Can written stories scare people? Between “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe and “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar, short stories, there are many similarities and differences that reflect one another. Both stories seem to have an unsettling feeling or mood. They seem to focus the point of paranoia to add towards the plot. Although, Usher is a gothic literature that focuses on gore. Taken Over is a magical realism that focuses on the unknown. In each story, certain details and components resonate with each other but the authors do create their own unique scenario. In both short stories, the settings, characters, and supernatural elements all share similarities. The settings have a mysterious, strange atmosphere. Both authors seem to portray the dark, eerie vibe very well. The characters within the story show great paranoia towards their individual situations and show symptoms of mental disorders. The …show more content…
Usher was settled in a castle that falls because of the crack on the front exterior. To illustrate, “...this fissure rapidly widened… my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing sunder” (Poe 30) expresses the point where the narrator literally witnesses the castle collapse upon itself. Poe chose to focus on the environment around the castle. He describes the trees and pond to add towards the sensation of the house. For example, “...upon the vacant eyelike windows upon a few rank sedges and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees” (Poe 14) shows how the author decides to focus on the exterior of the castle. Usher consisted of a brother and sister. The plot, however, revolved around the sister escaping her coffin. To prove, “rending of her coffin, and the grating of the iron hinges of her prison, and her struggles within the coppered archway of the vault” (Poe 29) justifies the explanation of the sister trying to escape her coffin. It was very morbid and definitely played on the gore
Roderick and the fall of the house of usher have a deceiving appearance. Poe introduces “In this was much that reminded me of the specious totality of woodwork which has rotted for long years in some neglected vault with no disturbance from the breath of the external air” (312). After meeting Roderick and going inside the house, which appear to be normal, it is revealed that the interior is deteriorated. This home is void of others existence, excepting Roderick and Lady Madeleine. He has “A cadaverous of complexion, an eye large,liquid and luminous beyond comparison, lips somewhat thin and very pallid.” (363). It appears to the readers that Roderick has lost his soul due to his ghostly appearance. His illness has taken a toll on his outward appearance.”The ‘House Of Usher’ an appellation which seemed to include… both the family and the family mansion” (311). The house of usher reflects what is going on within the family. Craziness and neglection engulf Roderick’s as much the house. Roderick’s mental illness and the house are
Along with being an excellent potrail of suspense the ''dull, dark and soundless...decaying house'' also substitutes as a symbol of Roderick Usher's family legacy slowly vanishing as he shall too. Though the house of Usher could contain multiple symbols on its exterior alone, the lands as well contain hidden meanings such as the ''ghastly river...moat'' that surrounds the grounds. this gives off the hidden idea that much like Roderick, the narrator is trapped within deceiving and oppressive walls of the house of Usher. The house has become a beacon of symbolism as even in the final scene the house sinks into ''black and lurid tarn'' symbolizing that much like Roderick Usher, and the Usher legacy, the house shall become nothing more than a memory. Poe uses these symbols as to show the reader the severity of Roderick Usher's situations before Poe even introduces him.
In the beginning, The House of Usher looked a little dreary but nothing that the narrator felt to be concerned about. Poe writes, “Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now proposed myself a sojourn of some weeks. Its proprietor, Roderick Usher had been one of my boon comparisons in boyhood; but many years had erased since our last meeting”(Poe 1). This quote shows the reader that there was a sense of weirdness to the mansion, but the narrator overlooked the strangeness because Roderick Usher had been his friend since childhood. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is one of those stories that the reader knows more about the main character than the narrator does. The reader can already pick up on Roderick’s madness and insanity in the beginning, while the narrator picks up on it when it is too late...
From the onset of the story, it is apparent that Poe is employing a gothic theme upon his work. The narrator’s portrayal of the home of his longtime friend, Roderick Usher was as follows, “I looked upon the scene before me – upon the bleak walls – upon the vacant eye-like windows – upon a few rank sedges – and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees” (Poe, 75). T...
In the short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, the point of view is told from our unknown narrator, whom comes to help fix the house, and help comfort Roderick Usher, but does not end up helping him. Also the main theme is evil since the house is evil. After Roderick buries his dead sister, Madeline, she comes back to life and kills Roderick, the unknown narrator runs for his life, and watches the house collapse. In the other themes, madness and insanity, is because Roderick is having mental and emotional breakdowns because of his sister’s death. AN interesting fact about Poe is that he loved cats. Poe’s own cats name was Catterina.
Poe also uses symbolism to represent the connection between the house and the Usher family. The description of the house itself has a shocking resemblance to that of Roderick and Madelyn Usher. Upon the main character’s arrival, Poe offers an interesting description of the building’s physical state. “The discoloration of age had been great. Minute fungi overspread the whole exterior, hanging in fine tangled web-work from the eves” (1266). Poe is able to establish an air of suspense by relating the state of the house to that of Roderick and Madelyn Usher.
When comparing the stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” written by Edgar Allen Poe and “The House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar. The setting in both are in a creepy, big house with a gothic style to it, which makes it more creepy. Both of the authors were a dark and demented type. Both in their stories have a big, empty house with a few people in them, with either kids that are living alone or with grandparents. Also both stories have a sense of having something under their sleeve to hit us with.
