Psycho-Sexual Reading of The Fall of the House of Usher
The idea that "The Fall of the House of Usher" is in part an investigation into sexual motivation and sexual guilt complexes has often been hinted at but never critically pursued as the dominant theme in the tale. But such a reading is at least prepared for in important essays by D. H. Lawrence and Allen Tate which make the essential recognition that "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a "love" story (1). Lawrence and Tate, however, mistakenly attempt to purge the love concerned of all physical meaning. What they see Usher wanting is possession not of Madeline's body but her very being (Lawrence, p. 86). Theirs is essentially an anti-biological reading of the tale in which the Poe hero tries in self-love "to turn the soul of the heroine into something like a physical object which can be known in direct cognition" (fate, p. 115). But if "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a drama of cognition, its cognitive impact is not circumscribed by "metaphysical speculation on the identity of matter and spirit" (2).
In this connection, Patrick F. Quinn's suggestion that Usher is a criminal merits attention (3). He is, in a biological reading of the story, a sexual criminal, and a critic like Richard Wilbur, who suggests that the poetic soul is out to "shake off this temporal, rational, physical world and escape . . . to a realm of unfettered vision," lifts us out of rather than urges us into the depths which humanity in the person of Usher has touched (4). Caroline Gordon and Allen Tate are closer to the truth when they call [column 2:] Usher "a 'Gothic' character taken seriously" and when they view "The Fall of the House of Usher" as "a serious story of moral perv...
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(5) Caroline Gordon and Allen Tate, The Ho?`se of Fiction (New York: Scribner's, 1960), p. 53.
(6) See Albert Mordell's comment on the tale and Usher in The Erotic Motive in Literature, rev. ed. (New York: Collier Books, 1962), p. 173: "As we learn from psycho-analysis, morbid fear is inhibited sexual desire; it is reaction against the libido." [column 2:]
(7) The editors of The Literature of The United States (Chicago: Scott-Foresman, 1949), p. 317, note 17, favor the more familiar explanation which links the doctor with a gang of body-snatchers. Thus Usher chooses to entomb his sister in the vaults of the house rather than in the family graveyard.
(8) Darrel Abel, "A Key to The House of Usher," rpt. in Interpretations of American Literature, ed. Charles Feidelson, Jr. and Paul Brodtkorb, Jr. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1959), p. 53.
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
It really is truly marvelous to see a man as rich as magic do so much for other people. Yes, he is still making money, but you get the feeling that it's not all about the Benjamin's. The article suggests that Michael (and we know which Michael) would be this involved that they could really make even more of a difference and help give back to where they came from. What also gets me is that Magic could easily just sit around and do nothing, because of his HIV, and we (society) would think nothing of it. But he didn't he's out there making a different to "his people" and not getting a lot of attention. At least I haven't heard any thing besides this Rick Reilly article, and I think of myself as a man who keeps up with what's going on in sports and it's supporting cast.
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.
1. It has become much harder to identify the true and amateur-taught values around sport in our culture. The passion for competition, the aspect of a team, and the actions of sportsmanship are deep values that sports act to instill. It becomes one of the most important ways to teach those values to our young and unfortunately is becoming easy to forget. Throughout the semester we scrutinized sports, looking at their influence, role, and meaning in our American society today. Two foundations to view sport, critical and functionalist theory, were brought upon early in the semester, laying groundwork for looking at the rest of the topics. To better understand these two view points a working definition of each is needed. The three C’s of: capitalism, coercion and commercialism help describe the critical/conflict theory and view of sport in our United States. When looking with this viewpoint some of sport’s purposes in society include, promoting and expanding capitalistic drives as well as showing the power and privilege of elite groups within society. (Coakley, 2001) On the contrary the ...
“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe was published in 1839. In it, the short story’s narrator visits a childhood friend, Roderick Usher. The narrator travels to the Usher house, where the story takes place. As in other Poe stories, the settings reflect a character. Throughout the short story, there are many instances when the Usher house and Thought, the castle in Roderick’s poem, reflect Roderick Usher and his family. In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the setting of the Usher house along with the setting in Roderick’s poem reflect Roderick Usher in appearances, relations with family, and physical existence.
The human condition, a concept prevalent in several pieces of literature, encompasses the emotional, moral, questioning, and observant nature of humans. This concept is often used by authors to emphasize the characteristics that set humans apart from other living creature. Edgar Allan Poe’s dark fantasy piece “The Fall of the House of Usher” perfectly depicts the human condition as it conveys how fear and over-thinking can control one’s actions and life.
In the short story, The Fall of The House of Usher, Edgar Allen Poe chooses the setting as his main focus. This tale is one of many that focus on the character’s surroundings in order to truly emphasize and express the tone the author is trying to portray. The Fall of the House of Usher was included in Poe’s first literary collection from 1839 and is one of his most famous works. He was orphaned by the age of three, which in my opinion, would mean that he had a relatively dark childhood. A dark childhood that may or may not be the reason he allows for his stories to reveal a mysterious and dreary tone. Perhaps, setting is what truly affects the way your life plays out, and this is why the time and place has such a great affect in the world of literacy. In this essay, I would like to discuss how the setting sets the mood, affects your prejudices of the characters, and how it foreshadows where the story is headed.
