Journal: Edgar Allen Poe

Christine Sloss
English 48A  
Dr.Scott Lankford
October 12, 2011

Journal: Edgar Allan Poe

Author Quote: “the more bitterly did I perceive the futility of all attempt at cheering a mind from which darkness, as if an inherent positive quality, poured forth upon all objects of the moral and physical universe, in one unceasing radiation of gloom”.


Internet Quote:"The Fall of the House of Usher" illustrates Poe's critical doctrine that unity of effect depends on unity of tone. Every detail of this story, from the opening description of the dank tarn and the dark rooms of the house to the unearthly storm which accompanies Madeline's return from the tomb, helps to convey the terror that overwhelms and finally destroys the fragile mind of Roderick Usher.

Brief summary if what the author is saying in your own words:
I feel Poe is talking about the dwindling optimism of the narrator. When he receives the  heart felt request  from his childhood friend Roderick Usher, the narrator honestly feels with his good character, he a good choice to cheer someone up during recovery. The narrator’s arrives, he is caught off guard by the unsightly gloom of the Usher house. His tone of optimism moderately falls. Determined to help his friend, he shrugs off the odd feeling as he enters the house. Pessimistically the narrator tries to find a way during his stay to keep his confidence in check, but the combination of the house, Roderick’s debilitating state of health and the misery of the day he finds the task is too large. On the last night a huge storm comes, neither the narrator or Roderick can sleep they are both creeped out, sadly the narrator can not tell if it is an affliction from Roderick, or is it in his head. Poe does a brilliant job of describing the deterioration of the narrator, the “unceasing radiation of gloom.”

My Ideas: The story was difficult to read, the dark and depressing images that formed in my mind, made it difficult to concentrate, and I had walk away more that once.  I feel Poe’s story is about the painful tribulation of dieing. And the awful helpless feeling you get when death is close at hand, By Poe combining superstition, fear of dieing, and things that go bump in the night, he reminds us that death is not the only thing we fear.