ipl-logo

How Fear Alters Our Perception In The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe

2245 Words9 Pages

Denni Alvito Maulana 26022359334 Prose and Poetry Final Exam How Fear Alters Our Perception in The House of Usher Introduction The legendary author that popularized gothic horror in the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe, wrote many notable works that are still being discussed to this day. “The Fall of The House of Usher” was one of his greatest short stories that tells about The Usher family and their seemingly cursed house. Most of Poe’s stories and poems contain information and hints to his miserable and sad life. The Fall of The House of Usher in particular is inspired by Poe’s child bride as well as his first cousin, Virginia Clemm. Poe employed gothic style writing in the story, such as the supernatural element and traditional gothic settings …show more content…

However, readers can tell a great deal about him through his actions and thoughts. While he and Usher has never spoken to each other in a long time, he cares enough about him to travel a great distance to meet Roderick. The narrator also greatly concern for Roderick’s condition, evident by him trying to help Roderick’s mental state after Madeline’s death “and during this period I was busied in earnest endeavors to alleviate the melancholy of my friend”. (p.11). Despite being friends since they were children, the narrator does not know much about Roderick “we had been even intimate associates, yet I really knew little of my friend” (p. 4). One instance is when they finally buried Madeline, he only just knew that Roderick and Madeline were twins through the brother’s murmuring “murmured out some few words from which I learned that the deceased and himself had been twins” …show more content…

3). However, it was not until he meets his old friend that he started to question his own sanity, as Roderick’s attitude seems to change dramatically from one to another “exaggeration of the prevailing character of these features, and of the expression they were wont to convey, lay so much of change that I doubted to whom I spoke. “ (p.8) and how Roderick was suggesting insane ideas about how the house has a mind of it’s own “an influence whose supposititious force was conveyed in terms too shadowy here to be re-stated—an influence which some peculiarities in the mere form and substance of his family mansion had“ (p.10

Show More
Related
442 Words | 2 Pages

Edgar Allan Poe used fear to attract his readers into his gothic world. Poe realized that fear intrigues as well as frightens his readers. In The Fall of the House of Usher, The story begins with Roderick Usher already suffering from a severe mental illness, which steadily grows worse as the tale progresses. Roderick dreads the unknowable; he fears precisely what cannot be rationally feared. He fears for no apparent reason.

Read More
1224 Words | 5 Pages

The motion of his body, too, was at variance with this idea—for he rocked from side to side with a gentle yet constant and uniform sway.” (Poe, 23) Roderick is behaving this way because he knows his sister has returned from what would have been her final resting place. In Berenice, Egaeus’ describes his cousin in their younger years as “...agile, graceful, and overflowing with energy…” with “gorgeous yet fantastic beauty.” (Poe)

Read More
785 Words | 4 Pages

In the reading, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Edgar Allen Poe uses many intricate metaphors to create a feeling of unsettlety. When the narrator speaks with his friend Roderick, he is told about the very fate of Roderick Usher,

Read More
1005 Words | 5 Pages

Poe is a fan of personification, while Irving would rather use more satire in his stories. The narrator of “The Fall of the House of Usher” helps Roderick Usher through his malady through multiple activities, one of which includes listening to him read a poem called “The Haunted Palace”. In which, a “Radiant palace–reared its head” (Poe Paragraph 19). This palace is ruled by a king that is killed and taken over, representing the taking-over of Roderick Usher’s mind. This foreshadowing and the personification of the palace also builds up suspense.

Read More
1032 Words | 5 Pages

Poe not only uses the house to display mood, but he also uses personification to describe the dimension of the house to help the reader elaborate on the house and the fear it brings to the narrator's eyes. When the narrator arrives at the house of his childhood friend, he becomes frightened. He explains the house has “vacant eyelike windows” and '' an utter depression of the soul”(paragraph 1), making the house out to be one of a human face consisting of a sorrowful soul that houses are not capable of having. The logic of the narrator's perspective helps the “mere house, and the simple landscape features”(paragraph 1) show the reader the uneasiness one feels only by appearance. Additionally, the narrator feels uneasy while “[he] listened, as if in a dream, to the wild improvisations of [Roderick's] speaking guitar”(paragraph 15).