In the United States, Football is one sport that most men love watching, may it be on television or live stadium (Chandler, 1988). For example, men are willing and able to sit down at home in front of the television for more than six hours just watching the football games and wouldn’t sit down doing any other thing for more than 15 minutes. The questions needed to be asked in the back of our minds are; by the men watching football games, what are the gains met and what the satisfactions are they get after watching them after hours, weeks and even months. What attracts them to devote most of their spare time to watching the football games? One obvious answer to this is the entertainment within the games as the men get something to entertain them apart from what they do in their boring daily routines. Taking another directional argument; rather than the amusement football games offer to the men, they offer some thi...
In the short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe, diction is extensively used to create an air of suspense. Poe’s use of diction along with symbolism contributes to establishing a mood of despair. By using symbolic comparison between the Ushers and their house, the story’s suspense builds and the characteristics of the Ushers are portrayed. Poe’s cunning tactics are evident in the way he achieves a story of both suspense and horror.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s story The Fall of the House of Usher, the character Roderick Usher exhibits severe mental illness. Most of Poe’s writings are psychological in nature. The Fall of the House of Usher is a great example of this. Poe’s life was filled with many tragic events. The unpleasant outcome of his early years resulted in a great Gothic Romantic writer. He is a master of writing psychological thrillers, adding suspense and mystery in his stories. The topics of his writings are a concoction of unpleasant, austere, and grotesque things, thus the reader can be left feeling squeamish and susceptible. We are drawn into Poe’s stories by our intrinsic human nature of curiosity and intrigue. This paper gives examples of Poe’s literary style as we examine Roderick’s metal state through his words and appearance.
If there is one thing that is widely agreed upon in regards to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” it is surely the fact that the short story is one of the greatest ever written. The very words that Poe selects and the manner in which he pieced them was nothing short of phenomenal. This however, is pretty much all that people are able to agree upon. Indeed, to almost everyone who reads it sees the story as great, but for different reasons. In a way the tale can be compared to a psychiatrist’s inkblots. While everyone may be looking at the same picture, they all see different things. What mainly gives “The Fall of the House of Usher” this quality is the double meanings and symbols Poe seems to use throughout.
body - but what actually constitutes exercise? Exercise can be dissected into two major categories, aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is usually a lower intensity, longer endurance form of energy usage that raises the respiratory and pulse rate of the individual. The major physiological classification of this type of exercise is that it accesses the aerobic energy generation process - loosely meaning that your cells need and use more oxygen during this type of exercise (1). Anaerobic exercise is a type of activity that is usually short lived and in high intensity, such as weight lifting or short sprinting. This type of activity does not require your body’s cells to take up increased amounts of oxygen. Anaerobic exertion must use a very fast fuel source like the phosphates creatinine phosphate and adenosine triphosphate as well as anaerobic glycolysis (2). If the individual continues to work past the means of anaerobic exercise, the body will begin to use aerobic pathways for energy production like the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, which require much higher quantities of oxygen (1).
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.
Stress is a common factor in all of our daily lives. Learning to manage stress can be life changing and be very useful in both our personal and work environments. Stress can be caused by many different situations, such as family problems, work problems, finances, deadlines, information overload, unhealthy eating, lack of exercise, public speaking, trust issues, friendships, and so on. Stress is defined as, “an adaptive response, mediated by individual characteristics and/or psychological processes, that is a consequence of any external action, situation, or event that places special physical and/or psychological demands upon a person” (Kreitner and Kinicki, p.551). Stress triggers are different for different people. Although we would like to avoid stress, it is impossible. We need stress in our lives in order to stay alive and help us make quick decisions in life or death situations. Stress can actually be a good thing such as eustress, stress that is good or produces a positive outcome. When a person experiences stress it causes one of two reactions, fight or flight, which allows us to make the decision to either accept the situation or run away. According to Kreitner and Kinicki , “Physiologically, this stress response is a biochemical “passing gear” involving hormonal changes that mobilize the body for extraordinary demands” ( p.550). The main point is we cannot avoid stress; stress is good for us to a certain extent. Our efforts need to be aimed at managing stress and learning to live with and embrace it.
Stress is a normal physical response to events that make one feel threatened or upset one’s balance in some way. It comes to us naturally, when we need it. When working properly, it helps one stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save people’s lives; such as with the fight to flight response. So in situations it comes upon us to benefit us and to be helpful. The stress response also helps one rise to meet challenges, and also helps keep one’s concentration. Although stress can be good, beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to a person’s health, mood, productivity, relationships, and their overall quality of life (www.helpg...