Open Phrases: August 2014

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Plot Summary of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death"

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” was first published in 1842. It is the tall of an eccentric Prince who tries to secure his and other upper class citizens’ safety of a plague devastating his country’s populace.

The short story begins by detailing, in the most Edgar Allan Poe style, the severity of the disease they call, “The Red Death”. The symptoms are a sign to others to stay way as the disease will very shortly kill the carrier, painfully. “The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow men. And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour.”

This disease however seemed an affliction to the poor. As many suffer, the Prince Prospero invites society’s upper class to a great castle where they can be secured by gates of iron. No one would be able to enter or leave. Here they intended to keep from becoming sick themselves. The Prince made sure that they had plenty of food, wine and even entertainment available, so that they could wait out the passing of the disease beyond their gates. For months “The Red Death” continued to infect and kill many outside of the castle.

The Prince decides to hold a masked ball. He had very unique tastes, as the castle was build and decorated to his exact design. Even the masks worn by the guests were of his decision. The ball was held within seven connected apartments. Each apartment was similarly decorated. Each was a specific unique color from floor to ceiling, including all decorations. They were lighted by large torches which were positioned outside of stained glass windows. The color of each room’s window matched the unique color of that specific room. There was one exception to this rule; in the seventh room the walls and décor were black velvet but the stained glass was red. “There flows a ruddier light through the blood-colored panes; and blackness of the sable drapery appalls.” The effect caused many guests to occupy only the first six rooms and avoid the seventh.

Against the far wall of this seventh room there was a large black clock. Each hour as the minute hand reached the twelve, the clack’s chimes rang out. Their melody was so extremely odd that on the top of every hour the entire party came to a stop and waited for the clock to finish. The sound brought on nervousness throughout the guests.

At the stroke of midnight, the chimes sounded their longest tone and with it the ball again paused. During this long pause, guest became aware of a presence of one they hadn’t noticed earlier. The costume and mask of this one guest astonished everyone into fear and terror. It resembled one who was forsaken by the Red Death. “His vesture was dabbled in blood- and his broad brow, with all the features of the face was besprinkled with the scarlet horror.”

When the Prince first lays eyes upon this, he becomes overcome with anger. He demands that the mask be removed and he who wears it to be punished. The mask of the Red Death passed by him and continues on, moving through each room. While all others were struck with fear, the Prince himself runs after this figure with a dagger in hand. As he nears the figure stops and turns to face the Prince. With a scream, the Prince drops to the floor, dead. The other guests run to seize the retreating figure and catch him under the shadow of the black clock. However they find no one hidden under the costume or mask of death. They become aware that the Red Death is among them and it kills them one by one until they have all perished.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Summary of H.G. Wells "The Time Machine"

“The Time Machine” was written by H.G. Wells and was first published in 1895. It is one of the earliest stories to involve time travel and has been the influence to many works within this genre. This story begins with “The Time Traveler” speaking of the geography of the fourth dimension to a group of quests, which includes the narrator. He explains to this assembled group that time is the fourth dimension and should be treated much the same as the first three which are length, breadth and thickness. In fact he says, “Since we can move freely in the first three dimensions then free movement in time should also be possible”.

This discussion turns from theory to reality when The Time Traveler brings form his laboratory a clock-sized device for all to see. This device was framed in brass and encased ivory and a clear crystalline substance. Taking one of his guests, a psychologist by the hand, The Time Traveler guides his finger to move a lever on the tiny time machine. “There was a breath of wind, and the lamp flame jumped. One of the candles on the mantel was blown out, and the little machine suddenly swung round, became indistinct, was seen as a ghost for a second perhaps, as an eddy of faintly glittering brass and ivory; and it was gone – vanished!” Following this demonstration and adding to their astonishment, The Time Traveler presented them with a full size time machine that was nearly complete.

A week later several men rejoin The Time Traveler for dinner. The Time Traveler arrives at this gathering late, after the others had begun their meal. When he arrives his clothes are torn and covered in dirt. He is bruised and walks with obvious discomfort. He is looked upon by the others with curiosity, but refuses to answer any questions until he has been given time to finish a proper meal and have a few glasses of wine. After eating his fill, he pulls forth a cigar and asks his guests to move to the smoking room where he will describe in full his adventures of time travel.

