Symbolism In The House Of Usher

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n the House of Usher there is a lot of thing supernatural things occurring to Roderick Usher. This may be because Roderick had a sensibility of being prey to the supernatural things. The house in which he lived only made it worse because he was lonely and with the death of his twin sister Madeline, things were bad. Madeline was believed to have returned as a sort of vampire which fed off Roderick. Vampires are supernatural creatures that are dead but alive in some way which makes sense that Madeline was still alive and feeding off Roderick’s, (her brother’s) life. As the narrator approaches the House, he observes that the windows are "eye-like." Roderick's poem later gives the palace the features of a human head. These suggestions seem to mean that the House itself has some evil, destructive life, manifest in a spirit faintly visible as a vapor. Can it be regarded as a kind of vampire? In vampire lore, places or houses may be possessed: "Even to-day there are places and there are properties in England which owing to deeds of blood and violence . . . entail some dire misfortune upon all who seek to enjoy . . . them." (Bailey124) If the House has a kind of parasitic life, this affinity may have meaning. Though most vampires feed upon blood, "there is a vampire who can ... support his life and …show more content…

Roderick is a sick man whose fears of his sister Madeline manifest him supernaturally. In story it shows how the mental illness of Roderick and the effects of his dead sister drives him crazy like a madman. Another theme that can be found is the isolationism. Being isolated or being alone is very sad. The sadness of being alone can bring despair to someone’s life and lead to cases of where you see things that aren’t there. Roderick had been living alone for sometime without his sister so it’s possible Roderick got into a state of where his depression caused him to see

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