Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay

394 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary analysis of the fall of the house of usher

The “Fall of the House of Usher” can be portrayed as a comprehensive account of the confusion and dissipation of a person’s personality. Beyond that, the story of the Fall of House of Usher is full of symbols. The first symbol is the House of Usher or the Mansion which manifests the deterioration or decline of the Usher family health and the disintegrating house reflects the actual fall of the Usher family. Roderick represents the mind or the intellect, whereas the portion of personality, the senses is represented by Madeline. Roderick wrote to an old classmate and friend and spoke of “acute bodily illness ---of mental disorder which oppressed him” (Poe 1). In addition to the fissure, the house is infested with fungi. “The belief, however, was connected with the gray stones of the home of his forefathers. The conditions of the sentience had been here, he imagined, fulfilled in the method of collocation of these stones --in the order of their arrangement, as well as in that of the many fungi which overspread them, and of the decayed trees which stood around --above …show more content…

It symbolizes the split of the twin personalities of the surviving Ushers, signifying the destruction of the family and the house. Roderick is the intellect or the mind, whereas Madeline is the sensory senses. At a point in the story, Roderick attempts to separate itself from its’ more physically dependent twin, Madeline. This is evident in Roderick’s desire to utilize his own senses as well as by his premature burial of Madeline. “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 dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the House of Usher" (Poe

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Poe's Fall Of The House Of Usher And Where Is Here?

    400 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • How Does Poe Create Suspense In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    The house of Usher is a major source for symbolism, however, the house is not the only symbol in this story. Lady Madeline is as well a significant symbol in the story ; as her death causes Roderick to become ''so terribly altered '' and aged. Roderick's alliteration and Lady Madeline's death are a symbolization of the two twins being connected ; meaning that one ca not live with out the other. Poe uses all these different symbols to give deeper meaning to surrounding objects and people in his literature. along with

    Read More

  • Theme Of Transformation In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Jekylo And Hyde And The Theme Of Duality

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    An unnamed narrator visits his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher. The duality is expressed mainly between Roderick and his sister Madeline. The siblings have a rather bizarre relationship and are as close as twins. After Madeline collapses he starts to mimic her behavior. “The disease of the lady Madeline had long baffled the skill of her physicians. A settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character were the unusual diagnosis.” Madeline gave another reason not to be buried. It was possible with her condition to be mistaken as dead when really she was alive. “I know not how it was—but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit.” This quote shows Roderick’s suggestion that the house has its own intelligence. “To an anomalous species of terror I found him a bounden slave.” Roderick is now afraid and lost and terror over rules

    Read More

  • The Fall of the House of Usher

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Raven And The Fall Of The House Of Usher

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    “I know not how it was – but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit” (308). Without even entering the house, the narrator can sense something is wrong just by the looks of the home. The depressingly drab weather along with the unkempt appearance of the old house adds to the ominous vibe the narrator is experiencing. The house’s appearance is not only haunting, but also the house, to the narrator, seems to be sickly. This personification is based upon the run-down appearance of the house. The house has a large crack, ranging from the roof all the way down to the bottom of the home. This crack shows the reader than the foundation of the house is weak and could fall apart any moment. The connection between the house and the characters living within, Roderick and his sister, Madeline, is first shown through Roderick’s letter to the narrator. In his letter, Roderick explains to his old friend that he hasn’t been himself lately. Roderick indeed has been sickly for the past few months. Roderick’s senses are all on edge and he is trapped in his dull, lifeless, and mysterious home. The home in which Roderick lives in represents he and his sister quite well. The home is quiet,

    Read More

  • Examples Of Allusions In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story “The Fall of the House of Usher” the narrator is the main character who mainly speaks throughout the story, in the first sentence of the story he describes the day being “dull, dark, and soundless” as he is on his way to the House of Usher (McMichael). This could symbolize, and foreshadow, the dark secrets and doom he will soon face when he arrives to the house. As the narrator also describes the day being “dark as the clouds are hanging oppressively low in the sky” (McMichael), in the first sentence of the story I analyze this as a psychological allusion of him feeling depression and perhaps even anxious as he approaches the House of Usher not knowing of the things he will learn about Roderick Usher and the things he will soon experience. Throughout the story we begin to learn that Roderick Usher is suffering from some type of mental illness. The story “The Fall of the House of Usher” has many psychological and symbolic allusions that lead the reader to finding out about the mental illness or bipolar

    Read More

  • Reliability of Usher's Perspective on Madeline

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe chooses to reveal Lady Madeline’s illness through the perspective of her brother, Roderick, rather than giving readers an unbiased perspective of her illness. Considering that the only description of Madeline’s madness comes from Roderick, who himself had a compromised mental state, one must question the reliability of Roderick’s description of Madeline’s illness. One must closely examine the nature of Roderick’s mental illness in order to fully understand his inability to comprehend the reality of Madeline’s illness. After carefully analyzing Roderick’s hypochondria and Madeline’s escape, one will conclude that the Roderick Usher’s mental state renders his testimony throughout the story an unreliable depiction of reality. Therefore, his discernment of Lady Madeline’s illness cannot be relied upon; putting all of Roderick’s claims throughout the story into question.

