Character Analysis: The Fall Of The House Of Usher

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Recommended: Interpretation of the fall of the house of usher by edgar allan poe

“The Fall of the House of Usher;” The horror of Roderick and Madeline An unnamed narrator approaches the house of Usher on a dark and dull day. The house in which the narrator is approaching is Roderick Usher his childhood friend’s house but the house is mysterious when he walks in. When the narrator walks into the house, the narrator can feel an evil energy. He could tell that the house is decaying in all sorts of places. There is a small crack from the roof to the ground in front on the building. The narrator came to Roderick’s house because his friend Roderick sent for him through a letter. In the letter Roderick said he is very ill and the narrator is rushing to his assistance. The narrator mentions that the Usher …show more content…

The Usher twins are genetically close as twins, they are even closer genetically to each other than normal fraternal twins. Roderick tried to kill Madeline because he believed that he was going to die of fear and one of his biggest fears was for his sister dying and himself being left alone. So therefore he wants Madeline to die so he could be alone and he won’t be able to overcome his anxiety for her being alone so he would die soon too. Roderick wants to be put an end to his torture by being forced to face his fears and he believes that would be the cause of his death. The theme of “House of Usher” is love and hate, self vs alter ego, the power of the dead over living. The gothic terror is a result of the narrator’s love for himself and hatred for his rival. The narrator loves himself, but when feelings of self-hatred arise in him, he projects that hatred onto an imaginary copy of himself. The narrator uses the alter ego to separate himself from his insanity. The motifs used are the masquerade, animals. The symbols used in “House of Usher” are the whirlpool, eyes, Fortunato. Poe uses Fortunato’s name symbolically, as an ironic device. The whirlpool symbolizes insanity. Because the eyes symbolize her Gothic identity, a knowledge that both guides and haunts the narrator. Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. …show more content…

The nature of the house itself symbolizes the deconstruction of the Usher family. Also, the storm is symbolic for the events that occur to the characters. The "vacant-eye"-like windows mirror those seen in Roderick and Madeline. All symbolize a lifelessness. The split in the Usher mansion is another symbol. This represents the split of the twin personalities of the surviving Ushers, predicting the destruction of the family and the house. Roderick 's lyric, "The Haunted Palace", is another symbol in the book. It represents death and madness. His abstract painting is a "phantasmagoric" idea of the narrator and represents the "fantastic character" of his guitar playing. The inability of Madeline to have children symbolizes the end of the Ushers. When Roderick dies, there will be no one to carry on the name. According to Poe, the whole story is symbolic of the Apocalypse, the end of the world. The House of Usher refers to both the house and the family. The ghastly images inside the house symbolize the madness of the house 's inhabitants. The Gothic literature and stories of strange goings-on represent the inhabitants ' thoughts. The fungi and physical deterioration of the house symbolizes the physical deterioration of Roderick and Madeline. The upside down reflection of the house in the tarn symbolizes the upside down thinking of the Ushers. The bridge over the tarn symbolizes the narrator who

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