Blogger #12 - Emily Hsieh - Period 9 - 10/18/2021

Blogger #12 - Emily Hsieh - Period 9 - 10/18/2021

Aim - How do the colors of the room symbolically demonstrate how the presence of the clock is a manifestation of the theme of inescapable death in “The Masque of the Red Death”?


Do Now - THINK/PAIR/SHARE SPECULATE: In literature, what could a clock possibly represent?


For the do now, we were required to identify the possible symbolism of a clock.

Our group came together and researched information on the web, as well as brainstorming ideas that are synonymous to a clock. After we had brainstormed ideas about the lesson, we were asked to share our answers. Several things we discovered was that clocks were representative of death and time of passing, as well as a countdown, or even time-travel. Our classmates had similar thoughts as well as different ones too. When we were asked to share our answers we heard some very unique ones, like a clock being a countdown to doomsday, or just being used to tell the time. All of these answers make some kind of sense, because clocks are normally used as a placeholder for time, and when we think of time passing, or time going anywhere really, we think of clocks.


Comparison—Life Outside vs. Life Inside
Compare life outside the palace with the life of the people Prospero brought inside.

Between the life inside the castle and the life outside the castle, Edgar Allen Poe portrays them as distinctly different. Many of my classmates described the outside of the palace as a place ridden with poverty, sorrow and disease, with it’s people overcome with despair. This was shown by the opening paragraph of “The Masque of the Red Death” where the people outside experienced death on a regular basis so that no one blinked an eye at another body on the ground. On another hand, by comparing that to Prince Prospero's palace, we can identify a noticeable difference in condition between the two environments. We observed that the palace was very lively and indulgent with a wide array of entertainment, clean sleeping spaces, and beautiful architecture. We noticed that contrary to the outside, the people inside actually had hope that they might survive and were living it out in the fine, luxurious castle.

What is the Symbolic meaning of the following Colors?

https://www.color-meanings.com/color-symbolism-chart/


Blue - Blue is normally representative of sadness, calmness, order and peace. It is considered a very calming color. Some examples of this is the phrase “Are you feeling blue today?” or the fact that parents surround their babies in a light baby blue.

Purple - Purple is considered a very regal color, that only the rich and high-class use. It also gives off a mysterious feel. Ex. Purple was only worn by royalty due to a special dye you could only have if you had a lot of money.

Green - Green can be shown as a calming color. It is representative of youth, health, envy, and an affinity with nature. This is normally because most plants are green and they are normally seen as youthful organisms.

Orange - Orange is a color of balance, energy and warmth. It is the color of fire, as well as a mix of red and yellow.

White - White is seen as a pure color as well as cold and clinical. It can also be seen as peace. This is shown by white clinical hospitals, and the white rebirth of snow.

Violet - Violet is very similar to purple and has many of the same meanings. But it also is more representative of wisdom and spirituality. It also means fragile and narcissistic.


Black - Black is pretty obvious, it is representative of death, bad luck, and power. It is the absence of light and pure darkness, kind of what we represent death like in the media.

“The Masque of the Red Death” Sections 5—8 Annotate while reading the sections.

(5) He had directed, in great part, the moveable embellishments of the seven chambers, upon occasion of this great fête: and it was his own guiding taste which had given character to the masqueraders. Be sure they were grotesque. There were much glare and glitter and piquancy and phantasm—much of what has been since seen in Hernani.³ There were arabesque figures with unsuited limbs and appointments. There were delirious fancies such as the madman fashions. There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust. To and fro in the seven chambers there stalked, in fact, a multitude of dreams. And these—the dreams—writhed in and about taking hue from the rooms, and causing the wild music of the orchestra to seem as the echo of their steps. And, anon, there strikes the ebony clock which stands in the hall of the velvet. And then, for a moment, all is still, and all is silent save the voice of the clock. The dreams are stiff frozen as they stand. But the echoes of the chime die away—they have endured but an instant—and a light, half subdued laughter floats after them as they depart. And now again the music swells, and the dreams live, and writhe to and fro more merrily than ever, taking hue from the many tinted windows through which stream rays from the tripods. But to the chamber which lies most westwardly of the seven, there are now none of the maskers who venture, for the night is waning away; and there flows a ruddier light through the blood colored panes; and the blackness of the sable drapery appals; and to him whose foot falls upon the sable carpet, there comes from the near clock of ebony a muffled peal more solemnly emphatic than any which reaches their ears who indulge in the more remote gaieties of the other apartments.

(6) But these other apartments were densely crowded, and in them beat feverishly the heart of life. And the revel went whirlingly on, until at length there commenced the sounding of midnight upon the clock. And then the music ceased, as I have told; and the evolutions of the waltzers were quieted; and there was an uneasy cessation of all things as before. But now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock; and thus it happened, perhaps, that more of thought crept, with more of time, into the meditations of the thoughtful among those who revelled. And thus, too, it happened, perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last chimes had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before. And the rumor of this new presence having spread itself whisperingly around, there arose at length from the whole company a buzz, or murmur, expressive disapprobation and surprise—then, finally of terror, of horror, and of disgust.

