American Literature

American Literature

Roderick Usher is the owner of the mansion thus the name “The House of Usher.” However, it also gives the actual name of the mansion. The House of Usher is the first “character” that the reader comes across in the story. It is described as if it were human. For example, the windows are said to be “eye-like” (Poe, 2011).     “The Fall of the House of Usher” brings out two meanings. One, the fall of the house itself and two, the death of Roderick and Madeline who seem to be the only people who were living in the house. Being of Gothic genre, we do not know the real times of these happenings for such words as barren landscape and inclement weather are used (W.W. Norton & Company, 2004).

The family did not have any outside branches meaning that there was an incestuous activity-taking place. The fall of the house after the two characters die means that there must be a connection between the house and the characters. Poe tries to indirectly tell us that the house was haunted or under a curse. There were tombs in the house, which Madeline is temporarily buried in but as we later come to learn, he was buried alive.

The events in “The Mad Trist” seem to coincide with the real happenings for Roderick had read the books many times and believe it was meant to be. That is the same reason he feels that he is sick although he is not physically sick. He also buries his sister alive for he feels it was meant to be. Poe uses literally language by using the narrator to tell from a first class experience. He also uses the language to create a claustrophobia sensation, which makes the reader want to read more for one does not know the end until they finish the story (W.W. Norton & Company, 2004).

References

Poe, E. A. (2011). The fall of the house of Usher and other stories. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

W.W. Norton & Company. (2004). Norton literature online. Retrieved from www.wwnorton.com/literature.