The Logistics of a Lesson
Parable: A short allegorical story designed to convey some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition). An author will often make a statement advising the audience to read in a manner suited for a parable to ensure the lesson is not overlooked. Hawthorne does this in The Minister's Black Veil by deeming his story "A Parable" in the subtitle. Poe states in his Philosophy of Composition that he writes tales with an "under-current" (Poe, p.491) or lesson, one such story this applies to is The Masque of the Red Death. Without these reading instructions, the embedded parable is easily overlooked. Common archetypal symbols are found in parables that discuss the timeless biblical sins (greed, lust, murder, etc.).The tales which follow reveal the consequences for those who immerse themselves in vanity and gluttony. He who wears the mask has become too aware of what his peers preach. To hide something means to be ashamed of it. These people must confront the reality they hide and realize what is true. THE STRONGHOLD. The people of these stories not only have a mental facade but a physical one, too. In Masque of the Red Death, a prince and his healthy friends and famil
This is his warning to all that their time to be judged will come, too, and whether or not they choose to admit they wear a mask before this time is up to them. An apprehensive feeling builds with every chime that brings the focus to the dark room on death, but the warning is soon forgotten and the party commences. Their delusions lead them to mimic the colorful cheer of each room and believe that they set the tempo. All they can do to ease the tension is rationalize to themselves why he wears it. Only those who meet Prince's standards may attend his castelated abbey. They are too absorbed in their own masks of happiness to notice the truth. The minister's black veil disturbs the contented congregation because this symbol accompanies death-what humans fear most. Their escape from reality is a dream. Each of these environments ensures a sense of safety to the people within, who assume they are safe from those evils from which they hide. If they "woke up" from this dream, maybe they would recognize the false prophet who professed such extraordinary vanity. Each enters with a solemnity which contrasts such an oddity of apparel.
Common topics in this essay:
Red Death,
Prince Prospero,
OUTSIDER Security,
Black Veil,
TRUTH Throughout,
Tenth Edition,
,
Philosophy Composition,
Minister Hooper,
minister's black,
minister's black veil,
prince prospero,
black veil,
red death,
masque red,
similarly religious,
symbol prosperity,
Minister's Black,
source happiness,
poe p257,
masque red death,
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Acceptance Essays
