...“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe is a prime example of American gothic literature. Poe is known for his great gothic works and “The Fall of the House of Usher is no exception. Poe’s work retells an unnamed narrator’s experience inside the House of Usher when he goes to visit his sick friend, Roderick Usher. “The Fall of the House of Usher” excellently shows the gothic elements of sin and guilt, mysterious/violent events, and madness and death. Along with Roderick there is another Usher, Madeline, in the house of Usher through which Poe conveys sin and guilt. Soon after we are introduced to the character of Madeline she dies and is buried in the basement in the House of Usher. At the end it is revealed that Madeline was alive the whole time and Roderick says: I now tell you that I heard her first feeble movements in the hollow coffin. I heard them – many, many, days ago – yet I dared not – I dared not speak!... Is she not hurrying to upbraid me for my...
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... James Madison H.S Literature Essay 05/20/11 The Death of The Usher Family and the Detective Styles of Dupin Edgar Allen Poe is considered to be the “father of horror” and the creator of detective fiction. Even though most of his stories fall under horror and detective, they each use different elements to show off gothic and romantic themes. Two of Poe’s short stories are “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Both of these short stories are written by Poe but they are however very different. “The Fall of the House of Usher” has a lot more gothic and romantic elements such as death and incest, while “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” included a lot more detective and analytical elements, so even though they are both written by Poe, they are very different pieces of literature. One literary element that these two short stories have in common is that they both use foreshadowing to help the reader see what is going to happen in the future. In “The Fall of the House of Usher” the Usher House has a fissure that starts at the bottom and is slowly making its way to the top. Surrounding the house there is a very gloomy and dark appearance and landscape. All of these details foreshadows what may happen throughout...
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... ——Review of The Fall of the House of Usher 英81 高云君 2008012742 As one of the most famous works by Edgar Allan Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher is the a masterpiece in American gothic literature. The prose is full with of elements and details which are unsettling and macabre. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. Poe’s gothic novels have always been my readings before bed since I was younga child. In my childhood, following the unnamed narrator and walking towards that old and creepy house, I was immersed in the horrible storyline and experience the fantastic feeling of nightmare. Today when I look back on this literature work, I get some deeper understanding and . Ⅰ. Hellish environment setting ：Use of double space The whole environment and different scenes in the story are so hellish that the reader feels a kind of inexplicable asphyxia. I summarize some typical elements Poe uses to build a gothic atmosphere. Day: a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn. Location: a singularly dreary tract of country. House and surrounding: upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain - upon the bleak walls - upon the vacant eye-like windows - upon a few rank sedges - and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees. The precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn. If that can be called the exterior space, then the internal space inside the house of Usher is more somber. ...
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...The heroes have to exemplify these phenomena. It is why heroes such as Roderick Usher are driven to self-destruction by their deviant character traits. Egaeus is also a character who becomes obsessed with the teeth of his dead lover. The characters in the short stories have an accumulation of abnormalities that enable the reader to come to terms with the disturbing nature of the mind of the person going through the phenomena that Poe is concerned with in the stories. Edgar Allan Poe uses deviant and odd behavior with astounding realism to ensure that the reader understands the nature of the disorders affecting his characters. His description of the mental disorders facing his characters is so competent that it almost seems as if it is told from the point of view of someone who has had the same difficulties. Edgar Poe had a...
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...Presence of Poe Edgar Allan Poe is regarded as one of the great American writers in history. He had a unique way to present his stories, his imagination stretched into the darkest corners of his mind. One can say his characters were developed from personal experiences in his life. His use of writing techniques was ingenious and unsurpassed. These are just a few reasons why he is a permanent reminder whenever horror stories come to mind. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. His parents were David and Elizabeth Poe. He was one of three children including his brother Henry and his sister Rosalie. His mother separated from his father when he was about two years of age and took her children with her. She died about a year later, when he was two years of age. He was separated from his siblings and was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan; this is where his name became Edgar Allan Poe. John Allan was a successful merchant, so Poe grew up in good surroundings and attended excellent schools. When he was six, he was sent to school in England and attended for five years. He then returned to the United States to continue his studies. At seventeen, Poe went to the University of Virginia but dropped out less than a year later because he could not support himself. John Allan shunned him. He enlisted in the Army because he had no money and nowhere to go at the age of eighteen. He did reasonably well attaining, the rank of sergeant-major, and got accepted to...
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...abnormal psychology of the narrator is further exemplified through the description of how the wind “did its worst to vex the lake”. Likewise, the wind is “awake” and tears down “the elm-tops for spite”. Thus, the wind is perhaps an emblem of the narrator’s destructive capacity: it could be argued that the lake is representative of Porphyria, and the wind is representative of the narrator’s anger towards Porphyria. In this sense, the narrator’s anger is possibly a consequence of his inability to possess the femininity that Porphyria exudes. Similarly, in The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe’s imagery describing the decadence of the house is perhaps an attempt to symbolise the narrator’s degenerating mental state. Also, the “Haunted Palace” that is occupied by “evil things... (that) assailed the monarch’s high estate” is possibly an allusion to how his mind is being possessed by the malevolent forces that ostensibly surround the house. In The Wasp Factory, Frank’s father also displays an abnormal state of mind, which is demonstrated through his efforts to exert constant authority over his daughter. Mr Cauldhame has ultimately left Frank excluded from society through his decision to conceal his identity and home educate him. More sinisterly, however, Angus, through experimentation, has essentially created a contemporary Frankenstein. Fundamentally, Angus has suppressed Frank’s innate feminine characteristics through experimental hormone therapy and has indoctrinated her with misogynistic...
