Symbolism In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

An author's use of literary devices creates mental images for the reader and keeps the reader interested throughout the narrative. In "The Fall of the House of Usher", Poe uses suspense, symbolism, and Gothic elements, such as dark atmospheres, because his purpose is to make the reader anticipate upcoming events in the story.

Suspense is created by a lack of details and making the reader believe there is more. In his visit, the narrator notices that usher is painting a "vault or tunnel"(Poe301) and finds it very suspicious that there is "no outlet"(301) for the confined space, and wonders why Usher would paint a vault. The vault Usher painted is underground and beneath the mansion and is where Usher plans to seal his sister's corpse until

they can bury her. This shows that Poe creates suspense while foreshadowing a future event in which Usher will hide Madeline because he doesn't want the doctors to run tests on her body. The narrator notices Usher's peculiar and on-edge behavior and decides to read him "Mad Trist of Sir Launcelot Charming"(Poe307) to help calm Usher's nerves. As the narrator reads the book "it appears to [the narrator] the echo of the sound which Sir Launcelot had so particularly described"(307) in Mad Trist, was made somewhere in the mansion. This demonstrates the suspense Poe makes by pacing the story into the climax and making the reader anticipate what is to come. The suspense in the story is made by Poe's usage of foreshadowing through symbolism.

Many objects in the story symbolize Usher's mental state and what happens as his mind starts to deteriorate. When the narrator arrives to Usher's castle, he describes the outer appearance as having "discoloration of ages"(Poe296) and a lack of any care. As the narrator reunites with Usher after many years, he was startled because he had "never seen [a man] so terribly altered"(298) in such short time as he saw with his friend. This displays the comparison of both the house and Usher because they are both degenerative at the beginning of the story in the narrator's visit. During the exposition, Usher's mental state is completely deteriorated, along with his conscience, and is made a "Madman"(309) and the house "rapidly widened and... the mighty walls rushed asunder"(310) to a total collapse. This expresses Poe's utilization of symbolism by having the house fall into shambles to symbolize the corruption of Usher's mind due to the fact that he couldn't handle the guilt of burying his sister alive, wearing away at his conscience until he couldn't take it anymore leading to complete madness and the fall of the house. The author uses the symbolization of Gothic elements, such as castles, to people for the purpose of setting the atmosphere for the reader.

Poe utilizes Gothic elements, such as the dark atmosphere in the story, to set the mood and explain the cause of Usher's mental illness.

Upon the narrator's visit, he realizes the house had "an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which reeked up from decayed trees, and the gray walls, and the silent tarn"(Poe296) that was also a grayish color. Further into his arrival the narrator feels as if he "breathed an atmosphere of sorrow. An air of stern deep, and irredeemable gloom hung over and pervaded all."(297) those who entered the ambiance of the house of Usher. This demonstrates that the objects are all of depressing nature and that Usher is affected negatively because he is surrounded by them everyday, resulting in Usher becoming stir-crazy and feeling imprisoned by being encapsulated by the gloomy objects constantly. In the little time the narrator is approaching the house, he describes the house negatively with "bleak walls"(Poe 294) and the "white trunks of the decayed trees"(294) that are to be associated with depressing manner. This expresses that the atmosphere is melancholy and is only capable of producing a gloomy effect to those who enter it. Poe's use of imagery created a dark atmosphere for the entire story and made the reader recognize the

setting.

In order for the reader to develop anticipation for the story, the author must utilize many literary devices such as creating intensified suspense, symbolism, and a vivid dark atmosphere, to achieve such expectations from the reader. The author's use of these devices draws the reader into the story with suspense by pacing the story into the climax with foreshadowing through the use of symbolism of people and Gothic elements, such as castles and storms. An author uses literary devices for the purpose of creating a theme and mood of a story for the reader to visualize in their mind and envision a different world than the one they are in.