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

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

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”

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