2. Open the following PDF Elements of Gothic Literature
- Scroll down to the "Elements of Gothic Literature" section and look at elements 1-25
- Consider The Devil and Tom Walker and The Masque of the Red Death
- Choose one element from the list that applies to The Devil and Tom Walker and a different element from the list that applies to The Masque of the Red Death
3. Post a comment discussing how one of these elements is seen in each story. Provide specific examples from each story to support your point. Your paragraph should be roughly 10 sentences in length and should include:
- an opening/topic sentence(s)
- analysis and examples
- a transition from your analysis of one story to the next
- a final, concluding sentence.
4. Be sure to post your comment with your name to earn credit
In both “The Devil and Tom Walker” along with “The Masque of the Red Death” they share many common Gothic elements but also have many different elements in themselves. In “The Devil and Tom Walker”, one Gothic element I noticed was the weather playing a key role in setting the scene. The author so vividly describes what the swamp looks like which gives a sense that you are now in the swamp along with Tom. The swamp's weather is very detailed which makes it easier to visualize things from Tom's perspective in the woods. The darkness and gloominess that lays over the swamp continually makes you wonder what is to come next and what will happen to Tom. Now in “The Masque of the Red Death”, I noticed the Gothic element of pursuing the protagonist of the story. It was well known that the protagonist of the story is the masked figure. This figure has many different roles in this play such as, he brings worries to the people attending that event. That figure is the main reason for the willingness to kill at their own event. Both stories shared many common elements but those seem to be the two elements that truly set these stories apart from each other when they are compared.
ReplyDelete"The Devil and Tom Walker" and "The Masque of the Red Death" are both good stories with many Gothic elements. In the story "The Devil and Tom Walker" Many Gothic elements are evident. The weather, bloody death, and supernatural creatures all come into play in this story. Toms wife decides that she wants to make a deal with the devil, but the devil does not want to conspire with her. The story explains how the devil goes on to kill toms wife and tie her bloody insides up in a tree. In "The Masque of the Read Death" The most obvious Gothic element was a supernatural creature. During the story, a man-untouchable by all- comes into the party being held. He strolls through each room, spreading death, and making all who wish to kill him unable to move close to him. Both of these stories have common Gothic elements, yet they also stay very individual in there story content.
ReplyDeleteThe stories "The Devil and Tom Walker" and "The Masque of the Red Death" both have common elements to each but they both also have their individual elements. In the "Masque of the Red Death", I noticed the main character to be a stock character which is one of the Gothic elements. It is clearly shown in the book that the main character goes crazy near the end of the story which shows it's Gothic theme in this story. In "The Devil and Tom Walker" the Gothic Element was the atmosphere. The dark marsh that Tom was traveling was described in detail of how it looked and why people avoided it. Both of the stories share Gothic elements in common but each of the stories of their own element to the story.
ReplyDeleteThere are common Gothic elements in both "The Devil and Tom Walker" and "The Masque of the Red Death." One major gotheic element in, "The Devil and Tom Walker" is the use of stock characters. In this case, the stock character is the Devil. The devil is used to tempt Tom Walker into taking the deal. The use of the devil causes a mysterious and ominous feeling. In "The Masque of the Red Death," a gothic element used was the setting being in a castle. The king brings the healthy people into his castle. The castle has seven rooms, each being a different style. The last room is a black ominous room. The use of the castle gives the story a darker feeling. Both of these stories share similar elements, but those two elements give each of these stories a different twist.
ReplyDeleteIn many stories written during the Gothic Era there is a supernatural figure in the stories. In both “The Devil and Tom Walker” and “The Masque of the Red Devil” the supernatural was a dark figure that was a resemblance to the Devil. In “The Devil and Tom Walker” the Devil was watching after the pirate money that Tom wanted and was there to convince Tom to get the money. The Devil was a dark figure with glowing eyes that would appear in a dark swamp showing the resemblance of the gothic era. Not only is the Devil in “The Devil and Tom Walker”, he is in “The Masque and the Red Devil” as well. There is a dark figure that worries people and causes people to kill. In both stories, a supernatural figure is described that is in each place to scare/kill people showing the darkness of the Gothic Era.
ReplyDeleteThe "The Devil and Tom Walker" and "The Masque of the Red Death" both have that eerie feeling to the words and the setting. The weather plays a key role in "The Devil and Tom Walker"; the dark, plain swamp hiding the unknown. It brings that uneasy feeling to the character and possibly the reader while traveling through the forest, that something you never want to see will make an appearance. It also brings a light to the dark with the subject of the human flaw(s); that a humans weakness/flaw can bring them and/or their loved ones down. In "The Masque of Death", the sound of the ebony grandfather clock makes everyone uneasy, as the clock can be a symbol of life and death; lives through the beginning to the end. The Prince's mansion being large, having many sharp turns, and having so many rooms tears at the idea of what could be waiting around the corner, and brings fear to that idea. The masked figure was an creature of insanity (one of the elements commonly found in Gothic literature) and what a person can achieve when pushed into the darkest part of their mind. So both stories share elements that drive the story, but they each have their own to make it Gothic and unique.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Devil and Tom Walker" Tom had it with his wife's constant abuse. When he met the devil it changed him and showed Tom the Gothic element of revenge. Tom killed his wife, because he couldn't take her abuse anymore. He seeked independence and finally got it, once she was gone. In "The Masque of the Red Death" there was a strong use of vocabulary of the Gothic. Some of the words Edgar Alan Poe used were, dauntless, sagacious, contagion, pervade, and grotesque. The use of these words helped make the story more realistic and gruesome visuals. It helped allowing the story to be told. Both stories are good examples of how Gothic literature was written. They both had grotesque moments, but kept the reader in touch, and wanting to continue on reading.
