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Analysis paragraph the fall of the house of usher
The Fall of the House of Usher Analysis
How does the fall of the house of usher employ gothic imagery
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Recommended: Analysis paragraph the fall of the house of usher
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
The mind is a complicated thing. Not many stories are able to portray this in such an interesting manner as in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher". The haunting story of a man and his sister, living in the old family mansion. But as all should know, much symbolism can be found in most of Poe's works. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is no exception.
First of all, we have the symbolisme of Roderick Ushers mind and the House of Usher coinciding. Both can be seem as one and the same.
Residing in the house are both Roderick and his sister, Madeline. What can be translated from this is the age old hypothesis, the mind is divided in two parts: a male or rational part, and a female or emotionnal part. In Usher's mind, we can see that he has problems expressing his emotions, represented as Madeline's unknown sickness.
When she finally dies, Roderick puts her away in an old dungeon t'ill she is to be buried. One could say that Usher is trying to forget about his emotions by throwing that part of his mind into the basement, or subconcious. He knows that if he can survive a fortnight without this emotional part in him, he'll be able to live without it for the rest of his days.
Another symbol is the one of the fortnight. A fortnight is 14 days, or half a moon cycle. The full moon can be seen as another symbol for the unconcious mind or even the dark side in us all. Whereas a new moon represents the concious or good side in us all.
Madeline was locked away just at the beginning of the full moons half cycle. In other words, Roderick knew that this was the worst time for his sister to die, she could easily comeback, using the moons dark power.
Unf...
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...In her death-throes, she lands on her brother, causing him to die of fright. The narrator escapes only to see the entire
house collapse behind him as its lone inhabitants die. (Bloom 19)
Throughout the story, Poe's imagery of the house and the inanimate objects inside serve to give a supernatural atmosphere to the story. By giving inanimate objects almost life-like characteristics, he is also giving the house a supernatural quality. The whole story centers around Poe's portrait of an insane man. He goes to great lengths to describe every detail of Roderick Usher's mental illness. Poe's description of Usher's face is very similar to his own features. This knowledge turns "The Fall of the House of Usher": a tale of the introverted, artistic soul tormented and unable to function in the ordinary world, into a brief glance into Poe's own struggles as a writer.
Upon entering the dark and dismal house, the narrator was joined with Roderick Usher. Shocked by the appearance of his companion from early childhood, the narrator explained, "I gazed upon him with a feeling half of pity, half of awe. Surely, man had never before so terribly altered, in so brief a period, as had Roderick Usher!" Through conversation with his childhood friend, the narrator finally discovered the true source of Roderick's illness and sickly appearance. Usher said, "I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive when I...
In multiple parts of the short story, he uses the house of the Usher as a metaphor to the Usher bloodline and even to Roderick and Madeline’s conditions. In the first part, he keeps mentioning about the eye-like¬ windows of the mansion. “I looked upon the scene before me—upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain— upon the bleak walls—upon the vacant eye-like windows— upon a few rank sedges—and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees—with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium—the bitter lapse into every-day life—the hideous dropping off of the veil. There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart—an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime” (3). The descriptions of the house, from the narrator’s point of view as he arrives at the mansion, clearly reflects the condition of the people living inside it. Also, towards the end of the story, not only did the House of Usher fell and crumbled down, but also the Usher
Almost everyone goes through different fazes in their lives where they are trying to find their true self. Some may be happy and content with who they are where as others are scarred and frightened at the human beings they have become. Edgar finally came to a point in his life where he needed to step back and examine himself. The method that he chose was to look into the depths of his own mind. There are many things for which he needed to come to terms with, in a sense he had grown apart from himself and needed to find out who he really was. The story of “The Fall Of The House Of Usher” is the story of Edgar Allan Poe taking a journey into his own mind in search of who he had become.
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.
Combining fear and loneliness is the perfect combination for one's imagination overlooking reasoning. This just so happens in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of the House of the Usher", and in Julio Cortazar's "House Taken Over". In "The Fall of the House of the House of Usher", Rodrick Usher requests his old friend to visit him at his home because he is ill. Once he arrives, he realizes what a gloomy place the Usher mansion turns out to be and the tragedies of Usher's life. Spooky occurrences happen during the narrator's visit and he discovers that everything is not what it seems to be. In "House Taken Over", the narrator and his sister, Irene, live in their ancient family home. Neither are married, nor do either of them have a complex life as
As in many of Poe's stories, the colors and images that describe the setting and characters are not only visually stimulating but carry dark connotations that give the story‚s horror more depth and feeling. The tale of the narrator‚s trip to the House of Usher begins with an eerie depiction of the building and its surroundings, the overview of the setting, "a scene in which decay and death are the presiding
Poe also uses symbolism to compare the deterioration of the house to the fall of the Usher dynasty. In Roderick’s poem, “The Haunted Palace”, he describes the history of the house as it began as a strong and “radiant palace”, which over time became a decrepit, disease-ridden cage. The radiant palace repres...
