Gothic Elements in Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay A poet so widely known for the horror laced upon the words of his writings, Edgar Allen Poe trained his pinhead to instill fear and fascination among his readers. "The Fall of the House of Usher" became on of his most well–known and prevalent works. It resides in compilations of famous short– stories and rests in the curriculum of every high school's english department. However, beyond its accolades of simplistic quality, the mechanics of style reign prevalent within the writing. Poe uses the equational themes of gothic literature to craft his renowned story. First, Poe uses precisely concocted imagery to denote a gloomy, dark setting in which the remainder of the story will take place– the House of Usher. As the narrator begins the story, they are found riding on, "a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. ...show more content... Immediately, Poe creates a scene of an eerie house in a time of the year which is traditionally known as the scariest or most frightening, fall or Halloween. Through this, Poe allows the reader to subliminally draw conclusions about the nature of this house, as well as the unsettling activity which might occur in the House of Usher. Next, Poe continues to build upon the House of Usher by invoking elements of the supernatural. As the narrator begins to move about the house, he "learned... [Roderick Usher] was enchained by certain superstitious impressions in regard to the dwelling which he tenanted" Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay In this extract an unknown narrator has just arrived at the home of his childhood friend Usher, who has acquired a mysterious illness. The narrator observes the house and takes in its antique and dilapidated state. He is then lead "through many dark and intricate passages" to meet the master. It is stated that "an atmosphere of sorrow [...] and irredeemable gloom hung over and pervaded all". This atmosphere is present throughout the whole extract and thus sets the general mood of the story. " The Fall of the House of Usher " penned by Edgar Allan Poe is recognized as a masterpiece of Gothic Horror, a genre or mode of literature that combine horror and romanticism. This piece holds some of the main characteristics of the gothic horror genre: a ...show more content... Phrases such as "feeble gleams of encrimsoned light", "recesses of the vaulted and fretted ceiling" and "profuse, comfortless, antique, and tattered" gives the reader a picture of the setting and phrases such as "failed to give any vitality to the scene" and "an air of stern, deep and irredeemable gloom hung over" describe the atmosphere in Ushers studio. Poe describes the surrounding while managing to keep the essence of evil and doom throughout this extract. From the beginning, the reader as a result of Poe's imagery is aware of a sense of death and Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall Of The House Of Usher The Fall of the House of Usher Analysis The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe is a very dark and eerie story. This gothic tale is very complexly written, as many of Poe's works are. In this story, there were two main themes that stood out: fear and friendship. The fear of Roderick Usher as well as the narrator's fear and the friendship of the two. And although there are many elements of this story that are noteworthy, most importantly though is the authors vagueness throughout. The theme of fear in this story is present throughout. The narrator was uneasy to say the least upon his first glimpse of the house and about the house in general throughout the story. As well as his fear for his friends well–being. Roderick Usher's fear Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Essay On The Fall Of The House Of Usher The progression of the complexity of the American culture has directly influenced what its literature is. Nathaniel Hawthorne within his "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" questions human nature as Edgar Allan Poe writes an eerie story within "The Fall of the House of Usher". Each Writer has his own distinct style that stands in stark contrast with others. Hawthorne has an interesting style unique to him as he approaches problems and describes lessons. Hawthorne explains such a lesson through the story about the wisdom of age and about human nature itself. Each of Dr. Heidegger's guests when learning about the water from the fountain of youth drink it eagerly without regard for what they have at the moment, as Hawthorne explains within the story the human tendency to wish for what you do not have and the want to never be satisfied with what is obtainable at the moment. The contemplation of such scenarios was very common within the time period as it was a time of both religious renewal and industrial revolution. With a more active religious population people wish to write about God and with an industrial revolution people will have more money to write as well as more time to do so. He lived in a Puritan family, which influenced his writings. Hawthorne also had the chance to have money for he was a white male and more opportunities were open to him opposed to those enslaved and women. Another, white, male author influenced greatly by his surroundings was Poe, who describes Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay The House and the Ushers      One of the central themes underlying the short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, is that of the nature of the house. The way it is described and the way it is so mysterious. Another central theme about this story is the nature of the people that live in the house. They are portrayed very much in the same manner throughout the story. Thus, they have several similarities with each other. All of which are of a bad feeling, showing how bad things are for the people and the house. These similarities are very well laid out in the story and are, I believe, meant to be something to be considered when reading it.      