Answer and Explanation:
1. The reader can see that the two characters are proud through their cruelty actions motivated by pride. Prince Prospero humiliates Hop Frog all the time. This humiliation is motivated by pride in being socially above Hop Frog and having perfect physical characteristics, which Hop Frog does not have. Hop Frog, on the other hand, proudly wounded by humiliation, decides to kill the nobles by burning them alive.
2. Poe wanted readers to understand that the human being is likely to act grotesquely because of pride, regardless of the social position he occupies, for this reason, he decided to approach different characters, guilty of the same sin.