Poe’s use of personification, the act of giving human characteristics to nonhuman things, assigns the house of Usher a powerful and evil presence. In the first paragraph of the story, the narrator describes the house as having “vacant eye-like windows”. He uses this description twice: first to show that the house has seen everything that has led to the fall of Usher, and again to emphasize the unidentified deception of the house. The narrator also describes his negative reaction to the house as a “hideous dropping off of the veil”. This statement describes what the house has revealed to the narrator, a disgusting and disappointing appearance.
In "The Fall of the house of Usher," Edgar Allen Poe creates suspense and fear in the reader. He also tries to convince the reader not to let fear overcome him. Poe tries to evoke suspence in the reader's mind by using several diffenent scenes. These elements include setting, characters, plot, and theme. Poe uses setting primarily in this work to create atmosphere. The crack in the house and the dead trees imply that the house and its surroundings are not sturdy or promising. These elements indicate that a positive outcome is not expected. The thunder, strange light, and mist create a spooky feeling for the reader. The use of character provides action and suspense in the story through the characters' dialogue and actions. Roderick, who is hypochondriac, is very depressed. He has a fearful apperance and his senses are acute. This adds curiosity and anxiety. The narrator was fairly normal until he began to imagine things and become afraid himself. Because of this, the audience gets a sense that evil is lurking. Madeline is in a cataleptic state. She appears to be very weak and pail. Finally, when she dies, she is buried in a vault inside of the mansion. In this story, the plot consists of rising events, conflict, climax, and resolution. The rising events include the parts in the story when the narrator first arrives at the house, meets Roderick, and hears about Roderick's and Madeline's problems. Madeline's death and burial are part of the conflict. At this point, Roderick and the narrator begin to hear sounds throughout the house. The sounds are an omen that an evil action is about to occur. The climax is reached when Madeline comes back from the dead and she and her twin brother both die. Finally, the resolution comes when the narrator escapes from the house and turns around to watch it fall to the ground. The theme that Edgar Allen Poe is trying to convey is do not let fear take over your life because it could eventually destory you.
In the beginning of the story, with an extensive and vivid description of the house and its vicinity, Poe prepares the scene for a dreadful, bleak, and distempered tale. The setting not only affects Poe’s narration of the story but influences the characters and their actions as well. Both the narrator and his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, question w...
Poe sets the setting as dark and gloomy, most likely to give the reader the death is in the air vibe in the beginning of “The Fall of the House of Usher”. “There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart - an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it - I paused to think - what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher?” The narrator, who is nameless throughout the whole story, receives a letter from an old childhood friend. According to the letter Roderick, the narrator’s childhood friend, has invited the narrator
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.
In the story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe presents the history of the end of an illustrious family. As with many of Poe’s stories, setting and mood contribute greatly to the overall tale. Poe’s descriptions of the house itself as well as the inhabitants thereof invoke in the reader a feeling of gloom and terror. This can best be seen first by considering Poe’s description of the house and then comparing it to his description of its inhabitants, Roderick and Madeline Usher.
The Fall of The House of Usher is an eerie, imaginative story. The reader is captured by the twisted reality. Many things in the story are unclear to the reader; but no less interesting. For instance, even the conclusion of the story lends it self to argument. Did the house of Usher truly "fall"? Or, is this event simply symbolism? In either case, it makes a dramatic conclusion. Also dramatic is the development of the actual house. It seems to take on a life of its own. The house is painted with mystery. The narrator himself comments on the discerning properties of the aged house; "What was it, I paused to think, what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the house of Usher" (54)? The house is further developed in the narrator's references to the house. "...In this mansion of gloom" (55). Even the surroundings serve the purpose. The narrator describes the landscape surrounding as having, "... an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn a pestilent and mystic vapor, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and leaden hued" (55). This fantastic imagery sets the mood of the twisted events. Roderick Usher complements the forbidding surroundings terrifically. His temperament is declining and he seems incessantly agitated and nervous. And, as it turns out, Roderick's fears are valid. For soon enough, before his weakening eyes, stands the Lady Madeline of Usher. This shocking twist in the story is developed through the book that the narrator is reading. The last line that he reads is, "Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door" (66)! Without suspecting such an event, the reader soon finds Lady Madeline actually standing at the door. She is described as having, "...blood on her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame" (66). This line not only induces terror but invites debate. Upon seeing the woman the reader has to consider the cause of her death.
These two authors are very similar. Both use dark, surrealistic language. Both men show different aspects of the descent into madness. Also both men use a descriptive, intelligent writing style. Instead of appealing to your emotions, or telling you what you should be feeling, they describe what is happening. Their descriptions may induce certain emotions, such as disgust, fear, or sadness, but they appeal first to the mind. They appeal first to the mind, and when the mind dictates to the heart that this is wrong, or strange, then the heart stirs and provides the appropriate emotion. Their writing styles may have their differences, but on the whole they are more alike than they are different.