At the beginning of the story there is a ...show more content... They all set up the fact that some sort of fearful event is going to take place soon. All these things put together and a few others help to connect the house to Roderick and Lady Madeline. When the narrator first sees Roderick after a long period of time, he thinks that he resembles that of a corpse. Then Roderick tells him the reason for his appearance, why he looks so bad. He said he had an illness that was a "morbid acuteness of the senses." The word morbid, when used anywhere, has very strong meaning and it is of the negative type. He uses the word tortured when he is describing his eyesight and says that even the slightest sound is almost unbearable. Thinking about having all of these symptoms put together is a very bad picture to paint in your mind. His condition, in this case, is very comparable to that of the condition of the house. Then Madeline is introduced, and the first thing stated about her is that she has an unknown illness. Her illness is so bad that she cannot respond to any outside stimuli. She is never even seen again by the narrator after this brief introduction. The way both of the characters were introduced, with their appearance and the descriptions of all of the illnesses that they have, gave them a very negative connotation. Poe is trying to set the mood of the story by throwing out all of these negative things about the Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay "The Fall of the House of Usher" has the quintessential – elements of the Gothic story: a spooky house, bleak scene, secretive infection, and multiplied identity. For all its effortlessly identifiable Gothic components, nonetheless, some portion of the dread of this story is its dubiousness. We can't state for beyond any doubt where on the planet or precisely when the story happens. Rather than standard account markers of place and time, Poe utilizes conventional Gothic components, for example, severe climate and a fruitless scene. We are separated from everyone else with the storyteller in this spooky space, and neither we nor the – storyteller know why. In spite of the fact that he is Roderick's most personal childhood companion, the storyteller clearly does not know much about him–like the essential reality that Roderick has a twin sister. Poe makes to inquiry the ...show more content... The storyteller is strangely caught by the bait of Roderick's fascination, and he can't escape until the place of Usher crumples totally. Characters can't move and act openly in the house in view of its structure, so it expect its very own enormous character–the Gothic driving force that controls the destiny of its tenants. Poe, makes perplexity between the living things and lifeless protests by multiplying the physical place of Usher with the hereditary family line of the Usher family, which he alludes to as the place of Usher. Poe utilizes "house" figuratively, however he likewise portrays a genuine house. Not exclusively does the storyteller get caught inside the manor, yet we learn additionally that this control portrays the natural destiny of the Usher family. The family has no persevering branches, so all hereditary transmission has happened pervertedly inside the space of the house. The working class mistakes the manor for the family in light of the fact that the physical structure has successfully managed the hereditary examples of the Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall Of The House Of Usher The Fall Of the House Of Usher is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe in 1839. The short story is complexly written, with challenging themes such as identity and fear. Poe utilises many elements of the Gothic Tradition such as setting and supernatural elements to create a more mysterious story, and uses language to his advantage, employing adjective filled descriptions of literal elements that also serve as metaphors for other parts of the story. In The Fall Of The House of Usher , Poe explores challenging themes, the most prominent of which is the theme of identity. Throughout the story, the narrator tells us of his experiences with what is left of the Usher family at their estate. The theme of identity is clearly stated right at ...show more content... If Madeline was indeed a figment of Roderick's imagination, Poe is here exploring the difference between the mental and physical self, and the importance that the two are similar. Another theme that Poe explores in The Fall Of The House Of Usher is fear. It is fear that drives the story, fear that traps the narrator, and eventually fear that kills Roderick Usher. Poe foreshadows the paradox of Roderick's fear early in the story: "There can be no doubt that the consciousness of the rapid increase of my superstition...is the paradoxical law of all sentiments having terror as a basis." Roderick Usher is quoted as saying "I have, indeed, no abhorrence of danger, except in its absolute effect––in terror." This means that he is not afraid of death, but of fear itself. And it is this fear of fear that eventually leads to his death, when Madeline 'returns from the dead' and scares him to death. To properly convey these complex themes, Poe employed the use of the Gothic Tradition. That is to say, he used elements such as the supernatural, and traditional gothic settings to create a mood in his story to help the reader become immersed in the story. The Fall Of The House Of Usher is told in the first person, with a nameless narrator who is never properly described. This helps the reader to feel part of the story, as it is as if they are listening to themselves describing the story. Poe has also set the story in a very claustrophobic way, including Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Essay