Settings are the fundamental element that create the allure of fear; without the presence of a setting, a reader's’ curiosity will begin to fade away. In the short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” the author, Edgar Allan Poe, demonstrates how our settings can become a part of us and show our subconscious emotions. This is also a critical element in the short story, “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortázar. This short story demonstrates that our homes can sometimes overtake us if we are left vulnerable. Both authors create a disturbing atmosphere in order to construct a sense of fear for readers; however, their writing contain elements that differ. Both short stories have similar descriptions of their settings. In the beginning of the short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the narrator arrived at his childhood friend Usher’s house, upon his pleading request …show more content…
After entering the home the narrator begins to say, “The room in which I found myself was very large and lofty. The windows were long, narrow, and pointed, and at so vast a distance from the black oaken floor as to be altogether inaccessible from within.”(Poe 5) This quote allows readers to have an impression that this home is large and roomy. This trait of the setting can also be found in “House Taken Over,” when the narrator states, “...apart from its being old and spacious (in a day when old houses go down for a profitable auction of their construction materials)” (Cortazar 1). Both text use this abundance of space in their settings to create their unusual plots and thus intriguing the readers. With this abundance of space, the authors also create an eerie silence to go along with it. In ‘The Fall of the House of Usher,” the narrator begins the story saying “During the whole of a dull,
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
I believe the author choose a different kind of narrator to make the story seem more gloomy and mysterious, while also giving the reader the feeling of helplessness and claustrophobia. He did this to use the unity of effect to make the story more dark and mysterious. He achieved this effect by making the narrator more sane and giving us an outsider perspective of the House of Usher.
When writing a story that is meant to scare the reader, authors use a variety of different literary elements to intensify fear. This is apparent in the stories “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “beware: do not read this poem,” and “House Taken Over”. It is shown through transformation in the character, setting, and sometimes even the story or poem itself, adding to the scariness that the reader feels when reading it. While there are some examples of transformation not being scary or not playing a role in stories meant to scare us, transformation plays a crucial role in making the reader of these stories scared.
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.
Edgar Allan Poe 's "The Fall of the House of Usher," was masterpiece of the most tragic love story ever told. The tale leads to unexpected tragic death for the Usher and their home. The Fall of the House of Usher had a mixed natural and superstitions, which proclaim, "Are we haunted in this world, or do we haunted ourselves?" (Howarth, L., William, Poe 's Tale, Pg. 9) While Leonard W. Engel 's "The Enclosure Motif in "The Fall of the House of Usher," which intensifies the surrounding of the house, twins, and narrator 's journey. (Engel, Pg. 182) As stated by I.M. Walker in "The Fall of the House of Usher": "A Rational
When comparing the stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” written by Edgar Allen Poe and “The House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar. The setting in both are in a creepy, big house with a gothic style to it, which makes it more creepy. Both of the authors were a dark and demented type. Both in their stories have a big, empty house with a few people in them, with either kids that are living alone or with grandparents. Also both stories have a sense of having something under their sleeve to hit us with.
Both Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” have similar settings because they both take place in large, scary houses. However, in Poe’s story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the house is much more eerie as with the description given of this house, it gives off a mood of incoming misfortune. By contrast, in Cortazar’s story, the larger parts of the house, like the dining room and the library, is blocked off away where the characters of this story mainly stays. This gives the house a mysterious vibe, because if anything happens in the blocked off part of the house, the event is not know specifically, opening it up for interpretation.
In the short stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe and “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortázar they both express a sense of fear taking place in and around the two houses. In “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a short story where the narrator gets invited by his friend Usher to come and help him with his mental issues and Usher buries his twin sister thinking she was dead, in reality she wasn’t. In “House Taken Over” a magical creature pushes Irene and the narrator out of half of their house leaving them to live in only half of their house and by the end of the story, they are kicked completely out. There are many similarities between these two, as well as a few differences. “The Fall of the House of Usher” falls in the
Poe begins his with a description of the setting. It was a “..dull, dark, and soundless day..” (Poe, 90). The narrator explains that he is on his way to an old friend 's house, Roderick and Madeline Usher, who both live in the mansion. He then explains what he sees at first glimpse of the mansion. “I looked upon the scene before me – the bleak walls, vacant eye-like windows, rank sedges, and a few white trunks of decayed trees..” (90). The setting is dark and full of potential evil; making it a romantic
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.
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” the settings are similar because they can both be described as dark in some passages, and ultimately alluring. However in Poe’s “The Fall of the House,” the setting is revolving around the climax, so it is all very dramatic and highly detailed, almost ominous. In contrast, Cortazar’s setting is slightly more laid back, things take place in time and it is all very dreamlike.
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.
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.
The Depiction of Fear in The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
The first reason that the paragraph is successful is the fact that it sets the key element of the story, the tone. When reading the introduction, the narrator’s description of the house paints a crystal clear image in one’s mind of horror, dread, death, and decay. The reader is overwhelmed with a sense of evil. However, if one was to read deeper than what is on the surface, they may be surprised. As I mentioned earlier, in Poe’s time a family was often referred to as a house. Keeping this in mind while reading the opening paragraphs, the reader can very well wonder if our narrator is referring to the building in which the Ushers live in or the family that occupies it.