The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essay

605 Words3 Pages
In “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Edgar Allan Poe creates frightening and unsettling feelings throughout the whole story. The author wants us to feel a sense of discomfort and unease. Poe uses the setting, characters, and the plot to create an eerie single effect. At the beginning of “The Fall of The House of Usher”, Edgar Allan Poe uses the setting to give us a chilling first impression of the story. Poe gives the outside, inside, and basement all melancholy characteristics. The outside setting is negative, nebulous, and cold. The inside is large, comfortless, and unwelcoming. The basement is described as deathly, considering it’s a catacomb. When describing the house, the narrator says that the house gave him a “sense of insufferable…show more content…
The narrator is awkward, paranoid, and mysterious, yet he still cares for Roderick. Roderick, the current owner of the house, is sick, messy, agitated, and has a mental disorder. (loose) Madeline, the sister of Roderick, is very ill and on the verge of dying. Madeline has paralysis, an unknown disease, and she is buried in the catacombs of the house--even though she is not dead yet. Each of these characters contribute to the creepy effect of the story. Since Roderick and Madeline are very sick and on the verge of dying, that already creates a very depressing mood. Roderick says that he is sure to suffer death, “"I shall perish," said he”. (line 207) Poe uses imagery to help present the idea of how sick Roderick is, saying “the odours of all flowers were oppressive; his eyes were tortured by even a faint light;” (line 202-203) and makes the reader, in a way, feel sorry for him. (blended) The narrator is a very paranoid and concerning person. He cares for Roderick, but he also does not want to be at the house. He says that the house gave him negative feelings, and that it was very uncomfortable. The characters make the story more creepy, dark, and
Open Document