The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
“The Fall of the House of Usher,” by Edgar Allan Poe begins with the unidentified narrator arriving, alone, at “the melancholy House of Usher.” He had received a letter from a boyhood companion, Roderick Usher, begging that he come to visit him, explaining he was suffering from a terrible illness, and longed for the companionship of "his only personal friend."
Approaching the decaying old house, the narrator was struck by an overwhelming sense of gloom that seemed to envelop the estate. The very sight of the manor caused within him "an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an unredeemed dreariness." He remembers Roderick's family was noted for the fact that no new branch of the family had ever been generated. For centuries, the title of the estate had passed directly from father to son, so that the term "House of Usher" had come to refer both to the family and to the mansion.
Usher was a pale, ghostly man with long hair that seemed to float about his head. The plot is introduced when the reader learns that he suffered from an intense agitation, and explained to the Narrator that he cannot live in his condition, which consisted of a morbid acuteness of the senses that made most things unbearable. Usher’s twin sister, Madeline, was also severely ill, a "gradual wasting away of the person" that was beyond the powers of physicians to cure. The Narrator caught a glimpse of her that filled him with astonishment and dread.
For days the Narrator tried to distract his hypochondriac friend. Usher sang a song about a noble castle invaded by demons. This convinced the narrator that Usher was, indeed, crazy, especially when he informed him that he believed the very stones o...
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... falls, it is symbolizing the breakdown of sanity, and reason.
Another important symbol is that of unity, and of mirror images. The house is reflected in the tarn (lake), the landscape parallels the death and decay of the house, the Ushers, being twins, are reflections of each other, the Ushers mirror the house, and the room in which the Narrator first meets Usher mirrors Roderick’s unhinging mental state.
All these critical elements to a short story come together to form the main idea of “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The theme is that an irreconcilable fracture in one’s personality can lead to the derangement and dissolution of the personality. Although this is a major theme, there are others prevalent, such as the mind cannot live or die without its counterpart (mirror image), the senses, and the theme of being a victim, having power, and being powerless.
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
In “Fall of the House of Usher”, the setting takes place at the house of Usher, whose friend, the main character, comes to visit because Usher is dying. He travels through the house, visiting the family members and sees the house is in a serious state of disrepair. A theory on the story
He uses detailed description and allows the reader to focus and be more drawn into the story. Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren’s analysis of “The Fall of the House of Usher” talked about their version of the breakdown of the story. The tragedy of Usher didn’t have any suspense nor any understanding toward the character of Usher. The suspense was absent due to the hints provided for the instability of the house and the owner’s slow deteriorating health. The character’s background comes from a strange ancient family that has a single branch that carries a strange illness to its descendant. Usher brings his death to himself by his actions.
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.
One of the central themes underlying the short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, is that of the nature of the house. The way it is described and the way it is so mysterious. Another central theme about this story is the nature of the people that live in the house. They are portrayed very much in the same manner throughout the story. Thus, they have several similarities with each other. All of which are of a bad feeling, showing how bad things are for the people and the house. These similarities are very well laid out in the story and are, I believe, meant to be something to be considered when reading it.
The Falling of the House of Usher,starts off in a sorrow living and scares setting. It started off with the characters and the house condition that it is very poorly. Then it leads to the bizarreness of the house as the narrator came upon he notice how deeply poor it is and how they accidently buried his sister that was also sick.Then the violence of how things became the house that fell apart. Not just the house died but also the house died along with him and his family that came along with the mystery of the causing of the death. The house is also a symbol of gothic death along with the character's health ,and the smell and how they are presented in the story as a bad poor condition of health.
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.
Edgar Allan Poe 's "The Fall of the House of Usher," was masterpiece of the most tragic love story ever told. The tale leads to unexpected tragic death for the Usher and their home. The Fall of the House of Usher had a mixed natural and superstitions, which proclaim, "Are we haunted in this world, or do we haunted ourselves?" (Howarth, L., William, Poe 's Tale, Pg. 9) While Leonard W. Engel 's "The Enclosure Motif in "The Fall of the House of Usher," which intensifies the surrounding of the house, twins, and narrator 's journey. (Engel, Pg. 182) As stated by I.M. Walker in "The Fall of the House of Usher": "A Rational
The narrator in "the House of Usher" was actually the friend of the main character of the story, Roderick Usher, who lived with his sister in the house and both had mental sicknesses that had ultimately led to their deaths. While the house was not actually haunted, as horror stories usually are made up of, there was a permeating sense of decay about the building that continued up to the two owners of the house, with their depression and gloom, and the sister's ability to withdraw in a catatonic state that would make anyone unaware of the condition conclude that the person had died. The house, which was the setting of the story, was not bathed in light or warmth; it was either always dark, or gloomy, "melancholy" was the word frequently used; and the reference to the crack in the wall was to show that it was on its way to destruction; all it needed wa...
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.
The first sentence of the story begins with the narrator talking about “the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, [he] had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary track of country;…” (McMichael). As the narrator is approaching the House of Usher, he begins to feel this sense of eerie, depression, and anxiety because he has not seen his friend for a long while and he already knows about his mental illness so he becomes curious of what he will find but already he is starting to get the effects of the depression that Usher is suffering from, alongside with his mental illness
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.
Fear is a prominently depicted theme in this short story. From the start of the short story, you are able to sense the fear through the words of the narrator. The words of the narrator convey that the setting as a fearful place, the House of Usher. When the narrator makes his way towards the House of Usher, the sense of mystery and fear takes over, intimately causing the narrator to shiver. The setting itself was not the only detail conveying fear, further in the story we encounter Roderick. Roderick is the excellent example of fear, as exemplified when he said: “I have, indeed, no abhorrence of danger, except in its absolute effect--in terror. In this unnerved—in this pitiable condition--I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive when I must abandon life and reason
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 conclusion Poe excellent use of characterization and imagery to depict fear and darkness, truly make The Fall of the House of Usher a story of the battles the we must face our fears in order to free our mind.