This is an essay I wrote for Mrs. Bolton.

1. Kynnedy Miller
“Masque of the Red Death”
While reading the “Masque of the Red Death”, by Edgar Allan Poe, there were many
examples of symbolism. Symbolism stands or represents something for itself. Also, something
that serves as a symbol that has its own meaning. The red death, the zig- zag rooms, and the
color of the rooms all had a big impact in the story.
The red death symbolizes tuberculosis. Death was inevitable if you had tuberculosis in
Poe’s day. Tuberculosis was an unavoidable event that had no cure. There was no way to
resuscitate someone from the red death. In the book, “Masque of the Red Death” Tuberculosis
was killing many people. The people in the story tried to shut all the doors and lock the windows
so the disease could not get in. This related to Poe’s life because everyone Poe ever loved passed
away from the red death.
Another sign of symbolism was how all the rooms in the castle were zig zag. The
meaning of the zig zag rooms were that nobody could predict the future. Poe had no idea what
his future was going to bring. He did not know that most of his loved ones would die from the
red death, tuberculosis. Every room represented a stage in everybody's life. Wonder what was
going to happen next.
The colors of the rooms each had a different meaning of life. The setup of the seven
rooms go east to west, representing birth to death. The last room of the castle was black. It was
the last room and the color black because it symbolized death. The ebony clock also represents
death. Everyone will die eventually, people are just waiting.

2. While reading more literature, people will understand that symbolism will let others get a
better meaning. In the future, these same symbols will allow you to understand the meanings of
other literatures better because of knowing what the word meant.