allor of his countenance had assumed, if possible, a more ghastly hue—but the luminousness of his eye had utterly gone out. The once occasional huskiness of his tone was heard no more; and a tremulous quaver, as if of extreme terror, habitually characterized his utterance. There were times, indeed, when I thought his unceasingly agitated mind was laboring with some oppressive secret, to divulge which he struggled for the necessary courage” (Poe, 1165-66).Roderick, in the innermost recesses of his mind, understands that a part of him has died or that he has killed a part of himself by destroying Madeline. Roderick and Madeline start life as one and at the end of the story, end life as one.Poe’s dramatic conclusion to the story portrays the unity of the tale in a symbolic fashion. Just as Madeline and Roderick started life as one egg inside their mother’s womb, in the final breath of life, they collapse as one in death. But Poe is not done. As Madeline and Roderick become one, so does the House of Usher become one with them. For without an Usher descendent, the house could not remain. The total unity of the story is complete. This paper is the property of NetEssays.Net Copyright 1999-2002Edgar Allen Poe's Fall of the House of Usher is similar to his other works in that it contains several of his distinguishing characteristics. Poe's writings are very dark. They contain some aspect of evil, supernatural occurrences, death, etc. Poe uses imagery and symbolism as clues to how the story will progress. It is likely that one could go through the entire story line-by-line and find at least one symbol or image that would hint as to where this story will lead. In this essay I will discuss the different ways in which Poe uses imagery in Fall of the House of Usher.The first line of the story paints a dark and foreboding atmosphere: "During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, w...
