The Fall Of The House Of Usher Setting Essay Example For Students

The Fall Of The House Of Usher: Setting Essay TheFall of the House of Usher: SettingIn the short story, The Fall of the Houseof Usher, by Edgar Allen Poe, setting is used extensively to do many things. The author uses it to convey ideas, effects, and images. It establishesa mood and foreshadows future events. Poe communicates truths about thecharacter through setting. Symbols are also used throughout to help understandthe theme through the setting. Poe uses the setting to create an atmospherein the readers mind. He chose every word in every sentence carefully tocreate a gloomy mood. For example, Ushers house, its windows, bricks,and dungeon are all used to make a dismal atmosphere. The white trunksof decayed trees, the black and lurid tarn, and the vacant, eyelikewindows contribute to the collective atmosphere of dispair and anguish. We will write a custom essay on The Fall Of The House Of Usher: Setting specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now This is done with the words black, lurid, decayed, and vacant. The narratorsays that the Usher mansion had an atmosphere which had no affinity withthe air of heaven. It was no where near being beautiful, holy, or clean. He uses descriptive words such as decayed, strange, peculiar, gray, mystic,Gothic, pestilent, dull and sluggish to create the atmosphere. Poes meticulouschoice of words creates a very effective atmosphere in the story. Another important way Poe uses the settingis to foreshadow events in the story. Roderick Ushers mansion is on exampleof this. There is a barely perceptible fissure in the masonry. It isa small crack in The House of Usher which the narrator defines as boththe family and the family mansion. This foreshadows an event that willruin the house and the family. The fissure divides the house. Roderickand Madeline die, destroying the family. The narrator says there is a wildinconsistency between still perfect adaptation..and thecrumbling condition of the individual stones. This is also symbolic. Thestones represent the individual people of the Usher family, and the entiremansion stands for the whole family. The wild inconsistency makes thereader aware that something later in the story will make the inconsistencyclear or consistent. From far away, no one knows that the House of Usheris in despair. The fabric gave little token of instability or the mansionitself did not tell of the turmoil it c oncealed. The story takes placein autumn, a season associated with death. When the storys tension isabout to reach its crescendo, a storm comes up, a rising tempest. Thisis a symbol for the tempest brewing in Roderick Ushers mind. Poes useof foreshadowing is just enough to clue the reader into what will happen,but not enough to give it away. Character traits are displayed throughhow the setting affects, influences, and reveals the characters. The narratoris affected by the gloomy atmosphere of the Usher mansion. He is suckedin to Ushers dream world, the world he created after living alone inhis dismal house for years. Ushers house itself is a symbol for Usher. It is isolated like Usher. There are many intricate passages, like themany facets of his mind. One of the rooms had windows which feeble gleamsof encrimsoned lightserved to render sufficiently distinct the moreprominent objects around. The windows stand for Ushers eyes, the lightis reality. He lives in his own world he created. Reality enters his brainonly in feeble gleams of light. The eyestruggles in vain to reachthe remoter angles of the chamber.. The reality does not reach all ofhis brain. These quotes show that Usher is only half in the real world,half in his own world. The books Usher read, his art, and music all revealhis personality. He played long improvised dirges on the guitar. Thenarrator describes his painting as phantasmagoric. The books he readsare about death, magic, mysticism, the occult, and torture. His favoriteis a book of vigils for the dead. All these things show that Usher is unstableand obsessed with death. .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 , .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 .postImageUrl , .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 , .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3:hover , .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3:visited , .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3:active { border:0!important; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3:active , .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3 .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue4465eb76bccfa07409216ff404abbe3:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: By divers meanes men come unto a like end EssayThrough the setting, Edgar Allan Poe isable to foreshadow events, establish an atmosphere, and reveal charactertraits. Although the reader may not notice all the numerous devices used,they contribute to giving the story depth. Noticed or not, Poe utilizesthe setting to its full capacity to create the mood, characters and foreshadowing.