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...The seminar will give an overview of representative American literary works in their cultural context from the colonial period to the end of the nineteenth century. Requirements • Regular class attendance and participation • Presentation on a chosen theme • Weekly reading log (if you miss more than two weekly entries, your entire work fails) • Essay of 2 500 words due May 9, and its oral presentation. Calendar of meetings and assignments | |Themes, authors, primary texts |Critical reading | |Feb 8 |Introductions | | |Feb 15 |The Puritan Imagination I |IAS: “New Founde Land” | | |From: Mary Rowlandson: The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. |CHLUS: “Jonathan Edwards […] and the Great Awakening | | |From: John Winthrop: A Model of Christian Charity. | | | |From: Jonathan Edwards: Personal Narrative. | | |Feb 22 |The Puritan Imagination II. |IAS: “New Founde Land” | | |Anne Bradstreet: “The Author...
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...Reference. In my view, "The Tell-Tale Heart" foregrounds different stages of Ego-Evil as the narrator defines himself through the narcissistic eye, the malicious glare, and the enigmatic gaze of the other. In the story, the narrator clearly grounds himself as a powerful Master who can determine all values. As a result, he sees that he is sane, and that his disease is good. His disease has merely "sharpened [his] senses -- not destroyed -- not dulled them" (91). He remains an absolute Master who has an eye for the ultimate Truth, hence he can "calmly tell [the readers] the whole story". This episode foregrounds the way of the eye, which is always on the side of the Subject and its narcissistic fantasy. In the Lacanian context, the eye allows the self to see itself as a unified creature and as a judge, hence the eye is essentially related to the imaginary "identity-building" process. However, as the eye sees what it wants to see, "sight" or "insight" can mean bias. As noted by Ellie Ragland, the eye gives a narcissistic perspective of "unification and fusion" that does not guarantee truth, though it certainly offers a personal "principle of law or judgment" (95). In the story, the eye's bias shows itself when the narrator immediately views the old man's disease in a negative light. The old man's cataract is seen to be the "Evil Eye" (89). If we borrow Martin Buber's concept, we may as well call it the "I-Thou difference." John Cleman believes that the narrator's mental...
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...Summary and Analysis of Selected poems by: Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe: An American poet, short story writer, critic and editor he was best known for “The Raven”, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell Tale Heart”. Edgar Allan Poe was given the nickname “Father of the Detective Story” due to his distinctive writing form. The tone, imagery and language in “Alone” and “A Dream within a Dream” allows Edgar Allan Poe to create poems based on his dark, disturbing and dysfunctional upbringing. Edgar was born January 19, 1809, he was the middle child. Edgar parents died when he was three, and he moved in with a successful business man, John. John wanted Edgar to follow in his footsteps, but Edgar mind was set on becoming a writer. Edgar attended University of Virginia at 17 where he made good grades. Edgar dropped out of college and at 18 he published his first book Tamerlane (1827). Edgar enlisted in the United States Army and was accepted into West Point Academy. With the help from John, Edgar was expelled after being in the Academy for eight months. Edgar published another book around the time he was expelled. He began publishing some of his short stories which he was offered an editorial position at Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. Edgar at 27 married Virginia who was only 14 and enjoyed the time he shared with his wife, but he was unhappy with the pay at Southern Literary Messenger. He moved to New York during the time of Panic of...
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...Edgar Allan Poe 1 Edgar Allan Poe “The Life and Tragedies of Edgar Allan Poe” Jesse T. Smith Axia College of University of Phoenix Professor Lorelie Kaid October 19, 2008 E.A.P. 2 Edgar Allan Poe “The Life and Tragedies of Edgar Allan Poe” The famous writer, poet has long been criticized for his unconditional writings that made the man who he was so very famous for. Edgar Allan Poe, born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809, Died mysteriously, October 07, 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. The famous writer would go on to inspire such authors as Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, to name a few. There has been a mystery since the death of Edgar Allan Poe, of what caused his death. There have been many writing’s trying to settle this debate. Some are as follows. • Beating (1857) The United States Magazine Vol. II (1857): 268. • Epilepsy (1875) Scribner’s Monthly Vol. 10 (1875):...
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...PREFACE This major project examines the indispensable desiderata of Transcendentalism in comparison to the Dark Romantics background and how these technicalities prepare this work of art as an influential synthesis of human imagination incorporated with mystic facts. Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism were two literary movements that occurred in America during roughly the same time period (1840—1860). Although the two had surface similarities, such as their reverence for Nature, their founding beliefs were quite different, enough to make one seem almost the antithesis of each other. Moreover one’s genesis is ventured out from other; i.e. Dark Romanticism from the roots of Transcendentalism or precisely the lacunae are best determined for raising up the term called Dark Romanticism. Contents S. No. Page no. Chapter 1.........................................................................................................4-14 Chapter 2.........................................................................................................15-23. Chapter 3..........................................................................................................24-27 Resolution.........................................................................................................28-29 Work Cited................................................................
