“The Fall of the House of Usher” was first published in 1839 in Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine. At a time when most popular literature was highly moralistic, Poe’s stories were concerned only with creating emotional effects. Poe charged that most of his contemporaries were “didactic,” that is, they were preoccupied with making religious or political statements…
Tag: Short Stories
The Fall of the House of Usher: Setting, Symbolism and Gothic Elements
“The Fall of the House of Usher” centers on Roderick Usher and his twin sister Madeline, the last surviving members of the Usher family. Setting The setting of “The Fall of the House of Usher” plays an integral part in the story because it establishes an atmosphere of dreariness, melancholy, and decay. The story takes…
The Fall of the House of Usher: Themes
“The Fall of the House of Usher,” told from the point of view of an unnamed narrator, is the story of twin siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher, the last surviving members of the Usher family. Evil “The Fall of the House of Usher” addresses the nature and causes of evil. Poe creates an atmosphere of…
The Fall of the House of Usher: Characters
Narrator The unnamed narrator of the story is described as a childhood friend of Roderick Usher’s. However, the narrator notes that he does not know Roderick very well because Roderick’s “reserve had always been excessive and habitual.” The narrator visits the Usher family house after Roderick sends him an emotional letter begging him to come….
The Fall of the House of Usher: Summary
The story begins with an unnamed narrator approaching a large and dreary-looking estate. As he approaches on horseback, he muses on the images before him, the darkness of the house, the oppressiveness of the clouds above, the eye-like windows, the ragged fissure in the side of the house, the fungi on the walls, and the…
Everyday Use by Alice Walker: Analysis
Alice Walker’s early story “Everyday Use” is clustered around a central image: quilting and quilts. Her use of this metaphor is important to critics because she went on to develop the theme more fully in her later work, especially the novel The Color Purple. Simply put, the quilt is a metaphor for the ways in…
Everyday Use by Alice Walker: Symbolism and other Literary Devices
Alice Walker uses several literary devices to examine the themes in the story and to give a voice to the poor and the uneducated. Point of View “Everyday Use” is told in first-person point of view. Mrs. Johnson, an uneducated woman, tells the story herself. The reader learns what she thinks about her two daughters,…
Everyday Use by Alice Walker: Themes
In “Everyday Use,” the contrast between Dee’s beliefs and those of her mother and sister is emphasized by the different values the characters place on some old quilts and other objects in the home. Heritage The main theme in the story concerns the characters’ connections to their ancestral roots. Dee Johnson believes that she is…
Everyday Use by Alice Walker: Characters
Asalamalakim See Hakim-a-barber Grandma Dee Although Grandma Dee, as the Johnson women call her, does not appear in the story, she is a significant presence. Maggie is attached to the quilts because they make her think of Grandma Dee. Thus, although the woman is dead, she represents the cherished family presence that lives on in…
Everyday Use by Alice Walker: Summary
Alice Walker’s modern classic “Everyday Use” tells the story of a mother and her two daughters’ conflicting ideas about their identities and ancestry. The mother narrates the story of the day one daughter, Dee, visits from college and clashes with the other daughter, Maggie, over the possession of some heirloom quilts. The story begins with…