On The Fall Of The House Of Usher The House of Usher was collapsing in front of his eyes. So frightened with what had occurred on the inside the narrator fled without looking back. Into a brutal storm, he fled to get away from all the treachery. The narrator had been munificent with his time but his generosity had run out. Things were getting too wild for his liking and he hit the road once the dead girl wasn't so dead anymore. It was not that easy to just flee though, outside there was a vicious storm brewing. The things that he had seen in that house were just anomalous. They were unforgettable and not in a good way. Starting out with his friend who had gone mad things started to plummet as time continued. The narrator's own mental health had even begun to quiver. The house being ...show more content... The story has no definite right or wrong answer to its meaning. It is just a story concocted up by Poe's vivid imagination. The falling of the house is quite the equivocal, it can mean a lot of different things. Relating it back Roderick and Madeline could explain the overall fall of the house. Yes, there was a fierce storm but that house had been standing for decades and had been through many storms. Though it is a stretch the deaths of the last two Usher's and the collapsing of the household could mean an awful lot. The narrator had mentioned that the Usher family had been powerful for a long time and the house was passed down through generations. Adding on to that, all of the Usher's also died in the house. So from birth till death, the entire Usher family had lived in the same house. All taking their turns in the glorious home. This would connect the family and the house greatly. Hundreds of spirits of the same blood all under the same roof. Meaning that all the spirits would take care of not only the residents but the house as well. The walls of the house were the binds that kept the spirits safe so they returned the Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay There are several symbolic elements in The Fall of the House of Usher, one being the title of this short story. The narrator mentions that the title "House of Usher" was "an appellation which seemed to include, in the minds of the peasantry who used it, both the family and the family mansion." (71) With that being said, the title can not be foreshadowing just the literal destruction of the house, but may also signify the collapse of the Usher family. The narrator describes the house using human characteristics, which deepens the reader's understanding of this parallel. The fact that Roderick Usher's fall and the subsidence of the house both happen at the same time in the story, only strengthens the bond between the house and the family, as well as their fall. Another noteworthy idea in The Fall of the House of Usher is the character attributes of both Roderick and Madeline Usher. Their characteristics are not opposites, but more so two halves of one person. Roderick suffers from a "mental disorder which oppressed him" (70) and his sister's illness is clearly more physical. The bond between the two characters is more evidence that it's possible that Madeline didn't fully exist from the start. The events that surround her are distinctly supernatural and otherworldly, for example, her return from the dead. It is possible that the ...show more content... Poe uses different metaphors to make the house come alive and take on a character of its own. The word usage and phrasing give the house a threatening and sinister aura, surrounding it with gloom. The narrator describes the house as having "vacant eye–like windows" (70) not once, but twice, making the house seem grim yet watchful. Giving the house this humane trait implies it has seen everything and everyone, and maybe that it knows more about the Roderick and the narrator than they know about Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Transformation I enjoy books about things that change for the better and have happy endings, but some people enjoy stories that are meant to scare them. A scary story can be just as enjoyable as a happy one. There are certain elements that make a story scary, and one of them is transformation. Transformation has huge impact on the mood of a story. When houses transform, it creates an unsettling mood. In "Where is Here" the house changes back into what the stranger remembered. When the house transforms to match the stranger, it throws off the mother, and the reader. In "House Taken Over" parts of the house become uninhabitable when "they" take it over. Slowly, less and less of the house is left for the siblings in the story to live in, until they are kicked out onto the street. As the house transforms, an eerie feeling fills the atmosphere of the story. The house in "The Fall of the House of Usher" transforms a few times throughout the story. As the story progresses, the house goes from being dismal to creepy, to unsettling. When houses transform it can have a large impact on the mood of the story, but if a human transforms it can have an even greater impact. ...show more content... Dr. Victor Frankenstein in "Frankenstein" transforms throughout the story. He starts out as a family oriented person, but when he went to college he became obsessed with creating life from an inanimate object. As the story progresses Victor transforms more, and the story becomes more fearful and unsettling. In "The Fall of the House of Usher" Madeline, Usher, and the narrator transform. Usher becomes more crazy and sick; Madeline dies and turns into a zombie; and the narrator goes insane. The change in the people creates a frightening and scary mood. In addition to houses and people, transforming environments can be very influential to the mood of a scary Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

