Hop-Frog

Rather than describing the characters’ facial features, hair color, or skin tone, their physical descriptions highlight the motif of size and stature to further propel the theme of revenge. The narrator describes the king and his ministers as big and “fat” jokers, while Hop-Frog and Trippetta are little persons, or “dwarfs.” This juxtaposition casts the king as a large bully and the “dwarfs” as small, defenseless people who must use brains rather than brawn to escape.

In the Middle Ages, physical heft was seen as a sign of wealth and prosperity because of the wealthy’s abundant access to food. However, by the time Poe wrote Hop-Frog, attitudes toward overweight people had shifted to the negative connotation society has today. The king’s size plays on both of these ideals: The nobility are incredibly wealthy men who abuse small people for sport. In the narrative, “the little guy” outsmarts the (literally) big man and takes revenge.

The chains that bind the king and the ministers together symbolize their dehumanization and the reversal of roles at the masquerade. Hop-Frog and Trippetta were taken from their homes and enslaved by the king. When Hop-Frog takes revenge, he dresses the king and his seven ministers up as orangutans and chains them together so that they further resemble savage animals. This alludes to how African people were taken from their homes and brought to America in chains. Those who enslaved them often compared their dark skin to that of monkeys or apes.

Likewise, disguising the king and his ministers as primates and chaining them together removes their visible status in the monarchy and deprives them of their humanity and autonomy. The chains suspend the king and his ministers over the party against their will, removing them from what’s familiar and putting them in a vulnerable position. The noblemen are humiliated and stripped of their humanity, just as they did to Hop-Frog and Trippetta.