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...Name- Student name- Tutor name- Week 2 I have gone through first part of all the stories and decided to make the folio based on ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ as it sounds really interesting to me. After reading thoroughly the first part of the story, I can say that Mr. Morris, Sargeant-Major has gone through some rough and brutal phase for which he holds ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ guilty and responsible. There was some bitter fact that he hides from his friend, Mr. White though he warns him about the misfortune. As for Mr. White, I felt that he is curious to know about the truth behind ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ but at the same time somewhere down the line he has a greed of getting more by making wish to ‘The Monkey’s Paw’. Whilst Mrs. White and his son takes this issue in a humorous and light way. From the very beginning author has set the mood of the story as suspicious and mysterious which fills the mind of the reader with a surge to reveal the unknown. From the suspicious environment created, it can be predicted easily that some ghosts and haunting is coming on the way. Very cleverly author revealed that there is some misfortune related to the history of the monkey’s paw and a holy man has spelled something over the mummified paw of monkey but what is that misfortune? Also, what was happening upstairs after Mr. White wished for the first thing? These are yet unsolved questions. Reading the very first part of the story, I can say that the story is filled with thrills, unexpected...
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...Research Paper Jackson State Community College By Jordan Jones Professor Powell Franklin English Comp II-1020 3 December 2015 Edgar Allan Poe's Sad Life Born on the January 19, 1809, in Boston Massachusetts. His mother, Elizabeth and father, David weren’t the picture perfect parents to their child. Poe never really knew much of his parents. His mother passed away when Poe was only three years old on December 8, 1811, and his father left before that. It is said that Poe’s father deserted them, and his mother fell badly ill. He then lived with a man named John and his wife Frances Allan. John was a very successful tobacco merchant, they lived in Richmond, Virginia. Poe and Frances had a wonderful bond from the start, unfortunately that wasn’t the case with him and John. At the age of six, Poe then attended a trip to London with the Allan’s. There at London Poe endured his first education at the boarding schools in Chelsea and in Stoke Newington. That was a very lonely and unhappy time for Poe. While in London, John`s tobacco market fell, and Poe, John, and Frances returned to America. Poe moved several times before he became a teenager. He loved literature and writing, and he showed that in his education academy that he attended. Not many people know this, but Poe was fairly athletic. He was a boxer, leaper, and even a swimmer. One hot summer, June day her swam six miles in the James River. February 1826, Poe went to the University of Virginia, were he learned Latin...
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...EDGAR ALLAN POE Synopsis Born January 19, 1809, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. American short-story writer, poet, critic, and Editor Edgar Allan Poe's tales of mystery and horror initiated the modern detective story, and the atmosphere in his tales of horror is unrivaled in American fiction. His The Raven (1845) numbers among the best-known poems in national literature. Early Life With his short stories and poems, Edgar Allan Poe captured the imagination and interest of readers around the world. His creative talents led to the beginning of different literary genres, earning him the nickname "Father of the Detective Story" among other distinctions. His life, however, has become a bit of mystery itself. And the lines between fact and fiction have been blurred substantially since his death. The son of actors, Poe never really knew his parents. His father left the family early on, and his mother passed away when he was only three. Separated from his siblings, Poe went to live with John and Frances Allan, a successful tobacco merchant and his wife, in Richmond, Virginia. He and Frances seemed to form a bond, but he never quite meshed with John. Preferring poetry over profits, Poe reportedly wrote poems on the back of some of Allan's business papers. Money was also an issue between Poe and John Allan. When Poe went to the University of Virginia in 1826, he didn't receive enough funds from Allan to cover all his costs. Poe turned to gambling to cover the difference, but ended up in...
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... Each story was able to captivate you. The authors made you fall in love with the characters. You wanted to read more. “The Welcome Table” and “Country Lovers” showed sides of racism that took place in completely different parts of the world. Each author used their literary and keen writing skills in order to get the reader to completely understand the point each one of them was trying to make. In the short stories, “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker and “Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer, Racism is the theme and highlight of each one. Both stories are discussing racial issues but they are two completely different stories and the authors begin each one in a completely opposite fashion. '”The Welcome Table” was written by Margaret Walker. Walker was published under her maiden name. She was best known for her poem "For My People," published in 1942, and her best-selling novel, Jubilee, based on her what her family went through during slavery and immediately after the Civil War, it was published in 1966. She was born in Birmingham, Alabama., Walker was a resident of Jackson, Miss., and was a professor emeritus at Jackson State College. She taught English and was also a director of the Institute for the Study of History, Life and Culture of Black Peoples. Walker, began her career in writing in the 1930s. She,still was writing in the 1990s. Walker's last book of essays, On Being Female, Black and Free: Essays, 1932-1992, was published in 1997. This Is My Century: New and...
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