Comparing The Pit And The Pendulum By Edgar Allan Poe

Although every room was exquisitely designed, each room represented one of the seven deadly sins. Greed, wrath, pride, lust, gluttony, sloth, and envy all “attended” the party through the guests and their oblivious actions. The infamously painted black room with window panes of “a deep blood color” was the most avoided (Poe 1). With red lighting, as well, this room was highly evaded throughout the night. What was special about this room was that it included a large ebony clock with a pendulum, much like the one from Poe’s other short story called “The Pit and the Pendulum.” The clock chimed every hour, representing the impending arrival of the Red Death. This contagious, deadly, and inevitable disease was sure to make its way through Prospero’s …show more content…
Poe explained, “But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel” (Poe 2). They could happily ignore the deadly disease that was taking over and carry on with their socializing even though the disease was soon to become a reality. This is a crucial note to be aware of; the attendees had complete disregard of anything to do with death. This level of ignorance and pure disregard taunts Poe in his own life. During the time that Poe wrote “The Masque of the Red Death,” he watched as his wife withered away from 1842-1847 and died from Tuberculosis (Poetry Foundation). This fueled Poe’s bitterness towards the upper- class, as they continued their everyday lives without a care. On the other hand, Poe has one similar quality that he and the elitists contain. The wealthy drank alcohol in order to have a good time while Poe used it to drink away his pain …show more content…
It is at this point that the final guest arrives and Poe is able to project his disdain towards the wealthy and seek revenge. The last attendee can be described as someone who “was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave” (Poe 3). The man also displayed symptoms of the Red Death with “his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror” (Poe 3). It is evident that as Poe wrote the story, he played the role of the masked man. In his life, he was the type to not be invited to such elite parties. Furthermore, as the uninvited guest makes his way through the party, Prospero chases him. Prince Prospero exclaimed “who dares insult us with the blasphemous mockery?” when the party is interrupted by the Red Death (Poe 3). Prospero’s ingenuousness represents himself inviting death into his own home and chasing it. The hunt ended very quickly and resulted in his death. Despite the amount of money each person had at the party, the Red Death ended every person’s life as “one by one dropped the revelers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall” (Poe