Hg Wells Red Room

In his Philosophy of Composition, Edgar Allan Poe informs us that he begins writing with “the consideration of an effect” (430). Most of Poe’s poetry and fiction exemplifies his assertion that a preconceived effect upon a reader is undoubtedly fundamental to his creative work. Poe’s tales of terror in particular epitomize the supremacy of his craft in that each component of his narrative strategy functions to achieve the final effect of generating unmitigated terror in his readers. Focusing primarily on The Fall of the House of Usher, I argue that Poe employs a preconceived narrative

Poe describes the abbey, “The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion.” (Poe, p. 420) Poe proposes that Prince Prospero made significant efforts to keep the Red Death away from the abbey/the people inside, demonstrating mankind’s attempts to prevent death. According to the author, “They resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within.” (Poe, p. 420). Those inside had no way out, symbolizing the precautions man makes to avoid death. As stated by the author, “..there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before” (Poe, p. 424). This explains the uninvited presence of the Red Death. Regardless of the earthly power of men, death will always find a way to you. The crenellated abbey is a symbol that aids in developing the

“Journeys, planned and unplanned, are an inevitable part of life. Their consequences, foreseen or unforeseen, play an important part in a person’s growth.”

The red room is the scene of the next occurrence of suffering but in a

These specific facts make the story more authentic and leave no space for doubts or ambiguities on the reader’s part. All the events taking place within the chamber, though terrifying, are coherent and in correspondence to the place in which the narrator is placed.

For instance, the panes were scarlet, a deep blood colour. The "bloody" red room thus becomes a place of ending not only due to the westward location, but also because of its color. Poe describes the last, black room as the dreadful endpoint, the room the guests fear just as they fear death. The room is feared by the guests because it reminds them of death, which is why no one enters the room. The room is involved in all of the main scenes throughout the course ofthe story. For example, this is the room Prince Prospero and his guests die from the Red Death and also where the clock is located. The reader sees how important the rooms are throughout the story and its main contribution to the theme.

Transformation plays a role in stories meant to scare us by playing with our imagination safety and mood of a story. Imagination appears in both Edgar Allan Poe’s, gothic fiction story “The Fall of the House of Usher,” by Usher’s isolated environment and in Joyce Carol Oates gothic literature story “Where is Here?,” by foreseeing who people are. Transformation also plays a role by it assists knowing our own selves are safe in a scary situation. This is shown in, “ Why do Some Brains Enjoy Fear?,” by Allegra Ringo and in “ House Taken Over,” by Julio Cortazar. Transformation plays with our imagination and our safety it also plays a role in the mood and setting. This appears in , “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Dream Collector,”

The seven rooms in the house also conveyed stages in life ending with death. These rooms were set up from east to west. This meaning that the sun comes up in the east and goes down in the west, and death comes in the darkness. "In this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet--a deep blood color." The guest's avoided this room because it was a sign of death.

With the use of short sentences such as ‘you go alone’ Wells, H.G. (p43-50) and ‘he corrected me in one particular’ (p44) Wells builds up tension that keeps the reader engaged and enthralled with unease at the beginning of the story. As with the narrator no names are given to three elderly occupants of the castle, this increases the reader’s suspicions by making it less personal

There is a similar treatment of space in the two works, with the larger, upstairs rooms at the summer lodging and at Thornfield Hall being associated with insanity and the smaller rooms below being safer and saner. Gilman's narrator expresses an early desire to move downstairs to a smaller, saner room, but her wish is ignored. Large rooms become haunted rooms in both stories as typified by

“That room- once you enter it, you never really leave.”(pg.175) This is the first line of two paragraphs that begin to show the symbolism of the room. I think that the reason that he says this, is because this is the main character’s

The Red Room is about a young man who visits a castle and feels he

Oftentimes, Edgar Allan Poe uses in depth literary devices to leave his audience in an uneasy confusion, which captures the attention of many. In the short story The Fall of the House of Usher written by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe does exactly this. While many people believed that Poe was intentful of provoking fear onto his audience, Edgar Allan Poe’s short story augments the dark and mysterious theme of the dangers of identity as supported by word choice and symbolism of characterization. Authors are commonly particular on their own unique word choice. For Poe in this short story, he uses imagery with the extensive use of descriptive words to create a strong gothic ambience.

In Gothic literature, writers often use excessive emotion and powerful language to increase readers’ sense of fear. Poe accomplishes this in “The Fall of the House of Usher” from the very beginning of the story by using descriptions like “insufferable gloom,” “melancholy,” and “clouds hung oppressively low” . Such depressing diction helps establish a bleak tone that only increases throughout the story; this helps enhance the fear of the narrator and the reader by association, which is the goal of Gothic literature. … “Transformation is often more about unlearning than learning’’ - Richard Rohr. No one knows the cause of transformations but they all cause a allure of fear.

This is a perfect metaphor for the many crossroads that people face in day to day life and how, depending on character, we choose our way. Also, just because one is walking the same path as someone else doesn’t mean there footsteps will land in the same places. Figuratively speaking, the trail is always wider than our bodies so there is always room for one to put their own spin on anything. Even if the trail you are walking has been trampled on, you can still make it your own “road less travelled” and that will make “all the difference”.