Isolation In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Julio Cortazar’ “House Taken Over” the short stories represent the genre of Gothic Literature. Gothic Literature is a genre that combines fiction, horror, death, and romance. Some of these traits are seen in both of these stories through characters and settings. However, there are other traits that set them apart.

Edgar Allan Poe, the remarkable, 19th century writer, who had an appalling life. Poe became extremely famous for his terrifying works of literature after he passed away, but it was Poe’s tragic life that influenced his writing(Edgar Allan Poe). From childhood all the way to adulthood, Poe experienced terrible things in his life that would mentally scar any person. This is shown in three of his most famous writings by having those experiences that he encountered from childhood to adulthood reflect on the different qualities that are shown in works of literature.

Fear is a feeling that most have experienced at least once in their lives. Despite the negative connotation often attached to the word “fear”, many people find themselves seeking the the thrill an adrenaline rush, caused by fear, gives them. This causes many “safe” ways to experience fear (reading a Gothic book, watching a horror movie, or even telling a scary story at a sleepover) to be popular. The short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” clearly dictates the fundamentals of what causes the allure of fear, unexplainable or unnatural phenomenons and sudden changes that leave the subject hanging.

An example of when Poe gives a gloomy feeling to the reader would be “(When the rest of Heaven was blue)/ Of a demon in my view--” (Poe 21-22). This could be considered dark because Poe is showing that while others saw the good in life, all he saw was the evil. With the use of poetic devices, Poe is also able to make the theme of his poem apparent.

The life of Edgar Allan Poe is not a tale of ease. Poe’s life was full of personal and fiscal disaster. These disasters help to mold some of the most ominous and intellectually challenging poetry ever written. For the short duration of Poe’s life, he was seen as a literary critic rather than an author. To the modern generation his unbeknown status seems bafflingly inconceivable, considering his now acclaimed publications. Edgar Allan Poe’s writing was very much dictated by his life. The mournful tone of Edgar Allan Poe’s life created his literature; death and all his friends narrated Poe’s life. Edgar Allan Poe shows his life’s constant despair through his poetry and short story writings.

Poe lost his loved ones which made him very depressed. Poe lost his mother when he was very young and his father left him when he was 1 year old. His mother died from the horrible disease tuberculosis. Poe then got a new home with the Allen family a caring family sometimes. Poe’s step mother loved him, but his father did not like him so much as he was very mean to Edgar. Poe’s stepmother sadly died just like his biological mother. Edgar Poe finally moved in with family, his cousin Virginia and aunt to be precise. He fell in love with Virginia and married her he loved her so much, but the time he had her wasn't enough. Virginia died of the same exact

“-there came a fierce breath of the whirlwind- the entire orb of the satellite burst at once upon my sight- my brain reeled…” (422). In Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher the effect of unity is impersonated through implementing setting, characters, imagery, and plot, to constitute a single, eccentric mood for the story. In this story, Poe allows the reader to see through the narrator’s eyes and to examine his thoughts. The overall impression from the narrator is one of an eerie vibe. Constantly giving the sense of unity as the narrator describes places, events, and thoughts.

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1890. He was an American romanticism author, poet, editor and literary critic. He studied languages at the University of Virginia and married his thirteen year old cousin. Poe having lived a troubled life and losing his parents to tuberculosis at a young age, wrote many sad and morbid stories containing themes such as death, murder, insanity, paranoia, sickness, and tragedy. “The Tell- Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat,” and “The Cask of Amontillado,” all contain some or all of these said themes.

Upon examining Edgar Allan Poe’s life, one is not surprised that he chooses to write such gloomy and sinister stories. Poe’s life is far from happy and nurturing. According

The threat of danger imposes fear, and although one may be quick to deny its presence, it is within all of us. Some fear can be healthy. On the other hand, too much of it can become extremely damaging. For instance, the consequences of being continually afraid are displayed in the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Edgar Allan Poe approaches the topic of fear by explaining the dramatic progression of a man named Roderick Usher who has written to a childhood friend for company, as he is losing purpose in his life.

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most mysterious authors that the world of writing has known. Although many critics have different views on Poe's writing style, Harold Bloom summed it up best when he said, "Poe has an uncanny talent for exposing our common nightmares and hysteria lurking beneath our carefully structured lives".(Bloom 7 ). Many of Poe’s works can be related back to his life. Poe had many problems such as psychological illness, alcohol addiction, and gambling issues. There is also the fact that Poe’s life was full of heart aches such as the fact that everyone that Poe would grow to love would leave him or die. Since Poe’s works are so closely related to his life or inspired by his life struggles one can correctly assume

In most of Edgar Allen Poe's work we see him convey the same mood throughout all of his poems and short stories. He was well know for his dark, eerie and frightening way of writing which we can say was inspired by his dark past. As a child, he was first separated from his family, lost his foster mother to an terrible illness, and later on even lost his wife to the same fate. By loosing his family one after another, it could be said that these term of event lead him to develop this type of theme that in the end made him famous.

When thrust into a terrifying situation people often act irrationally. Why is this? Scary situations show how one’s imagination can obtrude upon their common sense. This creates unnecessary fear, and causes irrational decisions. A fear of the unknown, a lack of experience with the situation, and a will to live cause the imagination to go into overdrive, and poor choices to be made.

Edgar Allen Poe was born on January 19th,1809, in Boston,Massachusetts. He lost his mother and wife of Tuberculosis, and he was only two years old when he lost his mother. Because Poe didn’t have a family he became an orphan. Throughout his life he’s dealt with hard times, so his life shows through his writings. Poe’s first job that he dealt with writing was being an editor for the local newspaper. The state he called home was Virgina. Poe was a troubled student at the Military Academy at West Point.

Some of these events and characteristics become symbolic of the workings of the human mind on brink of insanity. As in “The Fall of the House of Usher” we see that his “long lost friend” is in some state of mind, and is in need of some assistance. And when the narrator gets to this house, he notices a giant crack in the middle of the house from the top to the bottom. In this story, he meets Madeline and Roderick who are twins. We notice that throughout the story, the twins are both ill with some sort of disease. We do know too that these are the last of the Ushers (unless they have kids) and their lives do represent something. Roderick represent the conscious. He is always pacing the floor with delusions and insanity because we know that his