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Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” This quote is proven true in many pieces of American Literature from past to present. In Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Masque of the Red Death,” the ebony clock, the last chamber, and the masked figure are used as symbols to represent the uncontrollable outcome of human life and exemplify the words of Benjamin Franklin. Throughout the work, Poe employs a seemingly simple ebony clock to symbolize the destined time of life, which no one can control. The clock is first introduced by describing the pendulum’s “dull, heavy, monotonous clang”, which automatically gives the idea that the clock is oppressive and evokes fear in both the readers and guests (Poe). As the story goes on, the characteristics of the clock unfold even more and reveal the emotions and actions it suggests. For instance, the clock’s “chiming imposes a start-stop movement on the festive …show more content…
The visitors go to Prince Prospero’s last chamber for protection from the Red Death because it is meant to be “impenetrable” and a place of safety from the outside world. The room is “shrouded in black velvet tapestries” and has windows of a “scarlet—a deep blood color” which contributes to an eerie mood as the guests enter (Poe). The surroundings and colors of the room provide a grim feeling and also remind the reader of sadness, terror, and death coming for them. The room’s colors reflect what will inescapably happen to them there. Furthermore, the last chamber is the room in which the visitors “died each in the despairing posture of his fall” (Poe). The death of all of the people in the chamber represents the predestined end of life. The last stage of life is death, and the last chamber is where all of the visitors die despite the company’s belief that it would protect them from the outside
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