Poe
Edgar Allan Poe uses many common elements in his stories. Attention to sensory detail, symbolism as well as the trip into the dark imagination is all present in both of Poe's stories, "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Black Cat."Symbolism is a common tie between Poe's two stories. In "The Fall of the House of Usher," Poe uses the phrase "House of Usher" as a reference to the decomposing mansion as well as the "all time-honored Usher race...." Roderick feels that crumbling stones of the house somewhat represent the crumbling fate of the Usher family. "He was enchained by certain superstitious impressions in regard to the dwelling which he tenanted, and whence for many years, he had never ventured forth...." Another connection is made in the story between a house and a person in the poem, "The Haunted Palace." The crack in the Usher mansion which is hardly distinguishable at first, suggests that there is a missing cornerstone in the relationship between the twins, Roderick and Madeline, and this also forebodes the final damnation of the house as well as
Maybe his tormented mind is creating a hallucination and foreboding his future. The narrator quickly attributes the change to his love, as well as abuse, of alcohol. The narrator tries to re-create in his mind the chain of events. In this story, superstition, such as the belief the man's wife has about witches assuming forms of black cats, becomes symbolic. Roderick refers to the narrator as "Madman" in the final scene on more than one occasion. In both of these short stories Poe evokes the dark mind of a main character, Roderick in one and the narrator in the other. The narrator names his ebony feline Pluto, which I found interesting because Pluto is the Roman god of the dead and the ruler of the underworld. It is never mentioned if both cats, if there were two, were missing the same eye or the opposite. The narrator tries to make a logical case for his doings while still blaming some of the events on the supernatural. Sensory detail and symbolism help to create the horror and gruesome scenes in these stories. Are there really two cats in this story, or did Pluto survive, and return for payback.
Common topics in this essay:
Black Cat,
Usher Poe,
House Usher,
Allan Poe,
Pluto Roman,
Roderick Madeline,
Haunted Palace,
Cat Symbolism,
house usher,
fall house,
black cats,
fall house usher,
Fall House,
black cat,
poe's stories fall,
destructive dangers,
stories fall,
dark mind,
house usher poe,
usher poe,
sensory detail symbolism,
detail symbolism,
stories fall house,
poe's stories,
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Acceptance Essays
