Comparing and Contrasting: "A Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death"
...othic elements too. This story is about a prince’s attempt to avoid death. A few of the gothic elements include the mysterious sequence of events that happen, the layout of the castle, and all of the death that occurs in the story. Although both stories are considered “gothic,” they depict different types of gothic literature. “The Masque of the Red Death” fits under the grotesque category with death as its main theme, while “The Tell-Tale Heart” is not so much grotesque, but it deals more with the physiological contradictions in a murderer’s mind. “The Masque of the Red Death” English Compare/Contrast Essay A gothic story is characterized by a gloomy, dark, and threatening tone. Also, the events that occur need to be strange, melodramatic, or evil. Both of the narration’s are considered to be traditional gothic stories. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a study of paranoia and mental deterioration in which gothic elements reside. Some of these elements are the narrator’s obsessions, the narrator’s persistency in trying to prove his sanity, and the narrator’s goal to kill someone he loves. Just like “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Masque of the Red Death” has go...