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“I must perish in this deplorable folly” (Poe par. 11). With this statement, Roderick Usher seems to be both accepting and sealing his fate. The “House of Usher” was once a mighty and well-respected family, but it has now dwindled down into almost nonexistence. Twins Roderick and Madeline are all that survive of this once proud race. A summons from Roderick to the unknown narrator of this story, a childhood friend of Roderick, sets the events in motion. He speaks of an illness and mental disorder which has become a great burden on him, and he wishes for the company of his dearest friend to help comfort and give “some alleviation of his malady” (Poe par. 2). As the narrator arrives at the family mansion, he is struck by the aura of “gloom” of which the house is surrounded by. He is then ushered into Roderick’s study where he first sets eyes on the cruel sight of what his childhood friend has become. He describes the once young and vital appearance of Roderick now like that of a “lost drunkard… [an] irreclaimable eater of opium” (Poe par. 9) and even doubts who he is truly speaking to briefly due to such a drastic physical difference. The two begin to fill their time with activities together such as reading, painting, and even composing music. Days of this pass until, suddenly, Roderick informs the narrator that his twin sister had finally been taken by the illness that plagued her for some time and asks his assistance in the entombment of her body in the lower vault of the mansion until a proper burial could be preformed. As days pass, following the entombment of Madeline, Roderick’s mental stability begins to deteriorate as he begins to roam around the rooms of the mansion listening to what the narrator describes as “some imagina...
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...family blurred until it became known as a single entity. This connection and the gradual widening of the crack that spanned the house from head to root, lead to its ironic and violent end. With the death of the final two remaining Ushers, leaving no one to carry on the line, the “House” is condemned to be buried and rot away until it becomes like the memory of the once great Ushers, forgotten.
Works Cited
Carpenter, David A. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Masterplots II: Short Story Series. 10 vols. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena: Salem, 1986. Print.
“Incest.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 6. (2009): 1. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 April 2010.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Fall of the House of Usher. Bartleby. Web. 24 March 2010.
Wilson, Kathleen. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Short Stories for Students. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 54-66. Print.
Roderick and the fall of the house of usher have a deceiving appearance. Poe introduces “In this was much that reminded me of the specious totality of woodwork which has rotted for long years in some neglected vault with no disturbance from the breath of the external air” (312). After meeting Roderick and going inside the house, which appear to be normal, it is revealed that the interior is deteriorated. This home is void of others existence, excepting Roderick and Lady Madeleine. He has “A cadaverous of complexion, an eye large,liquid and luminous beyond comparison, lips somewhat thin and very pallid.” (363). It appears to the readers that Roderick has lost his soul due to his ghostly appearance. His illness has taken a toll on his outward appearance.”The ‘House Of Usher’ an appellation which seemed to include… both the family and the family mansion” (311). The house of usher reflects what is going on within the family. Craziness and neglection engulf Roderick’s as much the house. Roderick’s mental illness and the house are
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
Poe, Edgar A, and David D. Galloway. The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings:
In Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the three characters are the unknown narrator, the narrators old time friend Roderick Usher, and Roderick’s sister Madeline Usher. The three characters are unique people with distinct characteristics, but they are tied together by the same type of “mental disorder”. They all suffer from insanity but they each respond to it differently. Roderick and his sister seem to have a spiritual attatchment, and the narrator begins to get sucked into it.
In the story, “The Fall of The House of Usher”, there are many mysterious happenings that go on throughout the story between the characters Roderick Usher and the narrator. Throughout the story, Edgar Allan Poe uses themes such as madness and insanity to connect the house back to Roderick Usher. In the “Fall of The House of Usher”, the narrator goes through many different experiences when arriving to the house. The narrator’s experiences start out as almost unnoticeable in the beginning, turn into bigger ones right before his eyes, and end up becoming problems that cause deterioration of the mind and the house before the narrator even decides to do anything helpful for Roderick and his mental illness. In “The Fall of The House of Usher”, Edgar Allan Poe uses comparison between the physical House of Usher and the family of Usher to describe that looks can be deceiving and that little problems can lead to later downfall.
To begin with, one of the most important components in Poe’s writings were his characters. The appearance, demeanor, and emotions that are used to describe them come out as unusual and grotesque. In this short story, the most prominent of these characters is protagonist, Roderick Usher. Once young and handsome, Usher’s features were terribly altered, he now
Patterson, Arthur. "The Fall of the House of Usher." Notes presentation of the Folio Club 1996 Online. Google Online. Retrived on April 5th 2005. http://www.watershedonline.ca/literature/Poe/pousher.html.
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
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.
Approaching the decaying old house, the narrator was struck by an overwhelming sense of gloom that seemed to envelop the estate. The very sight of the manor caused within him "an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an unredeemed dreariness." He remembers Roderick's family was noted for the fact that no new branch of the family had ever been generated. For centuries, the title of the estate had passed directly from father to son, so that the term "House of Usher" had come to refer both to the family and to the mansion.
When an individual is disconnected from the real world, it can be difficult to find a distinction between imagination and reality. In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Roderick Usher is isolated from the rest of the world and is driven to the edge of madness. The house, the family, and Usher himself are destroyed by isolation.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The American Tradition in Literature. Ed. George Perkins and Barbara Perkins. ___________________: McGraw Hill., 2008. Pg-pg. Print.
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.
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.
No matter what your interpretation of “The Fall of the House of Usher” may be, it is almost impossible to deny it as one of the greatest short stories ever written. It stands as one of the many great testaments to the literary genius of Edgar Allan Poe and helps affirm his high ranking of American history.