Interactive Children's Books

"The Masque of the Red Death" : My Opinion

“The Masque of the Red Death” is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe that focuses on how people can’t run from their death. No matter how hard you try and no matter the amount of precautions you take to escape it, when it wants you, it will have you. While demonstrating the focus of life and death, Poe clearly illustrates how the fatal disease called the red death killed the characters in the story.

According to Poe, the red death had devastated the unknown country for a long time. Poe used the words redness, horror, blood, pains, dizziness, bleeding, and dissolution to describe it. Poe told of how within thirty minutes of catching the disease the person would die. This disease could be compared to the plague or the Black Death. However, Poe must have not wanted the title or references of the disease in the story to appear to be any other disease than the red death because he repeated the actual name of the disease each time it was discussed in the story. The people of the county all feared the red death because of the horrible ending it always brought, death. Other diseases sometimes kill the people that it inhabits, but not the red death. The red death always ended with death. Therefore, because of the existence of the red death in the country, the Prince, Prince Prospero (the only character that speaks in “The Masque of the Red Death”), decided to save himself and all of his friends from the disease.

Prince Prospero thought he could save himself and one thousand of his friends by building strong walls around the castle in which they lived. The walls and iron gates were intended to save them from this horrible disease. The Prince’s name, Prospero, is a lot like the English word prosperity which means success and good well-being. Poe giving the Prince this name is somewhat bizarre considering he is the first one to die in the story. Perhaps Poe did this to prove that no matter how wealthy and successful you are, you can’t escape death or anything else that is destined to find you. Prince Prospero was wealthy enough to allow one thousand of his friends to live with him, he had numerous servants, and he threw parties almost every night. It seemed like everything was going fine inside the walls of Prospero’s home while the disease was killing whatever it may outside of the castle walls. However, right underneath Prospero’s nose was the next ingredient to his death that he himself created.

Prince Prospero was going to throw a costume ball on the night of his death which was set up in seven different colored rooms that were all in order from east to west. www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/section10.rhtml gives a great example of why the rooms were set up in order from east to west. Section ten told of how the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. When the sun rises it is morning time and the beginning of the day. When the sun sets it is night and the end of the day. Therefore, a full day could symbolize one’s lifetime. Since the first room is in the east, it is the beginning of a person’s life. As the characters kept walking through the rooms farther west, their lives began to come closer to the end. Once someone encounters the room farthest west, death is displayed.

Martha Womack who wrote Adventures in American Literature found several points that link the seven rooms in Poe’s story to the seven life stages. She told of how the history of the world was thought to consist of seven ages, the ancient world had seven wonders, universities divided learning into seven subjects, there were seven deadly sins, and there are seven cardinal virtues. All of these examples of the use of the number seven suggest why Poe chose to use seven as the number of rooms in his story. The number of rooms to demonstrate the seven life stages was important for the conclusion of the story; however, the colors of the rooms were far more stimulating.

Each room was a different color and had window panes to match the color of the room except the last room. The first room was blue, the second purple, the third green, the fourth orange, the fifth white, the sixth violet, and the seventh room was black. Poe told of the black room by saying that it was shrouded in velvet. According to C.D. Wiley, “shrouded” is a word always associated with death. The black room, being the last life stage and symbolizing death, had scarlet window panes. Scarlet is a deep color of blood which is why the red window pains symbolized blood. The color red was even used in the title “The Masque of the Red Death” to make the complete connection from the color red to blood to death. Blood may be the cause of why each and every person is living, but when we think of the word blood we think of death. According to an unknown reviewer of “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe called this story, “The horror of blood.” Whoever entered the colored rooms, which were the stages of life, kept on passing through one after another on to the end while time was in the background ticking away.

The time that was ticking away was the ebony clock that was draped in black velvet and sat in the seventh room. The ebony clock chimed every hour. Each time the clock paused, everyone that heard the pause became skeptical and fearful. Musicians, dancers, and giddy friends all paused. Poe even informs readers that between each chime of the clock three thousand and six hundred seconds elapse, showing that even though an hour may seem like a large amount of time, it is merely seconds. Also, when thinking about not having much more time to live, seconds are even smaller than they may realistically be. The clock finally stopped though after the red death entered Prince Prospero’s party and killed everyone there. To symbolize death, Poe included the following phrase in the story, “And the life of the ebony clock went out with the last of the gay” (75) This quote demonstrates the significance of the clock by showing how the clock stopped when the characters lives ended.

