Symbolism In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

An analytical essay discussing the importance of setting in The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe and Where is Here, by Joyce Carol Oates.

“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year,” (412) is the first sentence in The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. This beginning sentence sets the tone of dark. Gothic Literature’s style has elements of fear, horror, gloomy and death; it gives the feeling of suspense and fear. This story is a great example of Gothic Literature. In this story the narrator goes to Usher’s house, which is mysterious, and becomes aware that the house is like Usher who is sick. Poe’s technique of the unified effect accomplishes its intended purpose through the setting, plot development and imagery.

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

The catalog of the Usher mansion symbolises its inhabitants. The article Themes and Construction: "The Fall of the House of Usher" from Gale Cengage Learning, remarks, “The Usher mansion is the most important symbol in the story; isolated, decayed, and full of the atmosphere of death, the house represents the dying Usher family itself”. Poe writes that Roderick and Madeline are the last two members of the Usher family left alive. Also, Madeline is on the brink of death, and Roderick mental state isn’t stable. Nevertheless, there are more symbolisms between the setting and the family of Usher. The melancholy

Although Both Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “ House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar have settings set in large, old, spooky houses, the setting is different because Edgar Allan Poe’s setting s in a much older than House Taken Over. The author in “The Fall of the House of Usher” also relies time more on the supernatural in his setting with visions of ghosts and figures while the “ House Taken Over” is set in a normal old house.

That being said, the houses that people lived in were very extravagant, and showed a lot of detail. The house in the Fall of the House of Usher, had a lot of windows, just like the house in Where is Here? did. Each of these houses were very mysterious, in that they had dungeons, etc. In the Fall of the House of Usher, the sister is buried alive in the basement, and nobody would ever know because it was very secretive, the only reason one person knew was because he was the visitor and was asked to help bury her. I also believe that in the Where is Here? story, there were many secret places to go if you needed to hide something. I also think that each of the houses represents something bigger than what the telling of the story shows; you have to read between the

As with many of Edgar Allan Poe's pieces, "The Fall of the House of Usher" falls within the definition of American Gothic Literature. According to Prentice Hall Literature, American Gothic Literature is characterized by a bleak or remote setting, macabre or violent incidents, characters being in psychological or physical torment, or a supernatural or otherworldly involvement (311). A story containing these attributes can result in a very frightening or morbid read. In all probability, the reason Poe's stories were written in this fashion is that his personal life was fraught with depression, internal agony, and despair. Evidently this is reflected in "The Fall of the House of Usher." Conjointly, Edgar Allan Poe's "The

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.

Aspects of Goth can be portrayed throughout "The Fall of the House of Usher" creating anticipation and eerie mystery through the use of suspense, symbolism, and gothic element. While others may consider Goth culture evil and abnormal, there is real beauty of deeper meaning discovered in the darkness of the unnatural that one must be open minded and spiritual to

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.

In “The Fall of the House of Usher” the story starts with the narrator saying that he is overcome with a feeling of gloom upon first seeing the house. He compares the windows to vacant eyes. The narrator goes on to tell how the house appears to him but then tries to explain it away as his overactive imagination.

"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe has a gothic horror story setting. Gothic means that the author emphasizes the mysterious, the horrible, the ghostly and the fear that can be aroused in the reader. Everyone knows that a gothic story or a ghost story will often have a setting that will be in an old, decaying mansion far out in a desolate countryside. The mansion will be filled with cobwebs, strange noises, bats, and an abundance of secret panels and corridors, in which people might be running and screaming in terror. The author uses every literary trick to give us an eerie sensation or to scare us if we hear an unexpected noise. The

Within both Fall of the House of Usher and Where is Here? by Poe and Oates, the importance of setting is displayed. One of the ways this is done, is by using such descriptive writings. The detailed sections allow us to imagine what is actually happening, where it is going on, and what the surroundings are suggesting. If the story didn’t have any setting to tell us what certain things look like then we might miss an important part of the story, like the horror movie concept. One of the statements that educators like to use a lot is that you should never make a decision without knowing all of the facts first. The same is true with stories, and one of those important facts, is the setting. By line eight of Where is Here? by Oates, she writes, “He had not seen the house since

Together with reasoning for why you may feel depressed when looking upon it. Since the Usher’s have a long family line it is clear that the house is very old and old things look worn naturally. Since Roderick and Madeline are not in a healthy mental state, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the appearance of their house causing it to become gloomy and unpleasant. Anything that is gloomy and unpleasant can give you an eerie feeling because it is not something you enjoy seeing. In addition to this, the story takes place in Autumn, the season in which all the living things are beginning to die which could be another factor contributing to why the narrator may feel this

Wording is a major role in creating a good setting, and the wording in The Fall Of The House Of Usher is no exception to greatness. Edgar Allen Poe, the author of The Fall Of The House Of Usher, knows how to use words to the best of his ability in order to create a good setting. Words are so crucial to setting because in order to make a truly vivid image for a reader, the appropriate word must be used to get the targeted feel. This quote explains the competence a single word can have, “Oh, the power of the spoken word! We never know but what we say and the way we say it might completely change someone’s life”(Hunt). This quote shows the importance of words in any given story. The type of words that you use are not the only important dealing with words, it’s also how an author can put words into a sentence to really give it emotion. This quote from The Fall Of The House Of Usher shows how good