Welcome to Salina High School South Definition of a Short Story (The Fall of the House of Usher)

An outline containing the aspects in "The Fall of the House of Usher"

Utilizes the aspects of the gothic

1).  Sense of remoteness and indefirereness

            setting is never told-could be anywhere as long as it is remote and removed from everyday life

2).  Aim to create the single effect of an earie and ghostly atmosphere

            *** deep caverns and vaults

            *** velvet wavy curtians

            *** soundless rooms

3).  Overly sensitive character, and person who can't function in "normal" world

            Roderick's undefined illness

4).  Characters seem to posess some sort of psychic ability

            Roderick and his twin sister

5).  Possibility of returning to life after death

            *** The climax is such an event

            *** The entombed corpse is alive

6).  emphasis of the mind over the body

            There is a superhuman strength to live (even after death) in the Lady Madeline

            She overcomes the impossible barrier of the mortal world

1).  Structure

    A).  The Exposition

        1).  First 5 paragraphs entraps the reader

        2).  A sense of being confirmed within the house

        3).  Outside a storm is raging

        4).  There are mysteries outside

        5).  Rooms where windows whisk open

        6).  Hears moaning in the halls

        7).  ONE SINGLE EMOTIONAL EFFECT

2).  Characters (3)

    A).  The Ushers are twins with special (esp)

    B).  Madeline

        1).  Silent throughout the story

        2).  Never in same room as narrator

        3).  Overcome by mental disorder

        4).  Strong will to live

    C).  Roderick Usher

        1).  Educated, wealthy, and formerly attretive

        2).  Appearence deteriorated

        3).  Wild, inconsistant moods

        4).  Mental state continues to worsen

    D).  Narrator

        1).  Appears to be a man of common sence and good heart

        2).  Educated, analytical

        3).  Can't understand Rodrick, and is superstitous

        4).   In the end fear overcomes him and he runs from Lady Madeline

    E).  ALL THREE CHARACTERS ARE TIED TOGETHER BY THE SAME MENTAL DISORDER

        1).  All suffer from insnity in the end, yet each responds differently

            a).  Madeline accepts the fact and lives on

            b).  Roderick struggles very hard to hold on

            c).  Narrator is slowly contracting insanity

3).  Setting

    A).  From the time the Narrator enters the House of Usher until the end when he leaves

        1).  Every object and sound represents stress and madness

        2).  Dark evenings

        3).  Dark creaking

        4).  The first image is the reflection (upside down)

        5).  The house is quickly decaying, with moss and decaying hedges on and around it

        6).  The suggestion of an invisible crack in the foundation is notioned (foreshadowing)

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