Comparing Masque of the Red Death and Hop Frog Essay -- comparison com

masquerade costume of the Red Death and Hop catch The manner in which Poe addresses the topic of class differences and the struggle for power with his fictional characters resounds of his own struggles in his personal life. However, unlike in Hop salientian and the Masque of the Red Death, he was never himself able to emerge whole victorious over his adversaries, including the publishing industry. In addition, Poes characters appear to proposition that while wealth may be the source of power for many, the reprobate use of information itself is the surest path to the acquisition of power. In the story by his name, Hop-Frog is non only physically dwarfed by the baron but is dwarfed in terms of bodily capabilities, wealth, social standing, and even in numbers as he and Trippetta are but dickens against the King and his 7 ministers. However, Hop-Frog emerges victorious, as his mental capabilities are seemingly far greater than the Kings. The King is set forth as having an especial admiration for breadth in a jest, and would a great deal put up with length, for the sake of it (Poe, 502). It becomes apparent that the King is not a smart man and his jester is indeed quite the opposite. The fact that Hop-Frog knows of the Kings weaknesses and tailors a perfect plan for vengeance to fit the map of the masque ball is a testament to his creativity and closely effective utilization of information. In the Purloined Letter, the useful utilization of information, which is by keeping such information hostage, again allows for great power in government. In these two stories we are given the message that information is most valuable and leads to power. In reality, Poe also made good use of information in straddle to gain a wider subscriptio... ... to power may have been Poes ideals in Hop-Frog and The Purloined Letter, but the reality of the situation was that monetary wealth was the single most useful means of gaining power, at least in the publishing industry. The Masque of the Red Death was a poignant social commentary on this uneven field of play and Poes point of view concerning the flush capitalists. Nonetheless, the possibility of altering the rules on the field of play lay not in the hands of the mentally acute and those who possessed information, but exclusively with those who possessed capital. Works Cited Kennedy, Gerald J. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Oxford Oxford University Press 2001 Poe, Edgar Allan. The calm Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York The Modern Library 1992 Poe, Edgar Allan. The Unknown Poe. San Francisco City Light Books 1980