The narrator comes to the House to aid his dying friend, Roderick Usher. As he arrives at the House he comes upon an “aura of vacancy and decay… creating a pathologically depressive mood” (Cook). The state of the House is daunting to the narrator – he describes it with such features as “bleak walls”, “eye-like windows”, “rank sedges”, “decayed trees”, and “an utter depression of the soul”. These images foreshadow a less than pleasant future for the narrator and his dear friend Roderick. Poe continues to foreshadow the narrators turn of events with a description of the House’s “dark” and “comfortless” furniture. The House becomes a living hell for the narrator as he watches Roderick’s condition evolve and struggles to understand the mystery tying unfortunate events together. However, as the narrator gradually becomes more enveloped in Roderick and the House’s malady, he seems to develop a malady of his own. While the narrator’s illness is less prominent than that of Roderick and his sister Lady Madeline, the sicknesses are one in the same.
Fear is a feeling that most have experienced at least once in their lives. Despite the negative connotation often attached to the word “fear”, many people find themselves seeking the the thrill an adrenaline rush, caused by fear, gives them. This causes many “safe” ways to experience fear (reading a Gothic book, watching a horror movie, or even telling a scary story at a sleepover) to be popular. The short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” clearly dictates the fundamentals of what causes the allure of fear, unexplainable or unnatural phenomenons and sudden changes that leave the subject hanging.
I just just glanced through my phone, swiping quickly to going through the photos of everyone’s snapchat story. But one word caught my eye: fire; it caught my eye but I did not really think about it afterwards. Several hours later however, I was with my friends working on our english essay when all of a sudden, I look up to see what looked like an enormous blanket of brown dust staining the clear blue sky. There was a distinct line between the perfectly blue sky and the disgusting smoke from the fire and this transformation that occurred so out of the blue causing both shock and awe from me and my friends. Transformations play a role in stories meant to scare us by creating an atmosphere of discomfort and uncertainty because the characters are unable to control the situation around them. Through the short stories of “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “House Taken Over”, and “Where is Here”, the authors of those stories all elicit an atmosphere of fear through the combined transformations of setting, mood, and characters. “The Fall of the House of Usher” change occurs at the climax of the story where Roderick Usher falls into insanity. “House Taken Over’ changes when the mysterious intruders fully overtake the house and the siblings are forced to flee. In “Where is Here” the stranger leaves the home which causes the house to fade in color, draining it of life.
In the story "The Fall of the House of Usher" there is suspense and symbolism that can be written about, this story also provides many Gothic elements. In "The Fall of the House of Usher"
Once when I was young I went to the amusement park with my big brother. My brother always kept saying to me that roller coaster rides are scary and dangerous, which made me imagine them really being scary and dangerous. “The fall of the house of usher” written by Edgar Allen Poe and “house taken over” written by Julio Cortazar are both short stories. It will be about fear and how the imagination can sometimes cause fear. Fear is a response to physical or emotional danger, whether the threat is real or imagined.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Julio Cortazar’ “House Taken Over” the short stories represent the genre of Gothic Literature. Gothic Literature is a genre that combines fiction, horror, death, and romance. Some of these traits are seen in both of these stories through characters and settings. However, there are other traits that set them apart.
. ." (Poe). Poe uses direct characterization to show Roderick in a personal account. The way he describes him before Madeline’s burial shows future signs of a madman. "Described as extremely pale, with weblike hair and dark eyes. . . [he] is unable to tolerate such physical stimulation as bright light, the scent of flowers, and peculiar sounds" (“‘The Fall’” 54). Poe uses direct characterization to show evil and madness by telling about Roderick in a way that highlights his weariness. He focuses on more aspects that would show how close he is to insanity. By using direct characterization, Poe could further but subtly explain the growth of Roderick’s madness, without the reader having to make guesses. It shows the theme clearly so it is not muddled but rather distinct. Direct characterization plays a major role in identifying the theme, or the parts that make it up. It is clear, specific, and no inferences are needed.
In the story “ The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe, has american romanticism with the characters. Edgar Allan Poe is considered a Dark Romanticism because of his poems and short stories centered around the ideas of evil human nature, darkness, and death. Roderick Usher and Madeline were that kind of person in this story; they were twins. There were sick; Roderick had mental disorder and physically and Madeline was physically sick. As the narrator enters the desolate house, he finds both Roderick and his sister in a severe state of depression and both appear sickly. The narrator tries to make Roderick feel better, but he couldn’t. Roderick thinks that the house making him sick and getting him crazy.
In the story “ The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe, has an American romanticism with its characters. Edgar Allan Poe is considered a Dark Romanticism because of the way he writes his poems and short stories centered around the concept of evil human nature, darkness, and death. Roderick and Madeline Usher were said to be related during the middle of the story; they were twins. It explained how they were sick, Roderick had a mental disorder and Madeline was physically sick. As the narrator enters the desolate house, he finds both Roderick and his sister in a severe state of depression and they both appear sick like. The narrator tries to make Roderick feel better, but Roderick wouldn’t budge. Roderick thinks that the house is making him sick and making him to appear crazy.
Through loneliness, one is often forced into sadness and in extensive cases delirium due to lack of contact with other human beings. This seems to be the case with Roderick Usher, as through the curse of his house, he is forced into a dismal loneliness, forcing him to create some sort of comfort, which he finds in the characters of his supposed sister Madeline and the potential childhood friend who narrates the story. Due to the nature of the writing of Edgar Allen Poe, readers cannot say whether or not theses character exist, however, it is plausible to consider both Madeline and the narrator as extensions of Roderick Usher, which he was forced to create out of a lack of true love and connection in his existence. When Roderick and the narrator supposedly burying Madeline, Roderick, “divining, perhaps, [the narrator’s] thoughts, murmured out some few words from which [he] learned that
The supernatural is often used in pieces of writing to grasp reader’s attention. Some concepts they might use is magic, monsters, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and witches. These creatures interest us, as humans, to read more. The supernatural also gives us something to believe in. Edgar Allan Poe’s stories tend to be more supernatural. For example, many supernatural things happened in “The Black Cat,” such as when Pluto’s image appears on the burning wall. Another supernatural thing was when the cat got inside of the wall and screamed. “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe is the best example of this debate, as it is often interpreted in many different ways. There are several theories on the story. Some researchers claim that there is a curse among the Ushers. Others debate that the house is haunted. Based upon the actions of the servants in the story, as well as Madeline’s resurrection, readers know that Roderick and the rest of his family are definitely vampires. (ADD CLOSING SENTENCE)
World famous poet, Edgar Allan Poe, once wrote in one of his poems, “From childhood’s hour I have not been. As others were, I have not seen. As others saw, I could not awaken. My heart to joy at the same tone. And all I loved, I loved alone.” In those lines, Poe demonstrates his love for being alone because his childhood was full of isolation, meaning that the writer grew used to the feeling. Since boyhood throughout his adult life, Edgar Allan Poe endured through a series of unfortunate events. From his parents dying, his animosity with his foster father, his consecutive poverty, to facing rejection from the public, the man’s life was as ominous as his fiction. This essay will discuss the reason behind the writing of one of Edgar Allan
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.
Throughout history, various works of literature compelled the readers to feel a specific way. The authors used different techniques to illustrate emotions toward their audience. Specifically, Edgar Allan Poe, author of The Fall of the House of Usher, uses literary elements, such as imagery, characterization and word choice, to portray the build up the sense of horror.
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.