The Arrogance Of The Rich In Edgar Allen Poe’s The Masque Of The Red Death
An extreme amount of wealth can cause corrupt literally anyone causing them to act unethically towards situations. Many people who are wealthy would believe that they would have an advantage under those who aren’t. In Edgar Allen Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death, he explains how arrogant the prosperous prince behaves towards his people. Although not all rich folks don’t act immorally wrong a majority of affluent people abuse their power.
Being a really wealthy prince who rules a huge kingdom sounds pretty nice, but thinking that you can outsmart death by locking it down is something else. Prince Prospero from the Masque of the Red Death Planned on celebrating the joy of everyone not perishing from the disease by hosting the grandest party in all the land, he invites friend’s family and literally whatever left remained in the land. Heres how Poe lays it out for us, ‘He summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his crenelated abbeys.’ This shows that Prospero is acting slightly arrogant because what is also happening at the party is that everyone is dressed as if they were dead taunting death.
Being really wealthy can also leave a taste of power, and the prince feels this. Prince Prospero and the party guests notice a masked figure looking almost like an actual rotten corpse walking around the room. The prince feels disgusted seeing this, what he tried avoiding just enter the same room as him like this, reminded of the Read Death he decides to kill this masked character on the spot. ‘There was a sharp cry – and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which most instantly afterward, fell prostrate in death Prince Prospero.’ The prince was brutally stabbed by the masked man with a dagger showing that he was never invincible and the masked figure eventually kills all else in the party.
With the prince’s demise concluding at the end of the tale it shows that being rich does not make you immortal. Prince Prospero got killed proves that no matter how much money or riches you have, the end is inevitable. The story lets us know that the presence of the plague becomes known after everyone is killed with, ‘And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night.’ In the end, people like Prince Prospero are just like us.
The points are given here are that the rich and wealthy can be arrogant or can think they are immortal. Prince Prospero went along by thinking he is better than anyone else at the party. He held a party taunting death leading him towards his passing. We can all end up like Prince Prospero if we all become to into our riches and become overbearing.
