Compare And Contrast The Gothic Setting In The Fall Of The House Of Usher
582 Words3 Pages
An accurate depiction of the gothic theme would be, dark. Whenever you think of gothic in literature people often think of classic gothic writer Edgar Allan Poe or modern gothic writer Joyce Oates. Often gothic stories fall under the category of horror or mystery. In the stories The Fall of the House of Usher and Where is Here there are certain elements that make it a gothic setting. Those elements are, the description, mood created, and importance of the specific setting. In both stories the authors give a certain description about the homes and environment in which the events of the story will run its course. In The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe describes the Usher house as a "mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain - upon the bleak walls - upon the vacant eyelike windows - upon a few rank sedges ...". However, in Where is Here the author doesn't simply paint the setting in one instant. As the man enters the home Oates describes each room that he passes through and what has…show more content… In The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe immediately gives the message that the narrator receives when approaching the house. "I know not how it was - but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit." The narrator continues to describe the mood that he receives while approaching the home of his childhood friend. However, despite the completely different settings, Oates is able to create a similar mood in the readers for her story Where is Here. Her method of making it creepy and dark is due to its relativity. Because it is more realistic the readers are able to better relate to the story and it gives a sense of possibility of this occurrence in real life. There are subtle small hints of the unnatural in this story. "'We've all been dead - they've all been dead - a long