The Fall Of House Of Usher Essay First published in 1839, Edgar Allan Poe short story ¨The Fall of House of Usher,¨ is an example of Gothic fiction. Gothic fiction is a style of writing that expresses elements. Such as fear, horror, ghosts, an aura of mystery, darkness, dreams, death, and gloom, as well as romantic elements, such as nature, individuality, and very high emotion. The short story we read shows a lot of examples of those characterizations that mentioned. The writer introduces the elements, fear, and horror. For example, ¨Have I not heard her footstep on the stair? Do I not distinguish that heavy and horrible beating of her heart? Madman!¨ The Usher expresses his fear as Madeline awakens and walks the halls. Another example is ¨Suddenly there shot along the path a wild light, and I turned to see whence a gleam so unusual could have issued; for the vast house and its shadows were alone behind me.¨ The Usher shows his fear as his body tightens up as he hears the shadows behind him. He's supposed to be alone. ...show more content... For instance, ¨A cadaverousness of complexion; an eye large, liquid, and luminous beyond comparison; lips somewhat thin and very pallid...¨ Ushers characteristics shown as he died but he's actually alive. Another example is ¨Dark draperies hung upon the walls.¨ The house is expressed as dead like. There's no lightness at all. The writer introduces the element, high emotion. For example, ¨He admitted, however, although with hesitation, that much of the peculiar gloom which thus afflicted him could be traced to a more natural and far more palpable origin–to the severe and long– continued illness–indeed to the evidently approaching...¨ Usher starts to admit without hesitating. Another example is ¨I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive when I must abandon life and reason together, in some struggle with the grim phantasm, FEAR.¨ He starts to realize what he has to do when it's time for the period to Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall Of The House Of Usher: Setting Essay In the short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher," by Edgar Allen Poe, setting is used extensively to do many things. The author uses it to convey ideas, effects, and images. It establishes a mood and foreshadows future events. Poe communicates truths about the character through setting. Symbols are also used throughout to help understand the theme through the setting.Poe uses the setting to create an atmosphere in the reader's mind. He chose every word in every sentence carefully to create a gloomy mood. For example, Usher's house, its windows, bricks, and dungeon are all used to make a dismal atmosphere. The "white trunks of decayed trees," the "black and lurid tarn," and the "vacant, eyelike ...show more content... The fissure divides the house. Roderick and Madeline die, destroying the family. The narrator says there is a "wild inconsistency between [the masonry's] still perfect adaptation..and the crumbling condition of the individual stones." This is also symbolic. The stones represent the individual people of the Usher family, and the entire mansion stands for the whole family. The "wild inconsistency" makes the reader aware that something later in the story will make the inconsistency" clear or consistent. From far away, no one knows that the House of Usher is in despair. The "fabric gave little token of instability"–– or the mansion itself did not tell of the turmoil it concealed. The story takes place in autumn, a season associated with death. When the story's tension is about to reach its crescendo, a storm comes up, a "rising tempest." This is a symbol for the "tempest" brewing in Roderick Usher's mind. Poe's use of foreshadowing is just enough to clue the reader into what will happen, but not enough to give it away.Character traits are displayed through how the setting affects, influences, and reveals the characters. The narrator is affected by the gloomy atmosphere of the Usher mansion. He is "sucked in" to Usher's "dream world," the world he created after living alone in his dismal house for years. Usher's house Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Throughout both short stories, "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "House Taken Over" readers are exposed to situations in which imagination overcomes reason in some characters. In the short story, "The Fall of The House of Usher" written by Edgar Allan Poe imagination overcomes reason with both the narrator and the main character. Roderick Usher and the narrator believe they are hearing the noises in the house that are being described in a novel they are reading. In addition, Usher's imagination overcomes his reason when he believes he hears noises of his dead sister Madeline. Similarly, in the short story "House Taken Over" written by Julio Cortazar it exemplifies the idea of imagination overcoming reasoning. This is showed when a brother and a sister are driven from their home when it's invaded by unwelcomed visitors. The siblings believe there is an evil force taking over their house. LIkewise, in the poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe the idea of imagination overcoming reasoning is shown when the author believes that there is an evil force that keeps reminding him of something he is trying to forget ; Lenore. Aso his imagination takes over his reasoning since he is talking with a raven, even though birds do not talk. In both the short stories and the poem the idea of imagination overcoming reasoning is portrayed throughout the characters. To begin with, imagination overcomes reasoning in the characters of the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher". While in the middle of the storm the narrator seems to be hearing strange noises that have nothing to do with the storm. For example, "An irrepressible tremor gradually pervaded my frame; and at length, there sat upon my very heart an incubus of utterly causeless alarm. Shaking