The red death couldn’t enter the party without a disguise, which was the perfect opportunity to present itself at the costume ball Prince Prospero was throwing. The people who attended the ball had on lavish costumes. However, none of the costumes were anything like the costume the red death had on. The costume the red death had on was “shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave.” The mask resembled a corpse, in addition to the entire outfit had blood sprinkled all over it. Midnight was when the red death appeared at the costume ball. At that time, the clock as well as everything else paused. Prince Prospero demanded for the masked guest to tell who he was. When he did not, Prince Prospero took a dagger and followed him through each room. When they entered the last of the rooms, the dagger fell to the floor and Prospero was killed. Prospero being killed in the last room, which was the black room, proved that the black room symbolized death.

Poe’s story “The Mask of the Red Death” proves the point that death can not be escaped. No matter how old, how wealthy, how depressed, or how scared we are, death will have us when it wants us. Charles O’ Donnell who was in From Earth to Ether, told that Poe knew the bible well and used it as a source of inspiration. At the end of the story Poe gives a bible verse that allows the story to be put in prospective. I Thessalonians 5:2-3 tells of how death comes like a thief in the night and even those who seek peace and safety shall not escape it.

The Tale of Desperaux

The Tale of Despereaux is a children’s fantasy book written by Katie DiCamillo and illustrated by Timothy B. Ering. It won a Newbery Medal in 2003. The story is about a mouse named Despereaux trying to rescue a Princess. The Tale of Despereaux has four stories within it that are called books; the first tells of Despereaux's beginning, the second tells about Chiaroscuro, the third is about Miggery Sow, and the forth brings all of the characters together.

Good fantasy tells the truth about life which this book most certainly does. First of all, the book tells how it is okay to be different. For example, in Despereaux’s case, he was an oddball among the mouse community from the time he was born. He had a small body and huge ears. As he grew, he didn’t have the same tale as other mice and even liked to read books instead of eat them. However, being that he was different, and had large ears, he was able to listen to the music that the king played for his daughter, Princess Pea, which caused him to meet and fall in love with her. Secondly, the book teaches about loneliness and how it can be overcome with friendship which is also a real life issue. This was shown through Princess Pea’s feelings of loneliness after her mother's death until she became such close friends with Despereaux. Third, the book demonstrates that not everyone is lucky enough to have a perfect home life growing up; however, everyone has the choice to rise above that and make a better life for themselves and their future. Take Miggery Sow for example; she was mistreated as a child. Miggery’s mother died and her father sold her to a man that she had to work for getting nothing in return. The man actually beat her and made her almost deaf. Miggery was rescued from slavery and ended up becoming friends with the Princess Pea.

This book captured the essence of readers’ deepest emotions, dreams, hopes, and fears through the excellent use of characters. First of all, Despereaux had a dream of saving the Princess Pea. His quest caused readers to be hopeful that he would succeed in rescuing her. Also, when Princess Pea was kidnapped it instilled a sense of fear for her safety and hope for her rescue in readers. Being that Botticelli, the evil rat wished for the princess to die and plans on feeding her to his army of rats, he brought about a strong fear as well. Furlough Tilling, who was one of Despereaux's older brothers tried to teach Despereaux to be afraid of things and was disappointed in his little brother for not being like the rest of the mice. Disappointment in a family member often triggers very deep emotions.

The author helped me suspend my disbelief by making the characters seem so realistic. The characters were all very well developed and their lives and attributes were meticulously planned out and described. Also, the characters participated in real life conflict that would actually affect real humans and not just animals. The feelings that the characters had and their actions were as if they were humans.

The book fits our textbook’s description of a well written book because it has powerful language, memorable characters, a compelling plot, and is very believable. The powerful language used in the book is what draws readers into the intensity of the plot. The language was very intriguing and the descriptive words made things more easily understood. The characters were very memorable because each one had an interesting background and specific character traits. The plot was compelling because there was always an interesting event taking place. Also, the plot kept readers wanting to know more to find out details and conclusions such as if Despereaux would ever rescue Princess Pea. The story would be believable if animals really could talk. It was believable for a fantasy story however, because it had real emotions, ideas, and conquests that humans often encounter in life. 

