Final answer:
The parts of the excerpt that highlight the suggestion that the powerful and wealthy in the story are insensitive toward the outbreak of the disease and those who are suffering are:
B. "But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys."
D. "The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime, it was folly to grieve or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure."
E. "It was towards the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence."
The correct options are b, d and e.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," three parts emphasize the insensitivity of the powerful and wealthy towards the plague and the suffering masses:
B. This part suggests that despite the depopulation of his dominions due to the disease, Prince Prospero remains happy and unconcerned. His actions of summoning friends and retreating to seclusion highlight his insensitivity.
D. This part reinforces Prince Prospero's indifference to the suffering outside his walls. He believes the external world can take care of itself, dismissing any need for grief or thought on his part.
E. This part emphasizes the contrast between the raging pestilence outside and Prospero's extravagant entertainment within the seclusion of his walls, further illustrating his disregard for the suffering beyond his domain.
These passages suggest the insensitivity of Prince Prospero and the wealthy elite, who, amid a deadly pestilence, isolate themselves in luxurious seclusion, indifferent to the suffering of the population outside their walls.
The correct options are B, D and E.