Sunday, January 5, 2020

The Lottery And The Masque Of The Red Death Essay

One of the greatest mysteries of a person’s life questions the time of their death. Those who live to the fullest understand this concept completely to achieve that level of happiness. On the other extreme end, it can cause nightmares to those that try their utmost to run away from the clutches of death. This notion is masterfully inquired into the gothic works of Edgar Allan Poe. The best implementation of this idea is in his â€Å"Masque of the Red Death† short story which deals with the abstract of death itself. Shirley Jackson, the author of â€Å"The Lottery,† published the narrative 100 years after Poe’s own. Despite the difference in time she still draws the same conclusion about death’s certainty just as Edgar Allan had. Thus, Poe’s â€Å"The†¦show more content†¦In comparison with â€Å"The Lottery†, despite the initial mood of a warm summer day, Jackson quickly spins it around to resemble a ghastly setting much like Poe’s â€Å"Masque of the Red Death.† When they bring a stool to place the black box on top, a similar atmosphere is created amongst the village crowd. The narrator explains further by saying, â€Å"The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool† (Jackson). What grabs the reader’s attention is how each villager draws back from the stool rather than rushing to have a better look. This is odd because, under normal circumstances, a crowd at a lottery will be eager to find out who wins; however, since they were all keeping their distance from the box, not only is it a sign of dark foreshadowing, but it also creates a nervous and anxious mood. Even with both stories introducing uncertain and tense feelings, the two authors take contrasting disputes to inflict a theme of inevitability. The route Poe takes introduces a conflict that differs from Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery.† From the way the guests avoid the Red Death in nervous tension displays a clash of man vs. nature. This retort against a natural force is visible when a masked figure strolls through the ongoing party: â€Å"There were found none who put forth hand to seize him; so that, unimpeded, he passed within a yard of the prince s person; and, while the vast assembly, as if with one impulse, shrank from the centres of the rooms to

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