The Fall of the House of Usher Theme of Madness



The Fall of the House of UsherThemesThe Fall of the House of Usher Theme of Madness“The Fall of the House of Usher” is the story of a sick man whose fears manifest themselves through his supernatural, sentient family estate. (Sentient means able to perceive things.) The story explores both physical and mental illness, and the effect that such afflictions have on the people closest to those who are sick. One interpretation is that much of the seeming “madness” of the main character does turn out, in fact, to be the cause of truly supernatural events. That is, he’s not crazy – his house really is haunted, and his sister really is back from the dead. Another interpretation is that the madness really is imaginary.Questions About Madness1. How much of what happens in the House of Usher is real, and how much of it is the imagination run wild?2. What is the nature of Roderick’s illness? Of Madeline’s? Does one affect the other?3. What literary devices does Poe use to set the mood of his story?The Fall of the House of Usher Theme of Family“Usher” explores a family so bizarre, so self-isolating, so removed from normalcy that their very existence has become eerie and supernatural. The bond between the featured brother and sister characters is intense and inexplicable – possibly it’s supernatural, possibly it’s incestuous. Their bond transcends even death. One interpretation of the tale is that the siblings are actually one person split in two; thus one is unable to survive without the other.Questions About Family1. Roderick says that Madeline and he share a special kind of connection. What is he talking about, exactly? 2. Roderick claims that his mansion has some sort of power over him. Does it? What is the nature of this power?3. What is the nature of Roderick and Madeline’s relationship? Is it supernatural? The Fall of the House of Usher Theme of IsolationThis story explores a family so isolated from the rest of the world that they’ve developed their own supernatural barriers to interacting with it. The House of Usher exists in its own reality, governed by its own rules and with no interest in others. Such extreme isolation forces the family members closer and closer to each other, again to a supernatural degree, and inexplicable to any outsider.Questions About Isolation1. Is the narrator sucked in to the eerie Usher word, or does he maintain his distance? 2. How is the narrator set up as an outsider to the Usher family? How does his position as an outsider affect the way he tells the story?3. Are Roderick and Madeline doomed to death because of their family’s apparently cursed bloodline?The Fall of the House of Usher Theme of FearFor Roderick Usher fear itself is worse than whatever you actually fear. In fact, fear is responsible for at least one of the deaths in this story. One possible interpretation of the tale is that the fear of some dreaded occurrence actually manifests it in reality; that is, because the protagonist fears his death, he brings about his death.Questions About Fear1. Compare the narrator’s fear and superstition to that of Usher’s.2. What scares Roderick so much?3. Compare what Roderick expects will happen with what actually happens at the end of the story. Do his fears come true? Was his a self-fulfilling prophecy, or simply a prophecy? The Fall of the House of Usher Theme of IdentityOne interpretation of “The Fall of the House of Usher” is that it presents a dramatized interpretation of a split-personality disorder. At the least, the tale explores different aspects of identity and the ways in which those aspects might be fractioned or made distinct. Differences between the physical and the mental parts of the self are emphasized and explored in the text, as well as the way that parts of the self interact.Questions About Identity1. In what ways are Roderick and Madeline similar? In what ways do they differ?2. What tools does Poe use to personify the house of Usher?3. How is Roderick’s identity linked to his mansion? ................
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