Comparing Allegory in Masque (Mask) of the Red Death and Dr Heidegger's Experiment

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Allegory in Masque of the Red Death and Dr Heidegger's Experiment

Edgar Allan Poe's writing style is based on the supernatural and the unknown. In The Masque of the Red Death, Prince Prospero invites the revelers to come to the castle to party until the danger of pestilence is gone. The party was interrupted by an intruder who was dressed in all black (like the Grim Reaper) and was associated with the plague of the "red death." The reaper killed everyone one by one in the end. The Masque of the Red Death is an allegory. An allegory is symbols that are presented in the story that have two levels of meaning. An example can be the clock in the story. The clock told time and represented the time they had left before they died. There were seven chambers that were different colors, and the last chamber was black, which was the last chamber that represented death. I think the seven rooms symbolized the days until you die and the clock symbolized the time until you died.

Dr. Heidegger brings over four of his friends to try an experiment on them in the story, Dr Heidegger's Experiment. There were three men and one woman named Widow Wycherly. They were all solemn people who had been unfortunate in life. In the past, the three men used to fight over the widow to the point of almost killing each other. Dr. Heidegger had a mysterious folio volume which was said to be magical (supernatural). He pulls out an old rose from it and turns it back to life by putting it in water called the Fountain of Youth. His friends couldn't believe that a rose was brought back to life and passed it off as a hoax. So, Dr. Heidegger gave them all a glass of the Fountain of Youth to make them believe its powers. After all of them took a gulp they were turned young again. The old people became so happy and cheerful and so full of life again like they once were in their prime. They were all happy and dancing and soon it turned into a riot where they started fighting over Widow Wycherly again, causing them to spill the Fountain of Youth all over the floor.

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