Magical Realism In Julio Cortazar's Fall Of The House Of Usher

Both Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” have similar settings because both take place in a spooky large houses. However, in Poe’s story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,”the setting is different because it was dark,gloomy and old house in the middle of nowhere. By contrast, Cortazar’s “House Taken Over,”the house is a little more modern and bright, well taken care of and the environment is greener.Gothic Literature is literature that has bleak or remote setting, a gloomy or melancholy mood. Also, characters or sometime tormented in a physical or psychological way. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the house of Usher” is a good example of gothic literature because the setting of the story is very bleak and dark,and the characters in them are tormented physically and psychologically . for example, in the story, it states ,”With the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit (13).” This sentence proves my claim because the quote is saying that the character’s spirit feels tormented when he starts to walk into the house. Therefore, “The Fall of the house of Usher” is gothic literature because it shows it shows characters in the story being tormented.

Jacquelyn Barrett’s spookiest experience was, less than a year ago, she got a call from my oldest sister Hannah saying,”did you hear what happened to Grandpa Barrett?” For over two hours she was stuck inside of Citrus Valley Gym, playing with the boys volleyball team. Right after practice ended, her mom got a call from her dad and the next thing she remembers her mom saying “do you know? Grandpa Barrett passed away about a half an hour ago. “Right away on that day 3 April 2017 at 4:50 her life had changed forever. This scenario relates to Gothic literature and Magical realism because it was a very surreal moment. These genres are similar because both genres blend reality and magical moments in one. Gothic literature is a setting that begins with bleak setting and has an ambiguous ending. Also it has a scary and mysterious feeling and makes you wonder what's going to happen next. It impacts the reader by putting intelligent words and a gloomy setting. A example of gothic literature is in the story “Where is here”. In the story “Where is Here” a stranger appears at the family's house and the family reacted with curiosity and concern(69). Magical Realism is a literary genre, therefore there is a realistic narrative and natural techniques, combine with surreal elements of dream or fantasy. Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is a good example of Magical Realism because both the brother and sister started to hear “noises” coming from a part of the house, so they limited

The spookiest experience Kaylee ever had was the time she almost died at surf camp. She was trying to go where the water wasn't breaking into waves and as soon as she got just about there, a 3 foot wave came and was just about to crash and she was in the range to get hit so when it finally crashed it took her under the water and flipped her over about three times to the point where she couldn't breathe and she almost died. This scenario is related to the traits of gothic literature and magic realism because they both show life threatening situations. It is also different however, because Magical Realism is more relatable to a person with a normal life that has been interrupted with strange events, while in Gothic Literature one cannot

Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a good example because it has a spooky setting, has a ghost, takes place in the olden days, has gloomy weather, and the characters talk funny. An example from the story is “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens…” (page 13). This sentence proves that this story is gothic literature because it shows that the setting has gloomy weather. Therefore, “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a gothic literature because, it has many examples of gloomy

One of the spookiest experiences of Elizabeth’s life was when she had a very strange dream. She found herself in a room with bare white walls. It felt like a sterile hospital room with no furniture, just a mattress, a mirror, and a sink. There was no door either just a window. When she opened it, she realized she was in a tall skyscraper and she was so high up, she could barely see the ground below as far as she can remember. She had to spend her whole life in that room. This scenario relates to the traits of gothic lit and magical realism because it occurred in a mythical setting, while she lived in that strange room she would go through the same exact routine every day. Both stories are very descriptive in their settings. However, Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher” has a mysterious setting that relates to gothic elements. Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is an example of magical realism because it has fantastic supernatural elements and the characters acted realistically

Gothic literature usually brings to mind Edgar Allen Poe and dark foggy London streets but that's not all gothic literature is. Gothic literature usually has themes of mystery and eerie settings or characters. Themes such as physical and mental decay and isolation, abandonment, and entrapment are very prominent in Prey by Richard Matheson, The Feather Pillow by Horacio Quiroga and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe.

Gothic literature and magical realism are similar because they both are most likely a fantasy or not believed to be true realism and realistic setting. In Joyce Carol Oates “Where is Here”, dramatic description happens and gives further details to the story. For instance, “The stranger wandered around the property while the mother set the dining room table’’ (69). However Julio Cortazar's “House Taken Over” is similar because it has realistic setting & details. This is proven in “The dining room, a living room with tapestries, the library and three large bedrooms in the section most recessed, the one that faced toward Rodriguez Pena”(39). Therefore, the two stories are similar because they both show signs of good detail and setting. Jordan Scott

Although Both Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “ House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar have settings set in large, old, spooky houses, the setting is different because Edgar Allan Poe’s setting s in a much older than House Taken Over. The author in “The Fall of the House of Usher” also relies time more on the supernatural in his setting with visions of ghosts and figures while the “ House Taken Over” is set in a normal old house.

The “Fall of the house of usher” is classified as Gothic literature due to its dark theming as well as its macabre atmosphere , While very similar to “The Fall of the House of Usher” , “House taken Over” is not classified as gothic literature it is classified as Magical realism due to its more magical senses as well as mystery behind the unknown forces that are taking over the house.

Gothic literature is a style characterized by multiple elements, such as fear, death, gloom, as well as romantic elements like nature, individuality, and high emotion. Magical realism, on the other hand, began as a painting style. It then evolved into the literary style associated with Latin America, which puts fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction. One of the most important elements of these genres is the setting of the stories. In The Fall of the House of Usher and House Taken Over, the setting creates atmosphere, reflects genre, and reflects characters.

“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.

The American Gothic Genre typically shows guilt, puritanism, supernatural beings and/ or events, fear of the unknown, unheimlich, anxieties, and rationality vs irrationality. Mysteries, intense emotion, romance, heroes, evil curses, and gloomy, decaying isolated settings such as castles and mansions are also characteristics of this genre. There is an evil tone throughout the work. Freud

Gothic literature incorporates many different elements, but in Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, Black Cat and The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe, I found that the most prevalent element was psychological issues or madness.

One of the spookiest experiences in Harley’s life was on a cold, dark Halloween night when Harley and her friends, Lauryn and Heidi, got chased by a clown for 3 blocks on a gloomy narrow road. This scenario relates to traits  of Gothic Literature and Magical Realism because, that experience was in a dark setting and contained weird incidents and a disturbing plot. Those two genres are similar because they both usually have unrealistic characters and scary plots. However, in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher” is an example of Gothic Literature because, the story’s setting is in an isolated, creepy, and large house with odd characters and a frightening plot line, while Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is an example of  Magical Realism because the realistic characters are accepting the unimpressed narrative tone in an ordinary way of life. Gothic Literature is a style of writing that is characterized by elements of fear, horror, death, and gloom. Settings are usually in a isolated and haunted location in a big house or castle with trap doors, dark rooms, and secret passages. Characters are usually supernatural beings or monsters.

The short stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe and “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar are two well known works of literature that encompass unique literary styles. Poe utilizes Gothic literature in his story, a style of writing that incorporates elements of darkness, gloom, drama, and intense descriptions. On the other hand, Cortazar uses Magical Realism and its realistic characters, setting, and fantastic and unusual events to tell his tale. Despite the two being completely different genres, they share many similar traits, specifically relating to fear.