Many writers use symbolism in their short stories to keep the reader in suspense. The Masque of the Red Death, by Edgar Allan Poe is a perfect example of this. In the short story he uses ordinary things that in the end turn out to be an entire story themselves. This is a remarkable story that has a lot of meaning. For example, what would you think of a blood-red colored party room?
             The Prince's abbey is an illusion of safety used as a symbol in the story. The Prince thinks he is safe from the disease while in his abbey with his closest friends. "The wall has gates of iron" (78) this shows how secure he wants to feel. A second example is introduced in this passage " the courtiers bring furnaces and massy hammers and weld the bolts." (78) This shows how protective and scared of the disease they are. Another example used is " the abbey is amply provisioned with such precaution the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion (78). This shows how much they do not want the disease.
             A second symbol used is the masque ball this symbolizes an attempt to escape from reality. He has all of his friends invited to the ball. "Princes Prospero entertains his thousands of friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence." (79) This is an example of how they try to ignore the problem. "To and Fro in the seven chambers there stalks dream in fact a multitude of dreams." (81) This symbolizes how beautiful the abbey is for the party. A third example is "there was delirious fancies such as the madman fashions."(81) This is a wild party, no thinking about the deadly disease.
             The third symbol used is the prince, which symbolizes people who consider themselves superior and invincible. "The prince summands friends to come to his abbey." (78) This shows how he only wants his friends that are somewhat better than others. Another example that has been used before i...