(7) In an assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation. In truth the masquerade license of the night was nearly unlimited; but the figure in question had out-Heroded Herod and gone beyond the bounds of even the prince's indefinite decorum. There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless, which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made. The whole company, indeed seemed now deeply to feel that in the costume and bearing of the stranger neither wit nor propriety existed. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbed in blood—and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror.

(8) When the eyes of Prince Prospero fell upon his spectral image (which with a slow and solemn movement, as if more fully to sustain its role, stalked to and fro among the waltzers) he was seen to be convulsed, in the first moment with a strong shudder either of terror or distaste; but, in the next, his brow reddened with rage.

“Who dares?” he demanded hoarsely of the courtiers who stood near him—“who dares insult us with the blasphemous mockery? Seize him and unmask him—that we may know whom we have to hang at sunrise, from the battlements!”

It was in the eastern or blue chamber in which stood the Prince Prospero as he uttered these words. They rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly—for the prince was a bold and robust man, and the music had become hushed at the waving of his hand.


Observations (per each highlighted section) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Mz4nwciWc
        - Prince Prospero is an eccentric man. This also highlights the difference between them and the outside world, with them living in a kind of a fantasy with their odd and splendid masks compared to them, outside who live in reality with the Red Death right next to them.
        - The clock represents the passing of time, the guests are afraid of it.
        - The clock's chime is described like a chime of death, that scares anyone who dared come into the seventh room.
        - There are many residents in the palace, however nobody wants to enter the black room.
        - The figure in question is described as very unsettling, surpassing even the most gaunt of the party-goers.
        - The stranger is and feels displaced within the lively party. Even among the varied costumes, their outfits are very different from the strangers.
        - He is wearing a costume that resembles a victim of the red death, or the red death itself.
        - The Prince is fearful at first but his arrogant attitude comes back in fierce anger.
        - The Prince is very bold, and his fear drives him to do an irrational act.

Teamwork and Class Discussion

1 - List the rooms prepared for the Masquerade ball and the peculiarity of each. Note any differences.

There are seven rooms in total, blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, black. All of them do not emit any light except for the windows in every room that match the color of the room itself, except for black which has red windows. The partygoers there enjoy visiting the first six suites and all of them are busy with fun. The last suite though, is thoroughly deserted as most of them found the corroider too creepy to go into. It also holds a large creepy clock that rings every hour.


2 - What is missing in each room and therefore, how is each room is lit. Additionally, describe what is located at the center of each wall and its purpose within each room.


Every room is missing lamps and other light sources. To obtain light, there are windows in the rooms which emit light coming from the outside from a large tripod of fire. In the center of each wall the windows are placed for light and direction.


3 - Explain the significance of the direction in which the windows are placed in each room.


They are placed as a way to show how each room is divided from one another, and how the windows are kind of like their protection against the Red Death, like the barrier that allows them to observe as well as their own protection.


4 - What effect does the light produce upon the revelers and the masquerade ball in the first six

rooms?


In the first six rooms, the light is joyful and nice and is what they used to see in their suites. These suites are extremely popular and produce a nice feeling contrary to the last room. This is observed by the numerous nobles staying in the first six.


5 - How does the effect of the light in the seventh room differ from that of the first six rooms?


The seventh room’s light is not described as “joyful” at all, in comparison it is viewed as creepy and eerie. With it’s ominous red light compared to the black walls, it’s no wonder. Many of the party-dwellers do not dare venture into that room.


6 - Infer: Why do you suppose the clock is placed in the black chamber, at the most western end of the abbey?


The clock is representative of a countdown to death in my opinion. The seven rooms are a metaphor for the seven stages of life, and since the sun sets in the west, it shows the passing of time, and since it's in the last room, the room closest to the west is a death-clock.


7 - Prove what seems to be the role of the clock within the story in relation to its effect on the revelers of the masquerade.


As I said before, I consider the clock to be a sort of death-countdown and a teller of the time spent in the palace. With every chime, it scares the revelers as it represents one more hour passing.


8 - Connect the effect the chiming of the clock has on the revelers to the reaction of the guests after the clock stops chiming.


The revelers are very fearful of the clock and the meaning it brings. When it chimes, everyone stops and looks on in fear. But when the clock stops, they forget about it easily and go back to peacefully celebrating.


Class Discussion
In what way might Prince Prospero’s description be ironic?

Prince Prospero is written and described as gaunt, confident, dauntless, and sagacious. He is considered a wise and strong ruler, and even his name says “prosperous”. However, he is actually exactly the opposite of these things. His kingdom is in shreds thanks to the Red Death, and he is not being wise or courageous at all. He locked himself and his vassals all in the palace and started partying waiting for the troubles to end. He is described as such, but his actions show a coward.


Reflection
In this lesson we observed many cases of symbolism and answered numerous questions about them while reading “The Masque of The Red Death”. This is the basics of reading, and we can use these to help us understand and interpret the meanings of a text. We will be using this information in our next classes to identify other possible meaning in complicated books to look into and help us find more than just one literal meaning of a object or person.