Children would benefit from reading this book in a few different ways. First of all, they would simply enjoy reading such an entertaining story. Second, they would learn from the different emotions and struggles that the characters face and see the beauty in those being overcome. Third, children could learn from the book how friends can be where you least expect them in life and bring such joy just when it is needed.

The theme, plot, style, and characters in the book all came together to make it as wonderful as it was. First of all, the theme was excellent. There were several different themes to the book such as the importance of hope, the happiness having friends brings, and how struggles can be overcome. However, I feel like the main theme of the book was to never give up and believe in yourself. This is because most all of the characters in the book came from troubled backgrounds; however, in the end, they all came together and we happy after a journey of believing in themselves and looking toward a better future. Plot is what happens in a story. I believe the book had an episodic plot. This is because the entire book was a series of small episodes. It told in separate parts of the book about different issues. There were more than one types of conflict involved in the plot; person versus person and person versus society were the two most noted. Style is the words the author chooses and how he or she puts them together. The words in this book were put together in many interesting ways such as precise vocabulary, figurative language, and even dialogue. Style is also supposed to be appropriate to the plot, theme, and characters, both creating and reflecting the mood of the story which definitely takes place in The Tale of Despereaux. There are several important characters in the book which I have already discussed. The characters each play an important role different from the others yet equally necessary to make the book as meaningful as it is to readers. 

Rebecca Lukens has an inspirational quote that states, “Words are merely words, but real literature for any age is words chosen with skill and artistry to give the readers pleasure and to help them understand themselves and others.”  This quote can be compared to The Tale of Despereaux. First of all, the words chosen for the book were most certainly chosen with skill artistry. Secondly, the book has given many readers pleasure over the years. Third, reading the book helps individuals understand themselves and others better through the many life lessons that can be taught from reading it; the characters encounter various struggles and overcome them.

The Tale of Despereaux is an excellent children’s book. The fact that it won a Newbery Medal is no surprise. I would recommend the book to children as well as adults. Being that the book can be entertaining for all ages is one of the reasons it has been such a success. The characters of the book are unforgettable. It can be assumed that everyone that reads the book will be greatly pleased with the work of  Katie DiCamillo.

Poetry Critique of The Blind Boy

             The poem The Blind Boy, written by Colley Cibber, displays criteria in which signifies a good children’s poem. Characteristics of a good children’s poem include conciseness, emotional intensity, sounds, images, and insight. Examples from the poem can easily be pointed out to demonstrate each of these characteristics.

            The Blind Boy is about a boy that is blind talking about all of the things he can not see in life. In the first part he tells of how he can not enjoy light and asks people that can see what the blessing of sight is like. The second part talks about the sun and tells of how he can feel the warmth of it, but doesn’t understand day and night because he doesn’t know what the sun shining is like. The third part of the poem tells of how to him it is always day because there is no difference in the appearance of day and night. The fourth section of the poem the boy tells how no one should feel sorry for him because he does not know any different from being blind. The last part of the poem the boy tells of how he does not let him being blind bring him down because to him, he is a king.

            First of all, the poem is very concise. Conciseness means that the poem is written using the fewest words possible and that each word was chosen carefully for a specific purpose. Each section of the poem tells something different about the boy being blind. Even though there are five different sections, each is only two sentences. Each of the sentences highlights something that someone that was blessed with sight might not think about missing or displays his optimism despite his blindness.

            The emotional intensity in this poem is overwhelming, which is most certainly one of the reasons I chose to critique this poem. When you are able to see, you often do not think about the things blind people miss out on in life. However, this poem brings many thoughts to mind about how blessed we are to have the ability to see. The first line of the poem says, “o say, what is that thing called light? Which I can ne’er enjoy?” This line touched my heart because of how sad is it that he has no idea what light actually is and will never be able to know. Also in the poem, it says, “With heavy sighs I often hear you mourn my hapless woe.” This tells of how often people feel sorry for him because he can not see. That brings about serious feelings of emotional intensity knowing that you are pitied for a disability such as being blind. Following that line the poem says, “But sure with patience I may bear, a loss I ne’er know.” This line brings more emotions because it shows that he doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him because he knows no different than being blind. He tells of him he is patient with his lack of sight because he hasn’t lost anything, he simply doesn’t know what it would be like to have sight. That line makes readers feel set at peace about him being blind by the assurance that he really is okay with it. The most emotionally intense section of the poem is found in the last section which states, “Then let not what I cannot have my cheer of mind destroy; whilst thus I sing, I am a kind, although a poor blind boy.” This section is emotional because it teaches a lesson to readers of how we should be optimistic in our own lives just as the blind boy is. Even though he is blind, he says he won’t let it destroy the cheer of his mind. Each day, we let small things get us down and take away our cheer. However, he isn’t even letting the fact that he is blind destroy his cheer. He tells of how he is a king and not just a poor blind boy; this demonstrates his strength of character to readers and touches them emotionally through that realization.