Read More
375 Words | 2 Pages

Imagery in Decay Topic: How Poe uses Imagery to further the plot in The Fall of the House of Usher Tentative thesis: Through the use of imagery Edgar Allan Poe shows a decrepit, dying family; by portraying the decay of both the house and those who reside in it Poe sets up the final fate of the two main characters in his short story. Topic sentence 1: Throughout the short story Poe uses the landscape and the very trees to give the house a supernatural life and induce horror in the reader.

Read More
886 Words | 4 Pages

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. In "The Fall of the house of Usher," Edgar Allan Poe creates suspense and fear in the reader. He also tries to convince the reader not to let fear overcome him.

Read More
993 Words | 4 Pages

The stories in the genre of gothic fiction has been a favorite genre of countless since its popularity increased with the stories written by Edgar Allen Poe. The dark and mysterious elements of the story allure readers to the lines and evoke strong emotions. What truly makes a gothic story so appealing to a reader? For numerous it is the different descriptions of the setting and for others it may even be the twisted mind of the unnamed narrator. Whatever it may be, gothic stories continuously pull different readers to its story.

Read More
1762 Words | 8 Pages

Jacob D. Goldman ELA Block 3 Literary Essay 23 January 2023 Comparative Essay “Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality”. Once said, Edgar Allan Poe. Today I will be talking about two of his amazing stories. The Fall of The House Of Usher, and The Tell-Tale Heart. In The Fall of The House of Usher Poe creates a thrilling story by making the narrator trapped mysteriously by the lure of Roderick's (His old childhood friend’s) attraction, and he cannot escape until the house collapses completely.

Read More
1669 Words | 7 Pages

“ The Fall of the House of Usher “ by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story about a man named Roderick Usher who initiates some events such as evoking his friend The Narrator as a protagonist to the dreadful mansion. The images such as the house and gothic ambience are used to reinforce the idea of giving the mystery to the reader. Edgar Allan Poe uses gothic elements to show how they affect the atmosphere and the characters. In the beginning , the gothic atmosphere of the house is indicated with terrifying images such as “ dull, dark and soundless ” that the feeling of horror vaccinated into reader by the thoughts of the narrator.

Read More
1500 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout “The Fall of the House of Usher,” metaphor and symbolism are heavily relied upon to express the extent of the madness that resides within the Usher House. In the short story, Poe creates a symbolic parallel between the art and stories that are seen and told. It can be implied, from a painting, in the Usher house, that Lady Madeline Usher is still alive. The reader can also imply that there is a hidden tunnel or room under the entirety of the house. “The Mad Trist” indirectly tells the reader of Lady Madeline’s escape from the tomb she had been placed in.

Read More
388 Words | 2 Pages

The reader and the narrator are in the same boat when it comes down to Roderick’s. Because the narrator apparently does not know much about Roderick’s he basically only knows about his twin sister. The story begins out

Read More
423 Words | 2 Pages

In these stories, he used several types of gothic literature technique, like Buried alive in The black cat, and the Fall of the House Of Usher. Unreliable narrator in the Black Cat, and setting in The house of Usher. Lets elaborate on that shall we?

Read More
258 Words | 2 Pages

The narrator visits the estate of Roderick Usher, one of his intimate boyhood companions, due to a letter requesting his company. Upon his visit, the narrator observes that the house seems to have absorbed an evil and the nightmarish atmosphere from the decaying trees and the murky ponds. After entering, the narrator is mysteriously trapped by the interest of the master of the House of Usher, Roderick. In “The Fall of the House of Usher” it states, “and during this period I was busied in earnest endeavours to alleviate the melancholy of my friend,” (Poe 6). Despite the frightful atmosphere, the narrator finds himself intrigued by Roderick and entrapped in the House of Usher.

Read More
923 Words | 4 Pages

It becomes impossible to differentiate the fiction from reality. Roderick’s body language echoes the flow of the narrative in this passage “[rocking] from side to side with a gentle yet constant and uniform sway” in the same way the narrator fades in and out of reality. Again, Roderick reverts to childlike behavior to protect himself from his fear.

Read More

More about How Fear Alters Our Perception In The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe

Related Topics

Open Document