Comparing House Taken Over And The Fall Of The House Of

The short stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe and “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar are two well known works of literature that encompass unique literary styles. Poe utilizes Gothic literature in his story, a style of writing that incorporates elements of darkness, gloom, drama, and intense descriptions. On the other hand, Cortazar uses Magical Realism and its realistic characters, setting, and fantastic and unusual events to tell his tale. Despite the two being completely different genres, they share many similar traits, specifically relating to fear.

Fear is among one of the most universal human emotions that everyone is interconnected at one point or another during their lifetime. In the gothic stories, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “House Taken Over” written by Edgar Allan Poe and Julio Cortazar respectively. Edgar Allen Poe writes about how the character Mr. Usher, who because of his mental illness and delusions, cannot come to terms with his reality. Cortazar writes about the relationship between a brother and sister who have normal everyday lives and have strange and odd nightmare that haunts them. The

With our imagination we can have many thoughts in our mind, we can think of how we want to be in the future. Everybody in this world has their own way of thinking. “In the Gothic stories, “The Fall of The House of Usher written by Edgar Allan Poe and “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar the authors write about how both stories have some type of interest that makes the reader want to be very eager about the story. The imagination can overcome reason through issues such as: fear, paranoid, delusion, etc. The House of The Fall of Usher talks about how Mr. Usher is trying to get over his “dead” sister and the narrator is trying to help him. They begin to hear things inside the house, and realize that the sister was alive at the end. House Taken Over about a bother and sister that share a house that’s been passed over from previous family members and normally they have a typical daily routine but at night they come across “spooky” occasions.

The House Taken Over, a Short story by Julio Cortázar, and The Fall of The House of Usher, a short story by Edgar Allen Poe, Both have a very similar goth type themed plot. Julio Cortázar published his story in 1946, while Edgar Allen Poe’s story was published in 1839. Although both stories have many similarities, they also have many differences.

The short stories “ The Fall of the House of Usher “ and “House taken over” are both stories that focus on a basic story of a sister, a brother , and a house . although there are differences that separate the stories , there are also similarities that bring them closer together.

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.

“Fear is not real. It is the product of thoughts you create. Danger is very real, but fear is only a choice.” Fear is not something that is always real, such as when Usher was scared but there was nothing to fear yet, but the danger at the end of the story, especially for Ushers friend, was something to fear for. In the Gothic Literature short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe, the setting is somber and creates an illusion of darkness. On the other hand, “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar, portrays the idea of magical realism in, which setting is more realistic and less gloomy. Although Gothic Literature and Magical Realism are similar, there are also many differences, especially in their settings.

When writing “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe used the setting outside of the mansion to illustrate the theme of the fear of death. From the outset, the Rodrick Usher’s home is portrayed in a way that gives the reader a feeling of alarm. For example, the narrator mentions the house gives him a feeling of “insufferable gloom” (Usher 1). By pointing this out, the reader begins to feel on edge as the connotation of “gloom” is unwelcoming and distressing. The home is also said to have “vacant eye like windows” (Usher 1) which make the narrator

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

The Fall Of The House of Usher is a terrifying tale of the demise of the Usher family, whose inevitable doom is mirrored in the diseased and evil aura of the house and grounds. Poe uses elements of the gothic tale to create an atmosphere of terror. The decaying house is a metaphor for Roderick Usher’s mind, as well as his family line. The dreary landscape also reflects his personality. Poe also uses play on words to engage the reader to make predictions, or provide information. Poe has also set the story up to be intentionally ambiguous so that the reader is continually suspended between the real and the fantastic.

Edgar Allan Poe was a unique man that most people could not understand. Many recognize that he is a talented writer with a very strange and dark style. One of his most well known short stories is “The Fall Of The House Of Usher.” Many argue the different meanings of this story and how it is symbolic to his life. Poe was a very confused individual who needed to express himself, he accomplished this through the short story of “The Fall Of The House Of Usher.” Through this story, Edgar was trying to show the fear he had for him self, he did not understand him self so therefore Poe ran from his own personality and mind. This story enables the reader to take a look at Poe’s mind and

Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, sets a tone that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. His inclusion of highly descriptive words and various forms of figurative language enhance the story’s evil nature, giving the house and its inhabitants eerie and “supernatural” qualities. Poe’s effective use of personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, and doubling create a morbid tale leading to, and ultimately causing, the fall of (the house of) Usher.

Chills run down your spine as a breath of wind rushes past your frame. Incoherent whispering fills your ear due to the flowing wind… Edgar Allen Poe, one of America’s most prolific writers, wrote numerous horror stories that defined the genre for modern writing. Effort went into creating the style that he was known for, but was it constant from one story to the next? Despite differences in plot and length there are similarities of tone, setting, structure, narration, and character between two of his most famous stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” that allude to Poe’s true writing style.

Setting places the character and the action to a certain place so that the reader can visualize what is happening in the story. The setting is one of the most obvious similarities between these two stories is their settings. Dreary, dark, ominous houses are the settings for most of the action of both stories. “The Tell-Tale Heart”’s action occurs at midnight and the witching hour. “The Fall of the House of Usher”’s house is in disrepair and is almost disintegrating around the people who live there. Consequently, settings virtually always have implications on the story’s tone. The dark, dreary houses give the stories foreboding tones that add to the horror. Already Poe employs the same setting and tones in these stories that put chills down the reader's spines, but they also show the similitude in his writing style.

The "Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Cask of Amontillado" are two of Edgar Allan Poe's most well-known and noteworthy stories. This paper compares and contrasts the two stories and provides and outline as well.