this off with a gasp and a struggle, I uplifted myself upon the pillows" (paragraph 31, pg 25). This shows readers that the narrator of the story is hearing noises, and it could be said that Usher's condition is rubbing off on him. The narrator is unable to sleep at this point in the story because of Usher's incurable fears that have now taken influence on the narrator because he believes he is hearing things. This demonstrates how imagination overcomes reason in the short Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The human imagination is a powerful tool that sometimes is very hard to control, if it can be controlled at all. In The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe uses imagination as a key tool to make the story come to life. The human imagination is portrayed as a wild and uncontrollable being. This can be shown throughout the story by loss of control of his mental state by Roderick Usher, and by the narrator's belief that he too is being infected by the house's tormenting nature. I believe that Edgar Allan Poe personifies the mental concept of the imagination because it seems that throughout the story, the main culprit to the cause of madness is the torment of the person by his own imagination. The unnamed narrator is persistently ...show more content... The house seems to be absorbing Usher's mental health and physical health. Evidence of this is shown by the faltering health and growing fears of Roderick Usher in relation to the growing scariness of the house. A concern of Roderick Usher is the waning health of his twin sister, Lady Madeline. Usher explains to his dear friend, the narrator, that she is the only surviving relative he has. He further explains that his sister's health condition baffles any physician that has come to the house. After a few days of the narrator's visit, Lady Madeline dies. Usher explains to the narrator that he wishes to preserve her body by placing her into the underground crypt of the house. I believe that Poe is trying to use symbolism in Lady Madeline's death in relation to Roderick's faltering mental stability. For example, Lady Madeline represents a part of Usher that he has lost; a part of him that has become so strange and frightening to him. When he and the narrator place Lady Madeline's body into the crypt, it is a desperate act to help preserve a part of himself. One night, as the narrator is lying in his room, he finds himself incapable of falling asleep. Edgar Allan Poe writes, pertaining to the narrator, "I struggled to reason off the nervousness which had dominion over me." As the narrator lay there, he found that he felt he should try to sleep no more. A moment later Roderick Usher Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Symbolism Essay "The Fall of the House of Usher", a short story by Edgar Allen Poe, follows an unnamed narrator as he rushes to the aid of Roderick Usher per his request. When the narrator arrives at the Usher's house, he finds it in a dilapidated state with a crack running from the base of the house to the roof. The narrator finds his friend, a man whom he has known since he was young, pale and lacking the appearance of a human being. The narrator quickly comes to see some connection between his friend's ailment and the state of his sister, Madeline. Shortly after the arrival of the narrator, Roderick's sister dies of the illness that has plagued her for so long. However, with her death, Roderick begins to change and fear starts to close its cold hands ...show more content... The effects felt by the fear, like a disease ravaging the body, become more apparent as Roderick's behavior becomes more erratic, his mental state degrades, and he begins to experience physical reactions to his fears. What best shows how Roderick's fear acts like a disease, one that erodes away at both the body and mind, is his physiological responses to his fears. Roderick's consumption is first noticed by the narrator who notes that he has a "ghastly pallor of the skin." The state of Roderick Usher rapidly worsens after his sister's death, as explained by Charles E. May, because his fear has nothing, "to feed upon be himself." May's statement illustrates how Roderick's fear functions in the same way a disease does, and this is exemplified in the story as Roderick succumbs to his fear and dies in the final moments of the story. In order for fear to act as a consuming disease, it must first have a method of transmission. The setting of this story, one full of dark, gothic areas, acts like a carrier that allows for the fear to take hold within Roderick Usher. The major source of the fear that infects Roderick Usher is the house in which he lives. Brian Stableford excellently describes the Usher home as having an atmosphere that, "has been poisoned," and has become, "eerie and pestilential." Stableford's description of the house elaborates on the nature of the fear as it is induced by the structures and setting surrounding Roderick and the Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall of the House of Usher "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a classic horror story written by Edgar Allen Poe. Edgar wrote descriptively through the physical setting, the first person point of view, and the uniquely dynamic characters. These elements worked together to create suspense and kept the readers curious. The first fiction of element begins in the very first paragraph. The unknown narrator described the day as a "dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year...". The setting while the narrator was driving described the day as a cloudy day and in autumn. This season usually represents dying, which led the readers to the House of Usher. Next the narrator explains the landscape and exterior appearance of the house. "I looked upon the mere ...show more content... Upon arrival the narrator notices the house, later he entered the house