Can We Escape Death? Can we change our destiny? Are we immortal? Can castellated towers prevent death from reaching us? Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" reveals that death is one of the realities that we all have to face one day, but each at different times. The Red Death indicates Scarlet Disease in the 1790's which Prince Prospero was trying to avoid. This is synonymous of the 21st century where many …showed first 75 words of 830 total…

…showed last 75 words of 830 total…represented by Prince Prospero) tries to block the threat of death from our minds; however, the Biblical reference (Matthew 24.43) at the end of the story reminds us that death comes "like a thief in the night" (14) meaning we will never know when death will approach us. Works Cited Roberts, Edgar, V., and Henry E. Jacobs. "The Masque of the Red Death." Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003. 278-282.