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The fall of the house of usher fear
Essays on the fall of the house of usher by edgar allan poe
Imagery in the fall of the house of usher
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The human imagination is a powerful tool that sometimes is very hard to control, if it can be controlled at all. In The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe uses imagination as a key tool to make the story come to life.
The human imagination is portrayed as a wild and uncontrollable being. This can be shown throughout the story by loss of control of his mental state by Roderick Usher, and by the narrator’s belief that he too is being infected by the house’s tormenting nature. I believe that Edgar Allan Poe personifies the mental concept of the imagination because it seems that throughout the story, the main culprit to the cause of madness is the torment of the person by his own imagination. The unnamed narrator is persistently reminding the reader that things are far worse than he can actually explain, therefore causing the reader to use his own imagination to conjure up something far worse.
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.
In the story, there seems to be a supernatural, parasitic relationship between the house and Usher himself. The house seems to be feeding off of Usher’s fears and concerns...
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...he realizes is getting worse. Lady Madeline can represent the stable part of him that he wishes to preserve. This is shown by Roderick Usher burying Lady Madeline alive within the house. She can also represent the painful memories he is unable to let go of. The narrator could represent a part of him that has come to terms with both other parts, a middle man. Edgar Allan Poe uses excellent descriptive words to paint pictures of his past life, his feelings that he shows, and the feelings he chooses to hide. But above all, Edgar Allan Poe uses his unique writing style to show how the human mind and the human imagination are both powerful tools that are very difficult to understand, control, and utilize.
Works Cited
“The Fall of the House of Usher.” Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience. Penguin ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.
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
Along with being an excellent potrail of suspense the ''dull, dark and soundless...decaying house'' also substitutes as a symbol of Roderick Usher's family legacy slowly vanishing as he shall too. Though the house of Usher could contain multiple symbols on its exterior alone, the lands as well contain hidden meanings such as the ''ghastly river...moat'' that surrounds the grounds. this gives off the hidden idea that much like Roderick, the narrator is trapped within deceiving and oppressive walls of the house of Usher. The house has become a beacon of symbolism as even in the final scene the house sinks into ''black and lurid tarn'' symbolizing that much like Roderick Usher, and the Usher legacy, the house shall become nothing more than a memory. Poe uses these symbols as to show the reader the severity of Roderick Usher's situations before Poe even introduces him.
...ng gust—but then without those doors there did stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher. There was blood upon her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame” (14). Poe portrays Madeline to be monstrous by making her appear in the middle of a storm covered in blood. This description of her adds to the story because it makes her seem more dangerous, and more revengeful.
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.
The narrator in "the House of Usher" was actually the friend of the main character of the story, Roderick Usher, who lived with his sister in the house and both had mental sicknesses that had ultimately led to their deaths. While the house was not actually haunted, as horror stories usually are made up of, there was a permeating sense of decay about the building that continued up to the two owners of the house, with their depression and gloom, and the sister's ability to withdraw in a catatonic state that would make anyone unaware of the condition conclude that the person had died. The house, which was the setting of the story, was not bathed in light or warmth; it was either always dark, or gloomy, "melancholy" was the word frequently used; and the reference to the crack in the wall was to show that it was on its way to destruction; all it needed wa...
The human condition, a concept prevalent in several pieces of literature, encompasses the emotional, moral, questioning, and observant nature of humans. This concept is often used by authors to emphasize the characteristics that set humans apart from other living creature. Edgar Allan Poe’s dark fantasy piece “The Fall of the House of Usher” perfectly depicts the human condition as it conveys how fear and over-thinking can control one’s actions and life.
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 is notorious for his use of imagery. As he begins his account of his reunion with Roderick Usher in “The Fall of the House of Ushe...
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 beginning of the story, with an extensive and vivid description of the house and its vicinity, Poe prepares the scene for a dreadful, bleak, and distempered tale. The setting not only affects Poe’s narration of the story but influences the characters and their actions as well. Both the narrator and his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, question w...
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.
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.
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 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.
A Critical Analysis of The Fall of the House of Usher There are three significant characters in this story: the narrator, whose name is never given, Roderick and Madeline Usher. The narrator is a boyhood friend of Roderick Usher. He has not seen Roderick since they were children; however, because of an urgent letter that the narrator has received from Roderick which was requesting his assistance in alleviating his malady, the narrator makes the long journey to the House of Usher. Roderick and Madeline Usher are the sole, remaining members of the long, time-honored Usher race. This might suggest incestuous relationships throughout the Usher family tree.