With his audience now gathered in the smoking-room, The Time Traveler tells his story. Beginning with describing his having one hand upon the forward level and one hand on the stop lever of his machine, he advanced into the future. At first he sees figures move throughout his laboratory that are oblivious to his presence. Steadily the machine gains speed in time. Days and nights go by quicker and quicker until they reach a point where the sun and moon are constant paths of light, stretched across the sky. He sees the landscape altered around himself. Buildings rise and fall, even his laboratory disappears from the landscape. The Time Traveler suddenly has an urge to stop but worries that he and the machine will collide at an atomic level with whatever physical item occupies the same space in this future time. He is cautious of their molecules trying to occupy the same space at the same time which could cause a possible explosion.

The Time Traveler pulled the second lever to stop the machine. He stopped in the year 802,701 where he stays for the next eight days. His travel through time stopped with a crash. The machine had overturned. As he surveyed his surroundings he noticed several men running toward him. He describes one of them as being a slight creature- perhaps four feet high- clad in a purple tunic, girdled at the waist with a leather belt. Sandals or buskins- I could not clearly distinguish which- were on his feet; his legs were bare to the knees, and his head was bare.”

These fragile people that gathered around him were cheerful and childlike. Their language was high pitched and songlike. They danced around and showered him with flowers. They showed ‘The Time Traveler’ to a huge building where they lived. He witnessed a land filled with exotic fruits and flowers of massive proportions in a time where no weed or fungus ever again grew. Most notable was the worn condition of this great hall where hundreds had gathered to feast on fruits. These future peoples were all vegetarians as most types of large animals had been extinct and meat eaters could not exist.

The Time Traveler attempts to learn the language but finds that these futuristic people have little patients to teach him. In the town he notices the lack of individualized homes and theorizes that it was the lack of a struggle of survival that had altered these people. They lacked an existence of any need to work, create or learn. “I thought of the physical slightness of the people, their lack of intelligence, and those big abundant ruins, and it strengthened my belief in a perfect conquest of Nature.” Populations were not diminished by war, disease or hunger. Fruit was plentiful and even weeds and fungus no longer grew to inhibit crop growth.

After having explored the surrounding area, The Time Traveler returns to find his machine is missing. He wears himself out searching for it and demands information from these childlike people. Near the place where it first landed he examines a large sphinx made of white stone atop a large bronze base. He realizes that his machine could have been hidden in this hollow base but can’t find a way in. Upon further exploration he sees tall pillars that are giving off a warm exhaust, but there use he can’t understand. In other areas he finds covered wells that seem to not hold any water, but sound of engines.

During these days of exploration he saves the life of a drowning girl named Weena. Weena follows him everywhere even sleeping against his arm at night. It is through her that The Time Traveler begins to notice other peculiar behavior of these people. He notices that none of them are old and they seem to have a childish fear of the dark. He is still unable to understand most of their language and they haven’t been helpful in giving any clues toward finding his missing time machine.

Wondering outside one dawn he sees other creatures running among the shadows of a forest. During an exploration of the ruins of an unused building he sees one of these creatures hidden in the dark shadows. The white skinned creature escapes by climbing down one of the wells. This creates a new theory in his mind. He now believes the human species has divided into two types of beings. Those that existed above ground, who were known as Eloi. They were the descendants of wealthy land owners. Those that created a society underground were known as Morlocks. These, The Time Traveler believed were the poor of past human society. Centuries of living work-free lives above ground has caused Eloi to shrink in height, strength and intelligence. Living in the dark underground has had an opposite effect on the Morlocks. Their eyes are large, reflective and extremely sensitive to light. Their skin lacks any color and is a pure white.

The Time Traveler ventures down one of the wells. At the bottom of the 200 foot decent he enters a large cavern. In the center is a table of food surrounded by the strong smell of blood. All around, hiding in the shadows, the creatures wait for his torch to run out. In the dark they chase him, trying to keep him in their underground world. Using the light from his last remaining matches, The Time Traveler escapes back into the sunlight, above ground.

The Time Traveler realizes that his theory is still a little flawed. The meat that he saw, which they were eating underground must have been the body of an Eloi, as there weren’t any other large animals that could have supplied them with such meat. Fearing the darkness during the coming new moon he takes Weena to search for weapons and a secure location. They walk many miles to a structure that he describes as a Palace of Green Porcelain. This structure turns out to be the ruins of a museum. He finds an iron mace, matches and a jar of camphor.

The Time Traveler’s plan is now to use his iron mace to break into the white sphinx’s base and get into his time machine and travel back home. In his rush to return to the statue he travels through a darkened forest at night. To keep the Morlocks back he starts multiple fires. The Morlocks are able to temporarily capture Weena while fighting The Time Traveler. He is saved when the first fire he began races through the forest of dry leaves and branches. Its light completely blinds all of the Morlocks, making them defenseless. Weena is lost to the fires of the forest during their escape.

