Prospero

Starbucks and Déjà vu: Megalomaniacs Assemble! Macbeth, Satan, and Victor Frankenstein walk into a bar…well, a Starbucks. It may sound like the beginning of an odd joke, but this situation is actually the window into some interesting insight of the views of power by individuals whose very stories are woven around the concept. In a way, each of these characters can be viewed in a negative light because of their involvement with power: killing for it, losing it, manipulating for it, or abusing it.…

The masked Red Death, a cloaked, ghostly-looking man symbolizes the plague of the red death, as well as the inevitability of it. This symbol, paired with irony of the situation, demonstrates that although Prince Prospero locked himself in a castle to keep death out, it will always catch up with a person. No matter how luxurious or extravagantly a person’s home may be, no matter how privileged they are, death is unavoidable. The Clock, held in the black room, represents…

A story is all about momentum, making the reader want to continue reading. Find at least three “pulse” points in Ilium and analyze why they drive the story forward. There were many pulse points in Ilium, which made it hard to choose which points I wanted to focus on and analyze. Pulse points are probably different for every reader, but there were many parts of the story that were highly engaging which I felt propelled the story forward for me. Because Ilium is a braided narrative, it…

Essay Prompt #3- Utopian Society An ideal utopian society would give room for intermarriages, irrespective of race, financial or ethical background. It would begin with a full and mandatory education for children, followed through by free lifelong learning offered to anyone in the civilization who is interested. Agriculture would be treated as a science, and a major part of the curriculum in the education system. Every citizen should spend some portion of their life working on a farm. An ideal…

Unlike “MS. Found in a Bottle” in which the narrator dreads the apparent phenomenon of the whirlpool, “The Fall of the House of Usher” shows that fear of death lies in the fear of the intangible and the unknown. Roderick Usher believes that he will die of fear. When he is foreshadowing his death, he says: "the period will sooner or later arrive when I must abandon life and reason together, in some struggle with the grim phantasm, FEAR" (Poe, The Fall 392). Usher tries to explain to the Narrator…

Caliban “loved” Prospero and had great respect for him, however discovering him being a “subject” to him, he hopes “A southwest blow on ye”. The contrast in language between “loved” and “southwest” highlights the unexpected discovery of Prospero’s intentions of enslaving…

Caliban and Frankenstein’s Creature are both considered to be monsters due to their physically abhorring appearance. Caliban is said to be “A strange fish.” and the Creature is called a “…vile insect.” by his creator, as well as a “Devil” on multiple occasions. These descriptions imply that these characters are less than human, which introduces the concept of the “other.” Otherness is an idea that is used to analyse the way in which majority and minority groups are constructed, a person or…

Writing Assessment: The Masque of Red Death Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” is a chilling story about a prince that tries to avoid the Red Death, a plague that sweeps his kingdom. He attempts to do this by locking himself and his friends in his castle and throwing a lavish party. Everything is fine until the Red Death visits the prince and his guests, and everyone dies. Throughout the story, Poe uses symbols such as the colors of the rooms in the party, the gigantic wall clock…

Most of the story focuses on the party itself. The second paragraph, directly after the blood-curdling description of the “Red Death,” describes the Prince and his lavish party: “But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious…The Prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine.”13 Once the threat of…

story “Masque of the Red Death” the narrator let all of his subjects except the rich fall to the Red Death. Later in the story the Red Death gets in to the narrators secluded castle and kills all the rich including the king. “In death fell Prince Prospero.” In Poe’s poem “Alone” the narrator is believing that he is ascending in to heaven but is then sent to hell. “And the cloud that took the form (When the rest of Heaven was blue) Of a demon in my…