Outside of the house the trees died, and the house surroundings became gloomy. The Ushers Roderick and Madeline lost their souls because the evil Ushers took over the house and everything changed. The Ushers now believe whatever happened in the past to their ancestors will happen to them The theme is that one must have physical and mental aspects of life to live. I came to conclusion that Roderick and Madeline are twins. They are basically one person together.
From the wasting disease of the lady Madeline, to her brother's nervous affliction, one discerns a tangible connection with their dark family home. As it weakens, so also do both brother and sister diminish, until both finally perish in a horrible demise no less fantastic then that of their house. And it is these singular features which have contrived to brand the tale upon the mind of the reader, and so inspired generations of both readers and writers. There can be no doubt that future readers will also be inspired by this tale of the horror and mysterious connections between a house and its inhabitants, “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
“The Fall of the House of Usher;” The horror of Roderick and Madeline An unnamed narrator approaches the house of Usher on a dark and dull day. The house in which the narrator is approaching is Roderick Usher his childhood friend’s house but the house is mysterious when he walks in. When the narrator walks into the house, the narrator can feel an evil energy. He could tell that the house is decaying in all sorts of places. There is a small crack from the roof to the ground in front on the building.
When you first read it, Theodore Roethke’s poem “Sale” seems like it is about a house that is empty and for sale. The metaphors, similes, connotation, and personification show the sadness of the house and the more important point. The poem is actually about the death of a grandfather and everything in the house seems to remind him of his grandfather and how his grandfather was an abusive man to him and the rest of his family. He is trying to let go lost memories. In the beginning of the poem Roethke writes, “-And an attic of horrors, a closet of fears.” (1.4).
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.
Poe describes the house as having “minute fungi overspread the whole exterior, hanging in a fine tangled web from the eaves… and a crumbling condition of the individual stones…woodwork which has rotted for years” (Poe 265). In this quote, Poe describes the decaying state of the house and seems to compare it to the person inside the house, Rodrick Usher. The windows resemble his eyes and the fungi is his hair. This is important because Poe expresses the Dark Romantic qualities of suffering in the human spirit. Just like the outside of the house is falling apart, so is Rodrick’s mental stability and sanity; Rodrick suffers inside the house and his mind is deteriorating and decaying.
The narrator observes the details of the house once more and finds that the house has mold growing all over it and the masonry of the building is decaying. He says, that " there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still perfect adaptation of parts, and the utterly porous, and evidently decayed condition of the individual stones". This observation suggests that perhaps something eerie is holding the house whole, otherwise it would have fallen to the ground long ago. With this description, the house is also represented as a witness of many fates and a long period of history. It is as a mute observer of the time, knowing more, than anybody who lives in there.
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.
From the very first paragraph, the weather surrounding the “House of Usher” does a spectacular job of building a dark and gloomy atmosphere. Poe also goes into detail about the Usher family history, which hints at inbreeding. This practice makes both of the Usher twins sick, leading to their death. Beyond that, the author uses a crack in the mansion to symbolize what inbreeding does to the family. It initially weakened the family with a tiny crack, but by the end of the story, the crack causes the whole house to crumble, coinciding with the collapse of the Usher name.
In the first paragraph of the story, the narrator describes the house as having “vacant eye-like windows”. He uses this description twice: first to show that the house has seen everything that has led to the fall of Usher, and again to emphasize the unidentified deception of the house. The narrator also describes his negative reaction to the house as a “hideous dropping off of the veil”. This statement describes what the house has revealed to the narrator, a disgusting and disappointing appearance. Poe also uses symbolism to compare the deterioration of the house to the fall of the Usher dynasty.