Theme Of Magical Realism In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

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

One of Diana spookiest experiences of her life was when her cousins and Diana would hear weird sounds in the night. This scenario relates to the traits of Gothic Lit and Magical Realism because the sounds did happen so it's reality. Gothic Lit and Magical Realism are similar because they are both scary, mysterious, and are dramatic. Edgar Allen Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher” is an example of Gothic Literature because it has a dark and gloomy setting in a large old mansion. While Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is an example of Magical Realism because it has a mysterious ending.

Magical Realism and Gothic style writings may seem very alike, but at the same time, they are different. Gothic style invokes a very dark, scary, and irrational feeling, even though the explanation is completely natural. Magical Realism like the piece “House Taken Over”, makes things seems normal but has events that seem almost unexplainable. In Gothic style writings like “The Fall of The House of Usher”, things seem unreasonable, but in Magical Realism things feel ordinary.

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.

Gothic literature is a style of writing that is characterized by the elements of fear, horror, death, gloom, and as well as super-natural and emotional plot. A good example of gothic literature is from the story, “The Fall of The House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe, because it involves elements such as bleak setting. An example of this in the story is when the narrator arrives at the house and learns that the house is aged, broken, and located in a foggy, colorless, swamp-like forest, “...an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray walls, and the silent tarn - a pestilent and mystic vapor, dull sluggish, faintly discernible, and leaden-hued.” (pg. 15 p. 4). This sentence proves that the Fall of The House of Usher is gothic literature, because the story takes place in a lifeless forest that is covered in a leaden-hued fog, that covers the gray house. Therefore “The Fall of The House of Usher” is an example of gothic literature, because the story takes place in a dark, depressing, colorless, and bland setting.

The spookiest experience of Myah’s life was when she went to Knotts Scary Farm and someone came up behind her and pulled her backpack and then grabbed her. This scenario relates to gothic lit and magical realism realism because of the bleak setting. The genres of gothic literature and magical realism are different because in gothic literature there is usually something supernatural that occurs while in magical realism the story begins ordinary but magical or unrealistic events occur that are not necessarily supernatural.

In the stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “A Rose for Emily”, both main characters decide to isolate themselves from the rest of society. However, the two genres also have their fair share of differences when it comes to things such as setting and architectural design. In Gothic Literature the setting paints a gloomy tone and tries to paint a surreal image of how somber things are. The architecture found in it enhances this feeling, painting an eerie picture for readers to imagine. This contrasts with how Southern Gothic Literature expresses itself. Instead, it uses a setting more readily recognizable, from a somber time to create a serious tone for the reader. The architecture used in it is also a reflection of the time, foregoing fantastical images of castles in favor of more practical and recognizable buildings, like southern-styled homes and plantations. No matter which genre is chosen, both go about delivering a Gothic tale in their own

The genres are different because gothic literature has strange and violent plot lines whereas magical realism contrasts reality and fantasy with supernatural and unreal elements. For instance in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher”, “... and in her violent and now final death agonies, bore him to floor a corpse, and a victim to terrors he had anticipated.”(line 45-47).

Edgar Allen Poe is recognized as a great writer of Gothic. Poe stories all relate to each other in some way. Most of his short stories consist of mystery and horror. The two stories I choose was the “The Black Cat” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”. They both can be compared to each other by their setting, characters, and theme.

While Magical Realism and Gothic Literature are similar in certain aspects, they do have their differences. The genres are different because Gothic Literature focuses more on the topic of fear, horror, suspense, death, and gloom, while Magical Realism focuses on surreal elements, dreams, and fantasy. In Joyce Carol Oate’s “Where is Here”, a strange man visits his childhood home late in the night, where a family of two children and their parents now live, and asks to look around. The husband and his wife agree, although hesitant, and the stranger reminisces about his childhood memories as he ventures through different rooms in the house.

Gothic literature and magical realism are similar for the sake of them build off each other taking real life places or relatable characters put in an eccentric celestial world. In Edgar Allen Poe’s “Fall in the house Usher” Edgar reveals the darkest aspects of the human mind and heart were remarkably revealing and what it means to be human. Rodrick buries his blood related sister who is alive while the narrator watched. (Pg 13). Or Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where is Here” Bulb flicker when the old man leaves the house. The elderly man takes control of the characters' heads and made the father insane (Pg76). Relatable characters disturbed by the mythical impelling back to the topic that gothic lit and magical realism are similar. However, Julio Cortazar's “House Taken Over” is similar by reason of “Buenos Aires is a clean city” (Pg 39). Buenos Aires is a real city in Argentina on the continent South America. Therefore, the two genres are similar for that reason the uncanny cannot not be a story by itself without some elements of each other.

“The Fall of the House of Usher” and “House Taken Over” both feature the supernatural, an old large home, and the lonely lives of a brother and sister living in it; however, calling the two stories identical is like considering apples and oranges to be the same kind of fruit. These two stories describe the lives of the inhabitants of a very old and large house. Likewise, both pairs of siblings inherited the home from their family. The narrator of “House Taken Over” and his sister, Irene, lived very simple lives: “Once the morning housework was finished, [Irene] spent the rest of the day on the sofa in her bedroom, knitting… I [made rounds] to the

Gothic Literature is a genre that includes dark settings from the past in their stories, these settings are often desolate with tormented characters and macabre plots. In Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is an excellent example of Gothic Literature because the author utilizes many elements that are essential to the genre. For example, in Poe’s story, he describes a decrepit mansion with great detail. ”Its principal feature seemed to be that of an excessive antiquity. The discoloration of ages had been great.” (Poe 15). This line uses descriptions that are vital to the genre of Gothic Literature. Therefore, “The Fall of the House of Usher” is Gothic Literature because of its dark and aged setting.

Gothic, an aspect of the Romantic Period, continues to make an impact by inspiring most of the horror movies and books that we read this day. Surprisingly, Gothicism did not begin as a genre, but rather as a type of “garden design and architecture” (584). Horace Walpole, one of the main authors in gothic literature, obtained an estate called Strawberry Hill, three years after he began remodeling it into what he termed it a “gothick” style (584). Hopole added “towers, turrets, battlements, arched doors” which made it classified as gothic (584). It is inferable that he drew his inspiration from the modifications he made to his property. As did most authors of gothic stories from the romantic period, used the design of the setting play a key role in how the author creates horror. The Castle of Otranto, and The Romance of the Forest do exactly that. Chapter one of The Castle of Otranto, mainly centers on the declaration of love Manfred proposes to Isabella, and the escape of Isabella from Manfred after confessing his love towards her. The Romance of the Forest, focuses on Adeline and her curiosity as to investigate the origin of the sounds she hears around her residence. Both authors use the architectural environments of the gothic stories to emit a feeling of fear, by depicting the structure in a sinister and dark tone. Thus it creates a vivid imagery in your mind, feeling as though you are there.