning, while the symbol changes and it can be many things at the same time. A symbol is something that means something other. For example the name Prospero can have many connotations, and it can be interpreted by the reader in many different ways, such as, favorable, fortunate, that enhances and enriches progressively however in the
story Prospero is shown very different, Prospero embodies the feeling of selfishness and lack of love for other. One more time here the representation of the different classes are remarked, because the main character is shown like a power person who can do whatever he wants, however nobody can evade the death.

5. Edgar Allan Poe, who added the Gothic language and imagery his own obsessions, almost
all its production limited to the short story Gothic while stressing the artistic necessity of brevity in his critical writings. In this tale, the gothic element is the use of the supernatural, in this case, the red death. Something intangible, and of course, the suspense during the ring of the clock, when everybody is in silence listening the calling of the clock, the justice.