`Masque Of The Red Death` vs. `The Shawl` comparison essay.

Edgar Allen Poe 's `Masque of the Red Death and Cynthia Ozick 's `The Shawl ' are compelling narratives which allude to man 's unchanging nature . To that end , the characters in either story are transferable to any temporal setting . However , the characters cannot exist outside a particular narrative . They belong to tales of human darkness , rich with terror , desperation , and suffering . Nevertheless , just as the characters are restricted to a particular narrative the narrative cannot exist outside its designated setting . In fact , the setting , in terms of subject matter , characters , and genre

expectation , drive the narratives

Firstly , in matters of genre , both the `Masque of the Red Death ' and `The Shawl ' fit the parameters of a horror story - which takes two forms . In one instance , Ozick explores the effect of tragedy and terror upon the human psyche . Meanwhile , Poe in the pattern of the original fairy tale , told to frighten its audience , illustrates that no matter the preventive measures , one 's mortality is inescapable . Besides the horrific situation , another genre expectation is the necessity of a monster . Ozick 's monster is multi-faceted but more simply an amalgamation of various manifestations of the darker aspects of human nature . In effect the mysterious `they ' in `The Shawl ' other humans (Nazis , are collectively , the monster . They engage in ethnic cleansing and genocide

Similarly , Poe 's fantasy , illustrates that between man and death , the formers nature is darkest . Prince Prospero , the works ' protagonist is a ruler that parties with nihilistic fervor as his poorer subjects succumb to the plague . The red death confirms another genre expectation . The monster must be mysterious this is in keeping with Stephen King 's sentiments expressed in the Danse Macabre ' where he points out that the greatest fear exists in the unknown . How apropos that the conclusion of Poe 's work proves the Red Death without substance . Need more

Secondly , in keeping with genre expectations , the subject matter of either work is dark . Clearly , Ozick explores man as monster , whether inexplicably evil , as in the case of the mysterious `they ' or driven to commit evil acts because of trauma . For example , her character Stella exhibits psychopathic behavior , arguably because of the Darwinian anarchy Nazi Germany and life in the concentration camps descend . Stella steals a shawl from fifteen-month old Magda - the moment of her psychotic break . At which point Stella 's physical coldness that she soothes with Magda 's shawl becomes symbolic of her increasingly hypothermic empathy towards others . What is inescapable about Ozick 's Stella is the recognition that the depravities of the concentration camp destroy her humanity . It is evident that only an experience on par with the concentration camp would lead her to behave as an animal - intent only on assuring personal comfort

Like Ozick 's Stella , Poe 's Prince Prospero , illustrates that in times of crisis a retreat from one 's humanity is the behavior of choice Prospero goes to great lengths to distance himself from his humanity . In this instance , setting is incredibly important...