    Read More

  • The House Of Usher Response

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the first things to note is how the house is used to represent the state of Roderick’s mind and physical appearance. The house is in disrepair and has a sinister feel to it. This is what the narrator saw and felt when he was reunited with his old friend. He felt the chill run down his spine as if something was wrong. He could sense fear in the air. Also, Roderick feels trapped inside his own house, as he is trapped inside his own mind. His mind, like the house, is...

    Read More

  • Poe's Fall of The House of Usher - The House and its Inhabitants

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe presents the history of the end of an illustrious family.  As with many of Poe’s stories, setting and mood contribute greatly to the overall tale.  Poe’s descriptions of the house itself as well as the inhabitants thereof invoke in the reader a feeling of gloom and terror.  This can best be seen first by considering Poe’s description of the house and then comparing it to his description of its inhabitants, Roderick and Madeline Usher.

    Read More

  • The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Fall of the House of Usher”: Under the Influence of Supernatural Activity The House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe is an American Romanticism story of horror because he uses death as a key idea for most of his pieces of writing. When he writes his poems he uses symbols, point of view, and also personification as a key element in order to describe supernatural sources in The House of Usher. Poe uses Madeline as the main source of supernatural activity occurring in the house, and Roderick goes insane while his old childhood friend assists not becoming aware of the strange and weird atmosphere.

    Read More

  • The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Fall of the House of Usher, the relationship between the House and Roderick Usher is relative because the interior of the house symbolizes his slow, dilapidating mind. We can clearly see evidence of this by the narrator’s use of words describing the lurid atmosphere of the house. The worn and tattered furniture can describe the wearing down of Usher’s mind due to stress. Later in the story, the narrator realizes that he is unable to help Roderick with his condition because he too finds himself being affected by the house’s atmosphere. He finds that the terrifying appearance of the house is a distraction because it is constantly making him feel nervous.

    Read More

  • Poe's Fall of The House of Usher Essays: A Perspective

    448 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Fall of The House of Usher is an eerie, imaginative story. The reader is captured by the twisted reality. Many things in the story are unclear to the reader; but no less interesting. For instance, even the conclusion of the story lends it self to argument. Did the house of Usher truly "fall"? Or, is this event simply symbolism? In either case, it makes a dramatic conclusion. Also dramatic is the development of the actual house. It seems to take on a life of its own. The house is painted with mystery. The narrator himself comments on the discerning properties of the aged house; "What was it, I paused to think, what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the house of Usher" (54)? The house is further developed in the narrator's references to the house. "...In this mansion of gloom" (55). Even the surroundings serve the purpose. The narrator describes the landscape surrounding as having, "... an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn a pestilent and mystic vapor, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and leaden hued" (55). This fantastic imagery sets the mood of the twisted events. Roderick Usher complements the forbidding surroundings terrifically. His temperament is declining and he seems incessantly agitated and nervous. And, as it turns out, Roderick's fears are valid. For soon enough, before his weakening eyes, stands the Lady Madeline of Usher. This shocking twist in the story is developed through the book that the narrator is reading. The last line that he reads is, "Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door" (66)! Without suspecting such an event, the reader soon finds Lady Madeline actually standing at the door. She is described as having, "...blood on her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame" (66). This line not only induces terror but invites debate. Upon seeing the woman the reader has to consider the cause of her death.

    Read More

  • The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    As soon as Madeline appears to have died, Roderick buries her securely in a vault, and this perhaps reflects the ill person’s subconscious emotional aversion to the sight of himself. Of course, one would also want to avoid one’s self-reflection being dissected and studied by others and this would be consistent with Roderick’s stated intent in burying her so securely. However, one’s self-reflection cannot but exist, and it comes to pursue Roderick. Emotionally, overcome by the sight of himself, the ill person ceases introspection, but this is a surrender of one’s humanity to destruction. And thus, the House of Usher falls.

    Read More

  • Who Is The Narrator In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe, an unnamed narrator arrives at the House of Usher, a very creepy mansion owned by his old friend Roderick Usher. Roderick has been sick lately and wrote to his friend, the narrator, asking for help. The narrator explains that Roderick and his sister are the last of the Usher bloodline then heads inside to see his friend. Roderick is suffering from an "acuteness of the senses," he feels that he will die of the fear he feels. He attributes part of his illness to the fact that his sister, Madeline, suffers from catalepsy and ends up dead. At least that’s what we think. Of course, because of her catalepsy, she might just look like she’s dead. The narrator helps Rodrick entomb her

    Read More

More about Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay

Open Document