The fall of the House of usher questions – Flashcards
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what are the 7 themes of the fall of the house of usher?
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morality, madness, fear, insest ,friendship, burial, the arts
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What does the fungus ridden mansion symbolize?
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The decline of the usher family line
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What does the collapsing mansion symbolize?
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The end of the usher family
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What do the eyes symbolize?
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The vancancity of the mansion
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What does the tarn symbolize?
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he looks into the tarn and sees the reflection of the house and this is the fact that rodrick and Madeline are twins and that they reflect each other
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What does the bridge over the tarn symbolize?
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Roderick's and Madelines only link to the outside world. The narrator had to get over the bridge to get to the house and to leave the house
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What does the word usher symbolize?
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Roderick ushered in he narrator into his world
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What does the storm symbolize?
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this symbolizes the emotions that are produced by the characters
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Why does the narartor vistit Rosrick Usher?
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the narrator visits roderick usher because he recieved a heartfelt letter from his child hood friend explaining that he was dyings and that he would really like if his only friend would visit him
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What is the narrators relationship with rodricks usher?
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the narrator and Roderick are child hood friend that have not seen each other since then.
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What did the narrator learn about the usher family line?
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the narrator learned that the usher family line practiced incestry
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How does the narrator feel as he approaches the mansion and is looking into the tarn? Why do you think he feels this way?
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the narrator feels apprehensive as he is approaching the house. he feels this way because of the different ominous features of the house appearance
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What does the narrator see on the outside of the house?
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he sees a fungus ridden with a small fissure on the side of the house.
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How does the narrator describe the hallways leading to ushers room?
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the hallways are dark, intricate passages.
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What does the narrator see when he first enters ushers room?
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when he enters the room he notices long, narrow and dark windows
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Why is what usher tells the narrator about "life and reason" important?
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this quote illustrates how serious Roderick's illness is and how he fees suicidal because the illness affects him so much.
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What is usher telling the narrator when the narrator gets a glimpse of Madeline?
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she would soon die and that was probably the last time he would see her alive
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From the first time that he hears usher sing "The haunted Palace" what does the narrator perceive about usher?
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he narrator is impressed that despite Rodericks illness he was able to improvise and carry out the whole song.
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What does the narrator help Rodrick usher do? Why?
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The narrator helps Roderick try in cheer up after the death of madeline.
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How does the narrator describe the vault?
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the vault was small, damp, had little light and it was underneath the narrators bedroom.
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What does the narrator discover about Madeline and Rodrick usher?
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the narrator helps roderick bury madeline and then discovered that they ere twins and that they were extremely close
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Why do usher and the narrator not find peace after they bury Madeline?
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they could not find peace because roderick became very depressed and thought he could hear his sister and even the narrator becomes paranoid and superstitious
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Why does usher request a visit from the narrator?
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usher requests a visit from the narrator because he says that the narrator is his only friend and that he wanted him to visit before he dies.
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How close was the relationship between the narrator and usher?
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the narrator and usher were close boyhood friends but even thogh they have not seen each other since boyhood roderick still calls the narrator is closest friend
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Why might the physician warn the narrator not to continue his journey to visit Rodrick usher?
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the physician probably warned the narrator not to continue his visit because he believe their family is crazy and if he continued his visit and might become crazy as well.
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How does usher look when he is first introduced?
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usher looks very ill and almost deadly but the narrator can still recognize him.
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Why does the narrator describe usher with "an eye large, liquid and lumnious beyond comparison"?
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usher looks so deathly and cadaver like but the narrator remembers him being more healthy as a child.
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Describe ushers habits and actions.
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usher doesn't move very much and stays in bed most of the day and he is very suicidal and kind of crazy
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Why does usher claim that his illness us a family evil?
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he claims this because his family made the decision of breeding within the same close family line which led to most of the family having sickly diseases
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Why does usher compare his illness to the gray walls of the mansion?
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he compares his illness to the gray walls because
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What is the significance of the narrator only getting a glimpse of Madeline as she "passed slowly through a remote portion of the apartment? What so the significance about the door closing in her?
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the significance of the narrator only getting a glimpse of madeline is that it was the last time he saw her before she died and the significance of the door closing on her is the her dying.
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what reason does Roderick usher give for burying his sister in vault in the house?
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Rodricks reason for burying his sister in the house is that the burial ground was very far and that he didn't want the doctors to examine her body.
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why is it significant that Roderick and madeline are twins?
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the significance of madeline and roderick being twins is that In some ways they seem two parts of the same body, as twins often do. When Madeline begins to decline, so does Roderick. As she dies, he begins to feel he is dying. They seem to have a "twin" connection which relates to the ending when the house falls down around them, dead together for all eternity
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After usher and the narrator bury madeline, does ushers health improve? how is the narrator affected?
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ushers health continues to worsen and then he become more insane because he believes that he buried his sister alive.
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how does poe describe roderick ushers artwork ? what might it foreshadow?
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ushers artwork symbolizes death. one example is one of his paintings was described just like the tomb where madeline was buried was described
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when does the narrator first see madeline usher?