ReplyDeleteGothic elements are found everywhere in a multitude of stories. In "The Devil and Tom Walker" and "The Masque of the Red Death" these elements are highly recognizable. Revenge is shown in "The Devil and Tom Walker" as Tom attempts to put on a religious face to escape the devil, when the devil then comes for him immediately, as well as all of Tom's wealth being turned to ash. The element of the supernatural can be found in Masque as the prince approaches the reaper like figure that is death incarnate and dies.
ReplyDeleteIn The Masque of the Red Death there are many gothic elements shown. One that particularly stood out is the setting. The setting takes place in a castle owned by Prince Prospero. In this castle parties occur every day for months until the biggest party is held, the masquerade. Seven creepy, yet decorative rooms are set up for this special event and one old clock, further adding to the creepy castle element. Another element that always helps to up the creepy factor are the characters involved. In The Devil and Tom Walker the Devil plays a villain-hero. He starts out by giving Tom a great deal. He promises riches for the greedy man. By the end, the devil shows his true self. He killed Tom’s wife, which only makes Tom like him more. He then asks him to do horrible deeds and eventually damns him to hell.
ReplyDeleteThere is many Gothic elements in "The Devil and Tom Walker" and in "The Masque of the Red Death". The supernatural was a strong element in “The Devil and Tom Walker”, in this story Tom makes a deal with the devil, this obviously is supernatural because this would never happen in real life, some sort of deal always seems to happen in Gothic stories. The Gothic element used in “The Masque of the Red Death” is the setting being in a castle, the prince takes all of the healthy people into his castle to live with him. The prince believes that they will all be okay but at the end of the story the red death comes as a masked figure for all of the people.
ReplyDeleteIn both "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Devil and Tom Walker" there are many similar components that are linked to Gothic elements. "The Masque of the Red Death" was set in a castle. The castle had multiple rooms that were all a little different and not like the place a party would normally be held. They were all offset of each other and they could not see from room to room. All of the rooms had a very eerie feeling especially the black room which had the eeriest feeling. Similarly there were eerie feelings that came from reading "The Devil and Tom Walker" the devil plays a big part in the feeling from the story. Tom Walker goes into the swampy area to walk home and then runs into the devil. Tom sits there and talks to the devil for a while almost like they are good friends even though the devil keeps trying to say things that should be concerning to Tom or anyone else. Both of these stories have Gothic elements and eerie feelings that take the story and give the people what they are looking for when they choose to read it.
ReplyDeleteIn the "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Devil and Tom Walker" there are many Gothic elements, one of them being the supernatural being. In "The Devil and Tom Walker" as the name describes the devil is used to persuade Tom into evil works and actions which before then Tom was a humble man. And in "The Masque of the Red Death" the mysterious figure (the Red Death) eerily creeps along until being unmasked resulting in the Princes death.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Devil and Tom Walker" there are many similarities when it comes to Gothic elements. In "The Masque of the Red Death," the setting takes place in a castle. And in that castle, are many different rooms symbolizing different things. There is also death spreading, which is an element of the Gothic style. Just as in "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Devil and Tom Walker" also has many elements of Gothic style. The weather plays a big role in that short story. When Tom is walking through the woods, it gives very descriptive details about the weather, to give you that spooky feeling. Both of these short stories are good examples of Gothic literature. Both of these stories are meant to give you that eerie feeling and they both certainly do that.
ReplyDelete"The Devil and Tom Walker" portrays a very eerie and arcane atmosphere. The story describes the dark forest that the devil resides in as mysterious and once a place of sacrifice for the devil. The forest also contained rotted-out trees that symbolized the souls of those who dared to sell their soul to the devil in exchange for materials. "The Devil and Tom Walker" was not the only story to show similar elements. "The Masque of the Red Death" showed the reaction of what a dark figure, or may also be refereed as an outsider, can cause to any situation. The prince and his guest enjoyed their masquerade, but were halted by the presence of a mysterious character. Such a character evoked fear into the people, and eventually lead them to their demise. Both these stories showed many Gothic elements or symbolism.
ReplyDeleteIn these two stories "The Devil and Tom Walker" and "The Masque of red Death' both have Gothic literature examples. The devil in tom walker shows how tom is hes a humble person and very calm. He may get beat up by his wife a lot but still gets up every morning. Gothic literature is shown when the devil tries to trick Tom into something he doesn't want. the Gothic literature is a little different in The masque of red death. There was parties to lead to the main masque and the guest that joined them at the castle enjoyed the masque. This castle was a great symbol of death showing that its in a great way Gothic because death in very much the Gothic way
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