and noticed many strange paintings, and unfortunately he experienced the sight of what was told to be Rodrick's dead sister Madeline as she "rose from the dead". When the narrator walked through the house he was extremely disturbed by the paintings that hung on the walls. He explained that he felt like the paintings were following as he passed by. When he reached Rodrick's room he was immediately greeted by his friend and saw the great amount of aging he had experienced also. Rodrick's appearance included his thin and pallid lips, a finely molded chin, hair of a more than web–like softness and tenuity. The narrator went on explaining that his friend looked lonely and he felt half pity and half of awe. Edgar wrote this story in first point of view to bring the details and descriptions of the narrator's experiences and the overall landscape of the house. The last major element of fiction that was in the short story would be the characters and the events and emotions they experienced. The first character brought into the story would be the narrator. Even though the narrator's name is not known, readers usually connect with this character. The narrator undergoed many emotions such as curiosity, unassurance, and toward the end bewilderment. Through the narrator we get to know the Rodrick on a higher level. Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall of the House of Usher as a Psychological Piece This essay examines "The Fall of the House of Usher" from the viewpoint that none of the events really happened –– or if they did, were exaggerated by the fear felt by the characters. The essay proposes that the action took place in the mind of the narrator and discusses the dream imagery present in the story and how this supports this theory. While discussing "The Fall of the House of Usher," Thompson investigates the idea that the story is not really a truthful tale – that is, a re–telling of events that the narrator experienced – but is rather the result of a "mutual hysteria of the narrator and Roderick Usher." Basically, he asserts that the narrator and ...show more content... The house splits and sinks into the tarn. Thompson points out that in the story, there is a passage that mentions the presence of "gunpowder or 'some other highly combustible substance.'" Therefore, even if the house really did disappear, there is a logical explanation for it: it blew up and disintegrated in the blaze caused by the lightening that ignited the gunpowder. Next Thompson discusses the dream imagery that is present in the story. Images of "sleep, water, and descent" appear throughout the piece, which are symbols of the subconscious. Poe may be hinting to his readers that this is all taking place in the mind of the narrator. Thompson claims this dream–state is best shown in the return of Madeline from the grave. He believes that if Madeline were as frail and weak as she is described, then how could she have overcome the numerous large obstacles (iron doors, screwed down coffin lids)? The fact that the coffin was buried in a tomb directly beneath the narrator's own "sleeping compartment" just pushes the dream/sub–conscious idea even further. Thompson closes his discussion by reminding us that the narrator is certainly not Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall Of The House Of Usher, By Edgar Allan Poe The Fall of The House of Usher is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe during the 1800's. The short story itself is written with very important themes that seem challenging, such as fear and identity. Poe effectively uses his strategy of the Gothic Tradition, such as the setting of the story by including the supernatural elements to create a story filled with mystery and uses a different form of writing to his advantage by using descriptive language of literary elements, such as metaphors. Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay Chris Buffington Mrs. McGuirt Poe Essay 10 Feb. 2016 Madhouse, Madman, Mad Family Many believed that isolation and loneliness can lead to madness. Edgar Allen Poe may support this belief in his dark and twisted short story The Fall of the House of Usher. Inside of a dark, gloomy and decaying house, lives a dark and gloomy man, Roderick Usher, who struggles with a mental illness that causes him to be very weak and extremely sensitive to senses, and never leaves the house. Through Poe's use of imagery, character, and setting we get a deeper look into the lonely, mad, dark and gloomy life of Roderick Usher. At first an unknown narrator receives a letter from Roderick Usher, a childhood friend, who informs him of his illness and requests to see the narrator. The narrator hesitantly accepts the request. Poe paints a detailed picture of Roderick through his use of imagery throughout the story. He describes Roderick as "A cadaverousness of complexion ; an eye large, liquid, and luminous beyond comparison ; lips somewhat thin and very pallid, but of a surpassingly beautiful curve ; a nose of a delicate Hebrew model, but with a breadth of nostril unusual in similar formations ; a finely moulded chin, speaking, in its want of prominence, of a want of moral energy; hair of a more than web–like softness and tenuity" (Poe 313). Roderick's ...show more content... He is isolated inside of a sad and boring house and he is hidden from the outside world. If Roderick spends all of his time inside of a house with "bleak walls" that hold up "vacant eye–like windows" he will more than likely be different from the world outside (Poe 308). The setting could be the cause of the illnesses of Roderick and Madeline. It is a very sick looking house. Around the house there are "a few white trunks of decayed trees––with an utter depression of soul" (Poe 308–310). Things around the house are showing signs of death just like the people inside of Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay

Related Documents