The story “The Fall of the House of Usher” tells how two childhood friends the narrator and Roderick Usher after many years Roderick writes to the narrator and ask for help because of his illness that runs through his family. The mansion that Roderick lives in has been there for generations that has been past down. The narrator is freaked out by the house because of the noises from the wind and the appearance of the mansion. Roderick’s illness is making him go insane as well as his sister Madeline Usher. As time went Madeline fainted and Roderick thought she had past away so he made her the burial as every other family member.…
By the author "The Tell Tale Heart," "The Raven" is similarly a long piece of writing, but not as long, and gloomy. Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart" is about how he becomes so insane and paranoid that he kills an old man just because his one creepy blue eye reminded him of a vulture. Thus, here, Poe's paranoia for birds and their negative symbolism is also evident. In the end, Poe cuts the man into pieces and hides him cunningly. When the police come, he seems perfectly innocent, but then Poe hallucinates and believes to hear the heart thudding. He ends up admitting his guilt to the police. This theme of realization of either reality or the truth is evident in The Raven also.…
The story begins with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for his help. Although Poe wrote this short story before the invention of modern psychological science, Roderick's condition can be described according to its terminology. They include a form of sensory overload known as hyperesthesia (hypersensitivity to light, sounds, smells, and tastes), hypochondria (an excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness), and acute anxiety. It is revealed that Roderick's twin sister, Madeline, is also ill and falls into cataleptic, deathlike trances. The narrator is impressed with Roderick's paintings, and attempts to cheer him by reading with him and listening to his improvised musical compositions on the guitar. Roderick sings "The Haunted Palace", then tells the narrator that he believes the house he lives in to be alive, and that this sentience arises from the arrangement of the masonry and vegetation surrounding it.…
In Edgar Allan Poe's “The Fall of the House of Usher” they are disturbed and irrational, this happens when Roddrick and the usher decide to bury madeline. For instance, “An effect which the physique of the grey walls and turrets and of the dim tarn in into which they all looked down had at length brought upon the morale of his existence. However Julio Cortazar's “House Taken Over” is similar because it uses the same kind of factors. This is proven when irene talked in her sleep and he would wake up. Therefore the two stories are two similar because they use the same factor in each story.…
Most Edgar Allen Poe stories contain a haunting and eerie tone and this short story proves no exception. “The Fall of the House of Usher” revolves around the narrator's childhood friend, Roderick Usher. Roderick suffers from an undisclosed mental illness and Roderick’s sister, Madeline, is near death, when introduced. When Madeline appears to be dead Roderick decides to bury her in an underground vault. The days following this incident Roderick’s normal countenance fades and he goes mad. Afterwards, Madeline escapes from the vault, kills Roderick and the house splits down the middle and sinks into the ground. In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, various critics argue that the story contains supernatural influences demonstrated…
When the raven is seen by the narrator he thinks it is a sign from his beloved Lenore. The narrator’s insanity leads him to believe that the raven is a sign that maybe Lenore is not gone. His obsession with the loss of Lenore makes…
Jonathan A. Cook states, “we find the narrator continuing in his attempt to derive more pleasure than pain from the scene of the house before him, for he speculates that "a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression" (Poe). In other words, the narrator is now seemingly attempting to transform the view of the House of Usher into a...picturesque [scene]” (Cook). Right from the beginning, when he had only had a glance at the house, the narrator felt himself compelled to the “dark side” that Roderick seems to be a part of. He went from seeing the house as dreary and gloomy to seeing it as extravagant and compelling. Roderick has contacted the narrator who was his childhood friend to comfort him because his sisters health is deteriorating. However, this may not be Roderick’s true reason for calling upon the narrator. There can be a possible darker background on why Roderick is so set on having him come to the house which can be his mission to bury his sister alive with the help of the…
