Meaning Analysis of The Masque of the Red Death and Other Stories

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

The main character introduces his obsession with the old man’s vulture eye. He explains that he watches the old man outside of his bedroom every night at midnight and how once the idea of killing the man entered his brain, it haunted him and was impossible to get rid of until the deed was finished. The most dominant conflict in this story is the one between the main character and the old man.

The main characters conflict is not entirely focused on the old man, for the old man never did him any wrong, but it is mainly centered on the fury concerning the vulture eye. Later on the main character wants to get rid of the evil eye forever, and therefore comes up with the idea of killing the man. He watches him every night until he feels he is ready to complete the action. One night the old man hears the door creak and questions who is there.

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He sits up in his bed all night. The main character shines a ray of light upon his eye and immediately fills with rage at the sight. The old character in the fire of the moment, jumps into the room and kills the old man. He drags his body unto the floor and dragged the heavy bed over him. I felt really sad on how the old man knew nothing about and also how he died for not doing anything. I don't think the old man had to be killed.

Why couldn't he stay alive?

“The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe

The Masque of the Red Death is about a “Red Death” that has been killing people and devastated the country with the outbreak of the “Red Death” he has a castle for himself and his 1000 friends of the court sealed off from the world, while everyone else suffers. The purpose of this castle was that the “Red Death” was not in it. Five to six months after the castle is built and the prince has been living in it with his 1000 friends he decides to host a masked ball of “unusual magnificence”. The narrator begins to talk about the seven different and unusual rooms in the palace. After the narrator finishes describing every room he explains the clock. Every hour the clock would chime and the orchestra and everyone stops and everyone turned pale but they say the next time that clock strikes they will not stop, but they still stop the next time it chimes. I believe the most significant meaningful passage from this short story was knowing all the selfish things that the “Red Death” does. When he lives in a castle with 1000 of his friends while they’re people struggling outside. He doesn't really care about what's going on. He’s all about the seven rooms and all about them.

“Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving

This short story takes place a few years before the American Revolution and ends twenty years later. It takes place in a village in New york, near the Hudson River and the Kaatskill Mountains. The conflict in this short story is Rips constant desire to be free of his wife's nagging and condescending behavior leads him to escape into the woods. In the woods he runs into the strange men. Rip falls asleep for 20 years. Rip Van Winkle goes into town realizing the scenery is different and he does recognize anyone or anything. This is significant because it shows the point where the story turns around. The change in setting translates back to the theme of change. Winkle later on finds out that his wife is dead, and with finding out this news, he is overjoyed. Winkle goes to live with his daughter and continues to live in idleness even after 20 years.

I can see that Rips wife never really liked him and that he didn't really like her. They didn't really value each other like that. She was always so mean and harsh to him. Wonder how his feelings must've felt. The values expressed in this short story are really difficult to spot but i feel that the values they shared didn't really go together which made Rip not care not one bit.