            The sound of the poem is very interesting, which is an important component of a good children’s poem. The last word of every other sentence of the poem rhymes. For example, the second part of the poem says, “You talk of wondrous things you see, you say the sun shines bright; I feel him warm, but how can he, then make it day or night.” The words see and he rhyme and the words bright and night rhyme. Other rhyming words in the poem include light/sight, enjoy/boy, make/awake, play/day, woe/know, and sing/king. The sounds of several words in this poem are very unique and unlike language we commonly use in today’s time. Some of these interesting sounding words include ne’er, ‘twere, when’er, and whilst.

            Images are another characteristic of a good children’s poem. Images are made using word choice, imagery which appeals to the senses and metaphors/similes. The poem The Blind Boy includes images that make it as effective of poem as it is. There are several words that help this poem make a good picture in the readers head when reading this poem. First of all, saying that the sun shines bright and speaking of the warmth you can feel from the sun. When I read the part speaking of this, I could visualize the sun’s image in my head, its glow, and feel what it is like to feel its warmth. Also, when he speaks of heavy sighs that mourn his woe, I could visualize actual people in my mind pointing to him, feeling sorry for him, and whispering to each other that he was blind.

            Insight is another characteristic that a good children’s poem has. The Blind Boy certainly has many insightful points and characteristics. In good poems, insight surprises readers with inventive or intelligent observations. There are a few different insightful points made in this poem. First of all, one insightful point is to be thankful for what you have and not take what you have been blessed with for granted. This point is made in a few ways. The boy asks, “what is the blessing of sight?” This is an eye-opening question for those of us that are blessed with sight because we often do not think about how lucky we are to see when so many people can not. Also, he says in the second part, “You talk of wondrous things you see.” This also causes us to stop and think about all of the beautiful and amazing things we are able to see on a day to day basis when there are people that will never be able to see anything. This should cause us to be extremely thankful and consider the insightful reminder of our blessings. The second insightful point made in the poem I observed is that things in life could be worse, so be optimistic. Even though the boy was blind, he made it clear he didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him nor was he going to let anything take away his joy. One part of the poem says, “With heavy sighs I often hear, you mourn my hapless woe; be sure with patience I may bear, a loss I ne’er know.” In this line he tells how even though people feel sorry for him, they shouldn’t because he has patience and knows no different because he has always been blind; he hasn’t lost anything. Also, he says, “Then let now what I cannot have my cheer of mind destroy; whilst thus I sing, I am a king, although a poor blind boy.”  This provides insight on how we shouldn’t let things cause us to lose our cheer because things could always be worse. Even though he was blind and had that disadvantage in life, he still thinks of himself as a king. That optimistic attitude and spirit should be an inspiration to all readers of this poem. Third, in the poem another insightful point is to be confident in who you are and don’t feel sorry for yourself or expect others to. Even though he was blind, he made it clear that he didn’t let that get him down. He told of how he had patience, never knew any different, wouldn’t let it destroy his cheer, and thought of himself as a king. The blind boy thought highly of himself and displayed confidence despite the fact that he was blind.

            The characteristics of this piece come together to create a wonderful children’s poem. The conciseness, emotional intensity, sounds, images, and insight play important roles in making the poem as meaningful as it is. Hopefully the conciseness will continue to draw readers, the emotional intensity will touch readers, the sounds intrigue, the images bring the poem alive, and the insight inspire readers. Colley Cibber did an excellent job of creating the character of the blind boy when he wrote this poem. 

Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise

            I chose to read a book to him titled Good Night Moon. The book was written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. I chose to read him this book because when my little brother was about five, this was his favorite book. The little boy I read to, knows and looks up to my brother. Before we read the book, I told him how that it was once my brother’s favorite book. Hearing that made him more eager to have it read to him being that he thinks so much of my brother, Adam. The book is about a bunny describing the ritual of bedtime and the different things in the room to tell goodnight.

            While I was reading the book, he sat next to me on the couch and leaned up against me. I held the book so that he could see all of the pictures very easily. He pointed to things on the page as I read. I explained the pictures and how they went along with the words I was reading as I read. I applied my class readings to the experience by remembering the different components that are critical to reading aloud. I read slowly and clearly. Also, I remembered to ask questions about what he thought about things in the story. Also, I made sure he saw each picture and knew what it was. I made sure that we were in a quiet atmosphere and there weren’t distractions. All of these factors I learned in class are very important when reading aloud.

            I felt very good about reading to the boy. He listened to the book very well and seemed quite interested. I already knew him so he was comfortable sitting there and letting me read to him. It made me feel good to spend time with the child and I felt like he enjoyed being read to. The experience might have benefited the child by opening his imagination. Having a bunny do a bedtime ritual is pretty far fetched, however, a good thing for a growing imagination. Also, the child was benefited by feeling cared about. He felt excited that I was there just to read to him. I had no problems reading to the child; he was very cooperative as were the parents. Next time, I can’t think of anything I would do differently. It went very smoothly and was a rewarding experience for all parties.

Little Iguana by Carmie Ruiz

            I read a book titled Little Iguana written by Carmie Ruiz and illustrated by Sheila Bailey. I was actually told by the teacher in the classroom to read this book to the students. The book corresponds with vocabulary words they are learning and it includes words beginning with the letters that they are studying.

            The children sat in a tight circle around me while I read the book to them. The children listened to the story as I read it and often said words that they knew as I was reading. I asked them questions about the book as I was reading. Some of the questions I asked included: Why did they put an igloo in the glass cage with the iguana? What does the iguana do in the igloo? Why does the family have an iguana? The children’s answers to the questions were very impressive. They all had different, interesting responses.

              I applied my class readings to the experience by remembering the different components that are critical to reading aloud. I read slowly, clearly and remembered to ask meaningful questions about what they thought about things in the story. Also, I made sure they could all see what was in each picture and knew what it was. All of these factors I learned in class are very important when reading aloud.

            I felt very good about the experience of reading to the students. They were interested in the book and even were able to read most of the words on their own. They were very excited about the story being about an iguana and several of them had comments to make about iguana’s characteristics.

            The experience benefitted the children because it helped them see several words they already knew in review. They remembered several words that were in the story and were able to read them and got them even better by the end of the book. Some of those words they had been studying and were able to review and grasp better after I read them the story were: like, is, the, have, and little. 

            I didn’t have any problems when reading the story to the children. They were all very focused, attentive, and responsive to my questions. Having a small group to read to made the task quite simple. Also, having them very close to me on the rug made their behavior easier to monitor.

A House for My Fish by Christina Rivas

          I read a book titled A House for My Fish written by Christina Rivas and illustrated by David Sheldon. I was actually told by the teacher in the classroom to read this book to the students. The book corresponds with vocabulary words they are learning and it includes words beginning with the letters that they are studying.

            The children sat in a tight circle around me while I read the book to them. The children listened to the story as I read it and often said words that they knew as I was reading. I asked them questions about the book as I was reading. Some of the questions I asked included: Why did they put a house in the fish bowl? Why did they put a ship in the fish bowl? Who is pip?

              I applied my class readings to the experience by remembering the different components that are critical to reading aloud. I read slowly, clearly and remembered to ask meaningful questions about what they thought about things in the story. Also, I made sure they could all see what was in each picture and knew what it was. All of these factors I learned in class are very important when reading aloud.

            I felt very good about the experience of reading to the students. They were interested in the book and even were able to read most of the words on their own. The experience benefitted the children because it helped them see several words they already knew in review. They remembered several words that were in the story and were able to read them and got them even better by the end of the book. Some of those words they had been studying and were able to review and grasp better after I read them the story were: like, is, the, have, and little. 

            I didn’t have any problems when reading the story to the children. They were all very focused, attentive, and responsive to my questions. Having a small group to read to made the task quite simple. Also, having them very close to me on the rug made their behavior easier to monitor.