Many people mistake the house for the family as if they are the same. There is a crack in the house that is “barely perceptible… which… made its way down the wall in a zigzag direction” (Poe 312). The crack in the house symbolizes all the madness concealed inside Roderick Usher and the brokenness of the family. This displays the fact that something is wrong within this family and they are slowly falling apart. They are dying one after another until there is no longer a living member of the Usher family and the house will then crumble as well. Usher contacts his childhood friend for assistance because he foresees the fall of the house. Poe’s description of the “gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows” (Poe 310) further explain the relationship between the house and Roderick Usher. The author uses every detail of the house, the yellow banners, the pearl and ruby door, and the windows to symbolize Usher’s body parts. Poe does this in order to emphasize the relationship everyone sees between Usher and the house. These uses of symbolism further develop the idea that isolation leads to
After reading Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, Fall of the House of Usher, the audience is introduced to some very abnormally behaved characters, one of them being the main character Roderick Usher. Throughout the entire story Roderick Usher shows many signs of abnormal behavior and mental illness. From a psychoanalytic perspective he shows many symptoms and signs of schizophrenia.
Imagery in "The Fall of the House of Usher" The description of the landscape in any story is important as it creates a vivid imagery of the scene and helps to develop the mood. Edgar Allan Poe is a master at using imagery to improve the effects of his stories. He tends to use the landscapes to symbolize some important aspect of the story. Also, he makes use of the landscape to produce a supernatural effect and to induce horror. In particular, Poe makes great use of these tools in "The Fall of the House of Usher." This story depends on the portrayal of the house itself to create a certain atmosphere and to relate to the Usher family. In "The Fall of the House of Usher," Edgar Allan Poe uses the landscape to develop an atmosphere of horror and to create corollary to the Usher family. Poe uses the life-like characteristics of the house as a device for giving the house a supernatural presence. The house is described as having somewhat supernatural characteristics. The windows appear to be "vacant" and "eye-like" (1462). The strange nature of the house is further explained as around the mansion, "…there hung an atmosphere peculiar to themselves and their immediate vicinity." (1462). This demonstrates that the house and its surroundings have an unusual and bizarre existence. Upon entering the house, the narrator views some objects, such as the tapestries on the walls and the trophies, fill him with a sense of superstition. He describes the trophies as "phantasmagoric" (1462). He further explains that the house and the contents were the cause of his feelings.
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.
Moreover at the visits end we discover that ‘the lights were flickering as if on the brink of going out; the patterned wallpaper seemed drained of color, a a shadow lay upon it shaped like a bulbous cloud or growth. Even the robust green of the carpeting had faded’ (76). Here the strangers visit seems to usher in the unnatural as the house and family now parallels those of the strangers past. However as the parents reactions of violent rage and worry we see that in actuality what has been transformed is their perspective of their house to show their less than perfect life. In ‘The Fall of the House of Usher' you can see a long and gradual transformation in usher. Foremost you have mention of how terribly altered he has become since his friend last saw him - markedly that he has become drawn, pale and cadaver-like - so much so as to ring douts to his identity as Roderick Usher (17). Then his sister Madeline dies, consequently ‘an observable change came over the features of the mental disorder of my friend. His ordinary manner vanished. His ordinary occupations were neglected or
The Fall of the House of Usher by Roderick Usher is a horror novel that engages and thrills the reader throughout the whole story. The story is told through a narrator. Poe however did not use the typical faceless, nameless narrator that readers are accustomed too. In a magnificent way of writing Poe made his narrator into a critical character of the story.
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.
He implies, “ While I gazed, this fissure rapidly widened-there came a fierce breath of the whirlwind-the entire orb of the satellite burst at once upon my sight-my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder-there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters-and the deep and dark tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the “ House of Usher.” (41) “ Since the two twins had a connection with each other, it was also connected to the house of Usher. The mental illness that was killing Roderick and Madeline was also killing the house. This explains why the view of the house was dark and dull because it was within these twins. The twins were also isolated in the world which is why the house is surrounded only by trees. The death of Roderick and Madeline caused the House of Usher to die with them. The death or the fallen collapse of the Usher’s home is an allusion to the death of Roderick and Madeline. The House of Usher is a reference to the twins because they connect with each