The Fall of the House of Usher

1. Roderick Usher had been friends with the narrator when they were children and asked him to come visit.

2. She becomes sicker.

3. He didn’t want doctors to steal her body because of their fascination with it.

4. I don’t think the story would have the same mood or emotional context because his vast vocabulary and way of describing things creates a clear picture of what is going on. If he used simpler language, the imagery would be less vivid and the story would be less interesting and compelling because of this. The imagery is what makes the story.

6.

setting (lines 115-125) in lines 115-125, The narrator described in detail the chamber in which he was in. He speaks of how it was long and tall, with dark draperies, books and instruments scattered about, and uncomfortable, antique furniture. Poe writes “An air of stern, deep, and irredeemable gloom hung over and pervaded all.” This helps cement the thought of it being a dark and creepy house, and underlines the gloomy feeling that the story holds.

character traits (lines 172-176) In his description of Roderick, Poe writes of how he suffers from a morbid acuteness of the senses, and how he is very peculiar in how he lives. This description makes the reader wonder what is wrong with this man, and what happened to him in order to make him suffer like this.

plot developments (lines 216-222) In lines 216-222, Poe writes of how Madeline dies the night the narrator arrives. This makes the reader question why she died at that time, and heightens the creepy element of the story.

imagery (lines 452-465) In lines 452-465, Poe uses vivid imagery to describe the storm outside. Storms are usually an indication for something spooking happening.

7. I believe that Poe’s technique of using only one mood throughout the story helps showcase how spooky this story is. Although this method might not work for every author because it doesn’t allow much variation, Poe is a fantastic horror writer and he can pull it off.

8. Admittedly, “The Fall of the House of Usher” wasn’t the most interesting short story I’ve read. Even so, I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was essentially meaningless. Poe makes you question the psychological side of his works, heightening the senses by making you think about the story instead of just scaring you like many authors focus on.