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the first time roderick saw madeline was while roderick and him were talking he caught a glimpse of her walking by
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what does roderick Usher claim is happening to madeline?
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Roderick believes that Madelines body is just withering away and waiting for her to die
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how does roderick usher describe his relationship with his sister?
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Roderick and madeline are oddly close because they don't communicate e very much but they are the two left in their family line, which makes them close and they are also twins.
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what is the significant about the door closing upon her?
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it signifies the fact that, it is the last time the narrator will see madeline and foreshadows on the closing of her tomb
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Name the diagnose madeline ushers physicians gave her disease. why do you think the disease had them so baffled?
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physicians described it as a settle apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person. the disease had them baffled because they couldn't find anything physically wrong with her except for the fact that she was slowly dying
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after madeline usher dies, why does roderick not want the doctors to examine her?
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Roderick didn't want the doctors to examine her because he didn't want them to take her out go her tomb and disturb her when she is in peace
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where do roderick usher and the narrator bury madeline?
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they bury her in a vault/tomb underneath the narrators bedroom
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describe the second door that closed upon madeline usher and why it is significant.
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the first door closing foreshadowed the second door closing apron her tomb. this is significant because it signifies her death.
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what does " the mockery of a faint blush upon the bosom of the face, and that suspiciously lingering smile upon the lip" foreshadow?
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it foreshadows her eventual death because she looked better dies than alive
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when madeline usher stands outside the door, what does roderick call the narrator?
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Roderick calls the narrator Madman
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what happens when the door opens?
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when the door opens madeline is there, with blood on her white clothes and she looked like a lofty and enshadowed figure
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what does the narrator do after the deaths of roderick and madeline usher?
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the narrator leaves the house as it collapses.
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Describe the setting as the narrator approaches the house?
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Ominous, gloomy, sorrowful, creepy, and neglected, completely abandoned
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Why does the narrator say, "There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart- an unredeemed dreariness of though which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime"?
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He says the house gave him an unnerving feeling.
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Why is the house described with "vacant and eye-like Windows"?
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Because the curtains are drawn in the windows, giving it an empty look. Also, since you can't see through the windows on the outside, and only through the inside it's basically like an eye.
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Why does he describe the house as a mansion of gloom?
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Because the house has bleak walls, vacant eye-like windows, and it was surrounded by decayed trees.
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Why do the peasants refer to the mansion and the usher family as the "house of usher"?
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They referred to both the family and the mansion as the "house of usher" because it was a title for the family.
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What do you think "No portion of the masonry had fallen; and there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still prefect adaptation of parts, and the crumbling condition of the individual stones" could mean?
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It could reflect the condition of Roderich and Madeline's physical and mental states.
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What do you think of as happening when fungi overtake something?
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It means that it's slowly wasting away whatever it is overtaking. No longer able to function properly.
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does the narrator see a crack in the house? is it a big obvious? how long is the fissure? what could the fissure represent in terms of the dream world?
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Yes. Is it a big obvious crack? No, it's small, barely visible. It's small at first but in the end breaks the entire house. What could the fissure represent in terms of the dream world? It represents the beginning of the fall of the house of usher up until the end.
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what could be the significance of the gothic archway?
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The archway signified the narrator was entering into Roderick's world.
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why does the narrator use the adjectives ark, intricate, somber, black and phantasmagoric to describe the hallways?
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The narrator uses adjectives such as dark, intricate, somber, black, and phantasmagoric to set the mood of a horror story. The connotations of the words are negative and foreshadow ominous things to come.
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why might the armorial trophies rattle as the narrator walks through the hallways?
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The armorial trophies rattle as the narrator walks through the hall. They could be a sort of warning or indication of the horror and dilapidation of the house. They also add to the scary mood of the story.
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describe the setting of roderick ushers room?
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There was nothing lively in the room(no life). The atmosphere of the room was sorrowful. There was a sense of sadness that the room brought. The windows were very long and thin with a point at the top. The floors were black which added to the darkness. The curtains were dark and the furniture was uncomfortable and old. There was books and musical instruments everywhere.
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how long has it been since usher ventured forth from the mansion? why has it been so long?
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many years, but probably from boyhood because his mental state has slowly taken over him through the years
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what does the narrator say caused decay of the family mansion?
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the family lacked the physical and mental ability to take care of the house
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what is the significance of the narrator getting a glimpse of madeline through a remote portion of the apartment?
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this showed how sick physically lady madeline was and how she looked more dead than alive.
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describe the vault.
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it has an oppressive atmosphere, very small, damp, and dark. it also was directly under the narrators room and look as if it were impossible to get out.
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does ushers health improve or worsen after he buries madeline? does the narrators mood change? if so in what way? does he seem to be more concerned or worried about something?
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ushers health worsens because he new the Madeline was still alive. the narrator becomes more drawn into the house and becomes superstitious to the house
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what happenes to the house at the end of the story?
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the houses small fissure becomes a large crack ad the house collapses mirroring the end of the family line.
