Ministers Black Veil Masque Of The Red Death Essay - 1,202 words

Parable: A short allegorical story designed to convey some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson (Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition). An author will often make a statement advising the audience to read in a manner suited for a parable to ensure the lesson is not overlooked. Hawthorne does this in The Ministers Black Veil by deeming his story A Parable in the subtitle. Poe states in his Philosophy of Composition that he writes tales with an under-current (Poe, p. 491) or lesson, one such story this applies to is The Masque of the Red Death.


Without these reading instructions, the embedded parable is easily overlooked. Common archetypal symbols are found in parables that discuss the timeless biblical sins (greed, lust, murder, etc. ). The tales which follow reveal the consequences for those who immerse themselves in vanity and gluttony. He who wears the mask has become too aware of what his peers preach.


To hide something means to be ashamed of it. These people must confront the reality they hide and realize what is true. THE STRONGHOLD. The people of these stories not only have a mental face but a physical one, too.


In Masque of the Red Death, a prince and his healthy friends and family relocate to a fortress to escape from a deadly plague. In The Ministers Black Veil, the minister heads a congregation that meets regularly in a holy building to shield itself from evil. Each of these environments ensures a sense of safety to the people within, who assume they are safe from those evils from which they hide. THE FOLLOWERS. The people who seek shelter possess traits that are prerequisites to being in the stronghold. Only those who meet Princes standards may attend his castellated abbey.


Prince Prospero is the symbol of prosperity and happiness. Those who want to be close to this happiness must conform to specific criteria (elite class, good health, and vivacity). Similarly, members of a religious congregation seek happiness by following prescribed religious principles (wholesome lifestyle, marriage through the Church, selflessness, and so on). By meeting these essential demands, people belonging to these select groups think they are superior. Members of a congregation must believe their religion gives the best benefits or they would no longer attend; being saved from eternal damnation is enough for most. Those in attendance at the blockaded abbey belong to a group that has supposedly ensured its salvation from a lethal plague.


The reward for meeting these criteria is a sense of security from adversity THE OUTSIDER. Security is lost when a stranger is spotted within the group. Such a shock brings reactions that create a cascade of emotion. It is the figures appearance that defines his unequal status: specifically, the type of concealment over the face. This sole difference is the fulcrum in each parable. The ministers black veil disturbs the contented congregation because this symbol accompanies death what humans fear most.


All they can do to ease the tension is rationalize to themselves why he wears it. His continuing arrogance to explain or remove the crape leads to his exile from the group. Minister Hooper dies unmarried, childless, without friends, and feared. The mask of the Red Death brings a similar reaction from the party goers. The masqueraders are shocked that anyone would be so disrespectful to the dead and this reminder of the gruesome reality which was left behind ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: masque of the red death, prince prospero, p 257, clock, ministers black veil

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