What do our two characters have in common but the simple fact that they are
loosing their minds. In the “Fall of the House of Usher” Poe tells the story of an
individual deeply plagued by a dieing sister and a long line of family mishaps. He is a
prisoner within his own mind, with no possibility of escape. As with “The Yellow
Wallpaper” Gilman tells of a woman deeply plagued by her own mind. She is drawn into
a reality of her own where she is the only one that can free herself. In being prisoners
these two main characters share a common theme and a sense of symbolism in the way
that they live and go about each day. The story lines though very different, each tell a
unique story of impressments and the deaths of ones own mind.
Imprisonment within ones self can be a terrible tragedy. Roderick in the “Fall of
the House of Usher” is a prisoner within his own mind. He is trapped in the house
because he feels as though that is the only place he belongs. In a dialog between the
narrator and Roderick we see the proof in this, “To an anomalous species of terror I
found him a bound slave. “I shall perish,” said he, “I must perish in this deplorable folly.
Thus, thus, and not otherwise, shall I be lost. I dread the events of the future, not in
themselves, but in their results. I shudder at the thought of any, even the most trivial,
incident, which may operate upon this intolerable agitation of soul”” (Poe 235). As with
the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, we see that she is a prisoner within her mind as
well. A small dialog between the narrator and her husband John tells us of her belief in
this very thought, “John is so pleased to see me improve! He laughed a lit...
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...racter is vastly
different yet they both share the similar notion of imprisonment within themselves.
Roderick fights battles within his brain as to whether his actions were right, and will the
resurrection of his sister actually take place. Will she be a dead, but living ghost of who
she was? And would she come after him? Yes and yes as you could see, she did come
back and she did come after Roderick. As for the old woman, she was a steadfast woman
strong and sure of everything and it was the yellow wallpaper that finally drove her to her
insanity. Both start sane and end insane. Yet each has a completely different way of
going about it. Both Roderick and the old lady battle with their own demons inside their
heads by the end of their own stories. Each a different battle yet in the end, Insanity is but
a common factor.
On the other hand, Madeline’s health deteriorates due to her being in a trance-like state. “…a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character…” (Poe 418). The illnesses that affect Roderick and his sister are thought to be the result of the Usher bloodline being kept ‘pure.’ “…that the stem of the Usher race, all time-honored as it was, had put forth, at no period, any enduring branch; in other words, that the entire family lay in direct line of descent…” (Poe 414). Not only has that been hinted to being the origin of their disorders, but it implies that Roderick and Madeline were in an incestuous relationship. Due to Madeline being the focal point of his life, Roderick exhibits more than the customary sibling love. Roderick even states that he and Madeline have a special connection to one another. “…that the
Roderick’s sister was also very ill with something that was never diagnosed. In the first few days of the narrator’s visit Ethelred died. She was put into a casket and then the two men carried her to a vault that was below the narrator’s room. Several night later the men noticed sound coming from the vault and went down to investigate. They began to read to each other again, but Roderick paid no attention.
At first sight, the two main characters appear completely different, but we soon realize that their lives are very linked.
The character Roderick Usher is extremely sick in the story. This change from human expectations of a healthy man is scary. Even a sick human is never described to be in as bad of a condition as Usher. Expectations are also broken with his sister, Madeline Usher. She shatters the expectation by going from dead to alive and being drastically different when she becomes undead. She is not how we think of a human when she comes back in both looks and attitude. She perfectly fits the description of a zombie, besides the eating flesh characteristic. One final and wonderful example of transformation scaring us in this story is the narrator’s sanity. As he is influenced by Roderick Usher, he slowly starts acting like his mentally ill friend. Not only does this change the narrator’s attitude, but the reader’s experience as well. This is because this is the only point of view a reader will get from this story. This is scary because the truth is hard to decipher. Is the narrator telling the truth, or has his madness wiped that aspect
Edgar Allan Poe is undoubtedly one of American Literature's legendary and prolific writers, and it is normal to say that his works touched on many aspects of the human psyche and personality. While he was no psychologist, he wrote about things that could evoke the reasons behind every person's character, whether flawed or not. Some would say his works are of the horror genre, succeeding in frightening his audience into trying to finish reading the book in one sitting, but making them think beyond the story and analyze it through imagery. The "Fall of the House of Usher" is one such tale that uses such frightening imagery that one can only sigh in relief that it is just a work of fiction. However, based on the biography of Poe, events that surrounded his life while he was working on his tales were enough to show the emotions he undoubtedly was experiencing during that time.
During the “The Fall House of Usher” I believe when “POE” first received the call to come visit his friend he was a little taken back because he had not spoken to him since grade school. So I believe at first he was reluctant to go. The narrator’s state of mind during this period would probably be confusion and disbelief, since he believed “Usher” was wealthy his vison of his home was wrong. The narrator described the house as a house of death. (702) the narrator has believed that Usher has spread illness throughout the house. Usher was not mental stable since he wish to preserve Lady Madeline body after death. He afterwards he wonder throughout the house aimlessly. (710)
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.
their social positions. Though both characters are polar-opposites they are gulled in the same way; by being baited into playing out identities
He describes his superstition one night, "I endeavored to believe that much, if not all of what I felt, was due to the phantasmagoric influence of the gloomy furniture of the room…" (1468). Hence, Poe makes use of the house to create a supernatural effect. Likewise, Poe describes the house to create a terrifying effect. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a horror story. In order to develop a mood to get the reader frightened, Poe must portray the setting of the story. The house is described initially by the narrator, who sees the image of the house as a skull or death’s head looming out of the dead. He is not sure what to think and comments of the properties of the old house: "What was it, I paused to think, what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the house of Usher?
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...
By giving insight into Roderick Usher’s life, Poe reveals how individuals can make themselves believe they are mentally ill. From the start of story, it is revealed that the narrator has been requested by Usher to help him through his “acute bodily illness” (18). The narrator immediately leaves
The first of the two Ushers to be introduced to the reader is Roderick. He is first seen lying upon a couch.
Beside his illness and his sister dieing, Roderick believes his condition is being controlled by the house. He call on the narrator a boyhood friend to in a last ditch effort to cheer his life up and give him someone to communicate with. The narrator arrives to a house of gloom, darkness and decaying furniture. He immediately is afraid for his life and how his friend can live a house of darkness. Several days past and it is filled with art discussions, guitar playing, and literature reading, all to keep Roderick's mind busy from the reality that he is losing his mind. The narrator and Roderick prematurely enconffined Madeline in a vault in a hope to alleviate his metal condition. She is either dead, in a coma, or a vampire. You don't know but Poe allows the reader to make there own assumptions.
The Fall of the House of Usher is a gothic short story by Edgar Allen Poe, perhaps the most iconic early american gothic writer. The Gothic is classed as a subcategory of Romanticism often depicting characters as Byronic heroes, delusional narrators as well as eerie, desolate and ghostly settings typically in haunted houses or otherwise old and decrepit buildings. Resulting in an ‘uncanny’ experience for the reader in accordance to Freud’s The Uncanny. In his writing Poe uses numerous common themes, motifs and structures that make his work easily recognisable leading to his stories being easily classified of being of the gothic.
Edgar Allan Poe once said, “The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” In the story of The Fall of the House of Usher, the author, Edgar Allan Poe portrays his audience with a sense of darkness and death through the literary techniques he implies.