Comparing Vertigo And The Fall Of The House Of Usher

Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” suggests that Roderick Usher and Madeline Usher are vampires that have an incestuous relationship with each other. The unnamed narrator reveals he has received a letter from Roderick Usher—the protagonist— who has been afflicted with an “acute bodily illness—of a mental disorder” that oppresses him. The narrator is visiting Usher’s mansion upon his request to see his friend to help “[alleviate] his malady.” Indeed, Usher appears to be an ill man when the narrator visits him. Usher seems to suffer from an “acuteness of the senses,” which means he has a hyper-sensitivity to light, sound, and taste. The fact that Usher is hyper-sensitive to light, sound and taste suggests that he is a vampire. The undead

In the story "The Fall of the House of Usher" there is suspense and symbolism that can be written about, this story also provides many Gothic elements. In "The Fall of the House of Usher"

The Evocation of Terror in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher

“Fear is not real. It is the product of thoughts you create. Danger is very real, but fear is only a choice.” Fear is not something that is always real, such as when Usher was scared but there was nothing to fear yet, but the danger at the end of the story, especially for Ushers friend, was something to fear for. In the Gothic Literature short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe, the setting is somber and creates an illusion of darkness. On the other hand, “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar, portrays the idea of magical realism in, which setting is more realistic and less gloomy. Although Gothic Literature and Magical Realism are similar, there are also many differences, especially in their settings.

Writers have various ways to scare their readers, whether it’s with unexplainable and unnatural things, or just straight out disgusting things, everyone has their own method. In the two short stories, “ The Fall of the House of Usher ” by Edgar Allen Poe, and “ House Taken Over ” by Julio Cortazar, it is evident that both writers have distinct writing styles, but do share some similar elements in their stories. These two works of literature feature many qualities of the subgenres known as, Gothic and Magical Realism, which are two methods that have been used in the past to bring fear in readers. For Poe’s story, he writes with the gothic subgenre, while Cortazar writes with magical realism. Although both stories share a certain atmosphere,

The Ways the Single Effect is created in “The Fall of the House of Usher”

Settings in stories make up the world that characters live in. It sets the tone and mood for readers to feel as they read. Two short stories that have similar plots, but are from different genres are “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “House Taken Over.” “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe seeks to evoke a gothic mood from the description of the house to leave readers in suspense, while “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar focuses on a lighter, realistic view of everyday life.

Filled with a sense of dread by the sight of the house itself, the Narrator reunites with his old companion, who is suffering from a strange mental illness and whose sister, Madeline, is near to death due to a mysterious disease. The Narrator provides company to Usher while he paints and plays guitar, spending all his days inside, avoiding the sunlight and obsessing over the sentience of the non-living. When Madeline dies, Usher decides to bury her temporarily in one of his house's large vaults. A few days later, however, she emerges from her provisional tomb, killing her brother while the Narrator flees for his life. The House of Usher splits apart and collapses, wiping away the last remnants of the ancient family. Edgar’s inspiration for this story might have come from true events of the Usher House, located on Boston's Lewis Wharf. As that story goes, a sailor and the young wife of the older owner were caught and entombed in their trysting spot by her husband. When the Usher House was torn down in 1800, two bodies were found embraced in a cavity in the cellar (Neilson).

Edgar Allan Poe once said that the “artistry of narratives is in the ability to achieve a unity of effect” (Clement, lecture notes). In his narrative “The Fall of the House of Usher,” a man gets a letter from an old friend who wants him to go to his family estate because he is sick. When he arrives, he notices that his friend and his sister are not the only ones affected by illness. It is obvious that the house is too. The illness leads to the death of the Ushers and also the destruction of the house. In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe makes death and decay, as well as overall illness, his unity of effect. He creates this effect by using the different features of narratives. He establishes this effect through his narrator, the setting of the story, and the events that affect the characters. In this short narrative, there are many textual examples that enforce the effect of death, decay, and illness. In the succeeding paragraphs, I will be analyzing the style, setting, narrator, characters, and conflict of this

“The Fall of the House of Usher (1939)”, arguably Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous short story, is a tale centered around the mysterious House of Usher and its equally indiscernible inhabitants. These subjects are plagued with physical and mental degradation – the Usher siblings suffer from various abnormal ailments and unexplained fears, while the house itself seems to be tethering on the edge of collapse. The gothic elements in the story are distributed generously, and the plot is increasingly ridden with the supernatural as it progresses.

In the text “The Fall of the House of Usher” there are supernatural events throughout the short story. From the rapidly decaying house that is quite literally connected to the main character Roderick Usher, to the ghost of Roderick's twin sister Madeline. “House of Usher” -- an appellation which seemed to include, in the minds of the peasantry who used it, both the family and the family mansion. This line gives us a hint from the title toward the supernatural link between the physical house collapsing and the metaphorical “fall” of the Usher Family. I believe Edgar Poe did this to evoke an uncanny feeling in the reader and to add to the sublime of the short story. This link between living and inanimate gives the story an extra gothic element. “There was blood upon her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame. For a moment she remained trembling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold -- then, with a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated.” The supernatural element of Madeline “coming back from the dead” or being a ghost creates conflict within the plot and therefore leads to the inevitable fall of the Usher Family. I believe this ghostly figure struck fear into the reader creating a suspenseful follow up, allowing the imagination to take off and picture this supernatural occurrence. This was never an explained supernatural event. It was left up to the reader's imagination and their assumption as to what is real and what is a figment of the characters imagination. “There was a long and

When his sister is deemed dead by Usher, he seems to be distraught and doesn't want to discuss it, and the house seems to take on an even more disturbing atmosphere as if just mentioning Madeline would bring her back to haunt the place again, as her spirit seems to be. The house now seems like it is decaying at an ever faster pace, with its occupants now living in a silent, yet friendly cohabitation. Yet there seems to be more creaking than usual, and scratching sounds to be heard, which could suggest that Madeline was

What is a horror? What does it mean to be terrified? The definition of a horror fiction is "fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader." Since the 1960s, any work of fiction with a morbid, gruesome, surreal, or exceptionally suspenseful or frightening theme has come to be called "horror" (Wikipedia) . "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a great example of a story on the basic level of a gothic horror, in which the element of fear is evoked in its highest form. There are many different elements, such as setting, feelings, themes, and characters, that play an essential role in suggesting this.

Poe’s use of foreshadowing, the act of providing hints of future actions, in “The Fall of the House of Usher” foretells the “death” of Madeline Usher, along with her grandiose return. “She succumbed (as her brother told me at night with inexpressible agitation) to the prostrating power of the destroyer”. The "destroyer" here is Roderick Usher, referring to the end of the story, when he buries his sister alive. Poe uses foreshadowing again when Roderick “stated his intention of preserving her corpse for a fortnight, in one of the numerous vaults within the main walls of the building”. By “preserving” Madeline’s corpse, Roderick leads the audience, as well as the narrator, to believe that she is still alive, thus giving her the ability to “rise from the dead”.

Deteriorating towns are generally filled with a mere handful of inhabitants still clinging to whatever life they used to have. Houses fall apart. Quality of life decreases. People become unstable due to their inability to provide for themselves and their families. This has been seen all over: the towns become relics and the people become charity cases. When the going gets tough the tough get going; however, those inhabitants who choose to stay rewrite their endings. Edgar Allan Poe’s use of imagery portraying decay in “The Fall of the House of Usher” serves to set up the final fate of the two main characters.