The narrator spends the first paragraphs reflecting on his past with Roderick. Near the end of the story, Roderick calls the narrator a "madman"; "Madman! I tell you that she now stands within the door!"(Poe 404). However, he's the only one who managed to escape the real madness as the house crumbled. This point of view allows the reader to understand the meaning of the story; that is, the inner working of the human imagination. But, at the same time, cautions us about the destructive dangers it could have for the mind. In Roderick's case, his imagination suppresses the reality and has for only results madness and mental death.…
Character in Edgar Allan Poe stories seem to have characteristics like him such as sickness, craziness, and sadness. A large number of his family suffered from tuberculosis which might have influenced “The Masque of the Red Death” , which had a fictional plague. There was signs of craziness in Poe’s writing too, such as extreme OCD in “The Tell Tale Heart” and vivid hallucinations in “The Raven”, both of which Edgar had experienced at one point. In addition his writings like “ The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” included depression that he himself may have felt due to abandonment and death. Although Poe's writing was very dark, he created genres of literacy that are still popular…
Roderick demonstrates his mental vulnerability to the narrator as early as his letter requesting that he come stay at the Usher House. Regarding this strange and unsettling letter, the narrator says, “The MS. gave evidence of nervous agitation” (Poe 593). It is quite clear…
The interpretation of the book, "The Fall of the House of Usher," by Edgar Allan…
"Poe's Life Reflected in The Raven" Edgar Allen Poe is a well known writer and poet. He wrotemany tales of mystery and macabre. I once read his book, 'The Masqueof the Red Death'. The story was so heavy and dark that I felt scaredwhile reading the book. When I was about to read his poem 'TheRaven', the title already gave me the similar image of 'The Masque ofthe Red Death'. Individuals may have different ideas about raven.Some have a positive images on raven because it is considered to bringgood luck in some countries. They believe that ravens guide and helppeople findtheir destination. Others have a negative images on raven becauseraven is a symbol of death in some countries. I also have a bad imageabout raven. Even though I do not believe that raven brings death, Ido not feel good about it. Maybe that's why the title reminded me ofthe story 'The Masque of the Red Death'. Maybe it's not exactly thestory but the atmosphere of the story.There are many other birds which give us more affinity andpositive images such as eagle and bluebird. At first I wondered whyPoe used raven as his messinger. After reading the whole poem,however, I realized why he used raven. I believe that Poe wanted togive readers more reasons to wonder about what this bird means, whereit comes from, and what it might represent. Also, by using raven'sdark image he may want to convey the dreary atmosphere and mysterytone of the poem. It seems obvious that the raven symbolizes emotionalsufferings and portrays a vivid understanding of reality.The story of the poem is about a man (narrator) who lost hislover, Lenore. He is awfully depressed and lonely. I can assume hisemotional condition. He seems very tired and weak. Poe used the word'dreary' to creat the weak and weary atmosphere of scene in the firsttwo lines. I can empathize with his heartbreak because I myself haveexperienced the loss of beloved ones. The line 7 gives a specificinformation about the background. It is December, and the…
Let’s go back in time, when scary movies weren’t going to the theaters, but they were playing in your mind while writing a short story. Edgar Allen Poe, the author of Fall of the House of the Usher, which expresses a devious sort of plot throughout the short story. Poe’s short story is strong in the tone for terror as illustrated when analyzing the word choice, and figurative language.…
Although the stories were hard to understand, “The Fall of the House of Usher” more than “House Taken Over”, both of the authors did a great job at representing the genre of their story. The setting that Edgar Allen Poe presented in “The Fall of the House of Usher” was very bleak, in the short story Poe mentions things like…
Death. A strong topic, frequently but solemnly discussed. However, when I read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, I was immediately captivated by the new angle brought to my attention regarding death. While the topic of death is usually associated with either sympathy or horror, Poe succeeded in portraying a feeling caught between the two; and at the same time bringing forth new feelings I would never thought to consider regarding death. These feelings reflect a sorrow so deep it morphs into a psychological madness, a feeling that the pain death brings has ruined one forever. After analyzing this poem I came to the conclusion that Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” demonstrates that the sorrow the death of a loved one brings will stay with you forever. Poe communicated this theme through abstract language & connotation, tone, and allusion.…