One of the most well-known writers of our time, “Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, on January 19, 1809, [being] the second of three children” (Bloom 149). After Poe’s mother passed and his father subsequently left, “the children [were then moved] to a different household of a Richmond merchant [by the name of] John Allan” (Bloom 149). Even though Poe was “not legally adopted, he is renamed as Edgar Allan” (Bloom 149). Through his lifetime of creative writing, Poe’s death remains a controversial discussion, nevertheless, Poe was and still is recognized for his great literary works ranging from symbolic gothic literature to poems. Poe’s “gothic story that has remained one of [his] most popular [creations], also known as, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” includes symbolisms that are not treasured memories for the characters, but rather …show more content…
The house was a representation of Roderick, as it was dark and its physical features were declining, just as his mental and physical health was; while he perished, the house collapsed to the ground, which represents the deceased Usher family generation. His phobia began to build as the death of his sister neared, making her an allegory of his mental torture and the reason for his foreshadowing of his own collapse. Madeline also, in a way, represents Poe’s wife and cousin, Virginia, since incest was possible at the Usher household. As Roderick becomes more afraid of the house and what it contains, it can be said he is also not content with his family tree, since he would be the last living Usher, after Madeline’s soon demise. The ultimate result of Roderick’s last breath is a symbol of him being forever imprisoned in his fear, more likely the House of Usher, and will unfortunately never live again to know the meaning of true
The Three Unique Characters of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher
Edgar Allan Poe is forever identified with his eerie poem “The Raven” with his many gothic horror stories, and as the father of the detective story (Werlock1). Poe’s stories are known in America and Europe. Most of Poe’s stories are Gothic, which he describes them as “arabesque” a term that he felt best described as flowery (Wilson52). Poe proclaimed his writing a reaction to typical literature of the day, which he called “the heresy of the Didactic” for its tendency to preach (Wilson52). Some of Poe’s stories are also comedies. “The Fall of the House of Usher” was a nevertheless typical of Poe’s short stories in that it presents narrator thrust into a psychologically intense situation in which otherworldly forces conspire to drive at least one of the characters insane (Wilson53).Edgar Allan Poe had a difficult life after dropping out of college. He became a short story writer, one of his stories being “The Fall of the House of Usher”. “The Fall of the House of Usher” uses literary elements of symbols and settings to further the theme of evil.
...e beginning of the story is revealed and is at his very door. Once Madeline appears in the room, Roderick dies and the Narrator runs out of the house to see the house itself sink into the ground. The mental torment for Roderick has ended with his death and the sinking of the House of Usher represents this symbolically.
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, a late 1800s American poet, writer, and critic best known for his gothic style poems and short stories, some of which include, “The Raven”, “The Tell Tale Heart”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and “Annabel Lee” captured and still captures the imagination and interest of readers nationwide. Through Poe’s use of descriptive imagery and symbolism, as well as repetition he conveys the overall theme of his poems and short stories.
Poe’s works are always twisted or disturbed. The endings are not always specific, which leaves it up to the reader to determine what they want to conclude about the story. In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Roderick and Madeline Usher were both slowly but surely dying in the House of Usher. While some may argue they were dying from a disease, it is more likely a haunting or a supernatural occurrence based on some details in the story. There cannot possibly be that many coincidences in such a short span of time such as the unexplained medical condition, heightened senses, their appearance, resurrection, etc. It is evident that these so-called coincidences happening to Roderick and Madeline support the argument that they may actually be vampires based upon the
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.
“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe was published in 1839. In it, the short story’s narrator visits a childhood friend, Roderick Usher. The narrator travels to the Usher house, where the story takes place. As in other Poe stories, the settings reflect a character. Throughout the short story, there are many instances when the Usher house and Thought, the castle in Roderick’s poem, reflect Roderick Usher and his family. In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the setting of the Usher house along with the setting in Roderick’s poem reflect Roderick Usher in appearances, relations with family, and physical existence.
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.
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.
The story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, chronicles the narrator’s descent into madness because of living and caring for Roderick Usher. Poe uses Usher as the method in which the narrator goes insane and Madeline as a way to reflect the narrator’s own mental state. Roderick’s own fear led him to wanting another to be with him to share his fear and state. At the end of the story everything that happened was a figment of the narrator’s imagination and an example of the effects Roderick had on the narrator. Furthermore the collapse of the house itself was symbolic of the narrator escaping the grasp of insanity. The effects the house, Roderick, and Madeline are implied throughout the story and the outcome is evident in the ending.
An author's use of literary devices creates mental images for the reader and keeps the reader interested throughout the narrative. In "The Fall of the House of Usher", Poe uses suspense, symbolism, and Gothic elements, such as dark atmospheres, because his purpose is to make the reader anticipate upcoming events in the story.
The story of “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe can be argumentative to the points of a parody or an actual exemplification to the fullest degree of Gothic fiction. Poe’s story provides sound and sufficient proof to support both of these points. Therefore, the story provides readers with logical examples for both a mockery and a profound statement of Gothic literature, through the setting, method of instilling fear, and the character relationships.
Literature plays an important role as a part of the cultural heritage. Thus, literature is the soul of our civilization, the center of our religion, and the machine we can travel back in the time of our old civilizations. In addition, literary works are able to take the readers beyond the limited experiences of readers’ lives. They show the lives of others. The literary works covey the social, political, and cultural backgrounds of the time when the stories or novels were written. The author of the book, “The Death of the Author,” Roland Barthes expresses that authors are always the agents of their times. According to the statement conducted by Roland, to get the fully understanding of the text, he recommends
Edgar Allan Poe was a great American writer. Poe was born on January 19th, 1809, and he died on October 7th, 1849. Poe’s life was filled with loss. Every woman he cared about passed away due to tuberculosis. Poe never had a good relationship with his fathers; both his biological father and his foster father abandoned Poe. Because of the terrible events in his life time Poe’s writing style was more dark and depressing than most writers. His life made his writings similar. There are many similarities in these three writings, “The Cask of Amontillado”, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and “The Fall of the House of Usher”.