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Literary Essay

All human beings are made up of certain strengths and weaknesses, and in the short stories “The Masque of The Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawerence and “The Painted Door” by Sinclair Ross, each author treats the subject of human weaknesses and flaws as contributing to the downfall of each main character respectively. The act of obstinacy, arrogance and obsession have been the major causes of their downfalls in the stories.

Arrogance is a very common attribute that we all have. It is a tempting act of feeling over-confident in oneself. This revolting character trait is evidently exemplified in the short stories “The Masque of The Red Death” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner”. “But the prince prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious” (Poe 197), he regards himself as above in both power and importance. Similarly, Paul is being unrealistic and arrogant to some extent by asserting “God told me” (Lawerence 3) when in fact, god never tells him anything with regard to his destiny and fortune. In addition, Prince Prospero from “The Masque of The Red Death” and John from “The Painted Door” also have a very similar character trait.

[The] Prince Prospero, maddening with rage and the shame of

. . .

He wanted luck, he wanted it, he wanted it” (Lawerence 4). his own cowardice, rushed hurriedly through the six chambers, while none followed him on account of a deadly terror that had seized upon all. (Poe 203)

Prince Prospero is controlled by a frenzy of anger and rage, and he is eventually ravaged by death as a result of his impetuosity. John is never exposed to the outside world, and he is always confined in his farming environment. To him it seemed only right that she should have the clothes – only right that he, fit for nothing else, should slave away fifteen hours a day to give them to her. Nevertheless, these short stories act as “cautionary tales” in which we are warned about the consequences of human’s weaknesses and flaws. “He was a slow, unambitious man, content with his farm and cattle, naively proud of Ann” (Ross 367). “[Taking] no heed of other people, he went about with a sort of stealth, seeking inwardly for luck. Similarly, self-centeredness has also played a major role in John’s character. This is an evidence of his stubbornness, he has an unwavering mind and has no flexibility in his thinking, which, similarly, leads him to death. The biggest problem we have in today’s society is the lack of communication with our families and friends, which might ultimately be the major cause of misunderstandings among human beings.

Furthermore, Paul and John both have identical distinctiveness, their self-centeredness and obsessions are also some of their greatest weaknesses, which act as a contribution to their downfalls in the stories. However, since human beings are created imperfectly, thus, there is no resolution to our flaws and imperfection as they will continue to have a crippling effect on our lives. He thinks the money will satisfy her needs and wants, when in fact, it doesn’t. Obstinacy, arrogance, greed and misunderstandings have become the major problems in our everyday life.

Approximate Word count = 852
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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