The final stage to The Time Traveler’s plan is to break into the Bronze base of the Sphinx. However the doors have been left open with the time machine sitting in plain sight inside. As he enters, the doors drop shut and he is once again attacked in the dark by the Morlocks. This time however he is able to reattach the levers he once removed and is transported out of that time period.

In his rush to escape the Morlocks, The Time Traveler pushes ahead into the very distant future. Repeatedly he stops then again advances on, further into time. With each stop the sun fills more of the sky and discontinues setting. It simply remains in the Southeastern sky. The seas fall quiet. Life dissolves and eventually turns from large crab-like monsters to a slimy plant life. In time even these pass away.

At the end The Time Traveler returns to his own time period. Those that he shares his experiences with have trouble believing in any of his story, even if they were entertained. The narrator still remains with a feeling that The Time Traveler’s story may be real. He revisits him only to witness the disappearance of the machine and man. This story is narrated three years later were these events are retold. The Time Traveler has yet to reappear.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Summary of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"

“The Raven”, one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poems, was first published in 1845. Like many of his works, this poem casts a shadow of loneliness and loss within a dark story. The image of the raven that comes to the main character’s chambers at night changes throughout this poem from one of a saint to that of a devilish spirit who will forever haunt him with thoughts of lost. This bird brings him a reminder of a lost love who he will never be with again, nevermore.

Poe opens his poem with a man sitting alone in his house in the dark on a cold December night. It is near midnight and the fire has begun to die out. This man is depressed and heartbroken, wishing for the night to be over and morning to reappear. His head drops down and nods as sleep slowly overcomes him. He wakes to a tapping which he mistakes to be a late night visitor knocking at his door. “Tis some visiter,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door, Only this and nothing more.”

A moment later the curtains rustled, giving him a fright. He stands and goes to answer the door while reassuring himself by repeating that it was only a visitor knocking at the door. As he opens the door he begins apologizing for the wait as he was napping and didn’t hear the knocking at first because it was so soft. But no one was there, only the darkness of night. Confused, he stands in the doorway and listens, but he only finds silence. His mind thinks back to his lost love and he dreams that maybe she has come back to him after death. In a whisper he speaks her name, Lenore. His whisper echoed once and again all is silent.

He goes back inside and closes the door. Again he hears tapping. This time it is louder and coming from the window. Frightened once again he goes to check the window, reassuring himself that it was only the wind knocking. He throws open the window shutters and in flies a raven with its wings flapping. The raven immediately flies above the chamber door and sits upon a statue of a Greek god named Pallas. “In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore.”

Looking at the proud behavior and formal color of its black feathers, he smiles to himself. Humored he asks the raven for its name. The raven replies, “Nevermore.” Although the raven’s remark holds little meaning, he marvels at the unique situation to have had this bird fly into his chambers and sit upon the statue above his door and be able to speak such a clear understandable word.

The raven remains motionless upon the statue above the door. The man remarks that much like his hopes the bird would not remain, tomorrow he would fly away. The raven again answers, “Nevermore”. Shocked at the bird’s response, he begins to believe that the raven was once owned by someone who had taught him that one single word. Repeated so often he has lost his ability to sing but can now only say, nevermore. Still, even this thought cheers him up.

Fascinated, he pulls up a violet velvet covered chair and sits in front of the raven. Watching it, he begins to ponder what it could mean when it uttered nevermore. While he sits, reclined and engaged in guessing its true meaning, the raven stares down upon him. Suddenly he feels a presence in the room. There seemed to be a hint of perfume in air. He screamed out at the raven, asking whether God has sent it to help him forget the late Lenore. But the raven only responded, “Nevermore”.

With that response he sees an evil mischief in the raven’s presence. He now screams out "Prophet! Thing of evil! Prophet still, if bird or devil! He begins to believe that the raven is evil and was sent to haunt him. The raven responds, “Nevermore”. Again he yells at the raven, asking if he is a prophet and if so tell him whether in death he will once again be reunited with his lost love, Lenore. The raven simply responds, “Nevermore”.

Upon this response from the raven, the man is fed up with the bird and demands that he fly back into the night. “Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend! Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!” He wants not even a single feather left behind to remind him of the lie that he has told of the reunion may never occur. The raven simply replies, “Nevermore”.

It sits motionless upon the Greek statue above the door, ignoring the request to leave. Above the raven a light casts its shadow down upon the floor. The raven, representing the memory of Lenore, remains. The man is hidden in its shadow, darkening his soul, Forevermore.