The Fall Of The House Of Usher

Known for his dark outlook on life, Edgar Allen Poe is one of the pioneers of the American Gothic movement. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a prime example of Poe’s usage of Gothic elements to convey a certain theme. The story revolves around the last two remaining members of the Usher family, and it shows their demise through an unnamed narrator’s point of view. The narrator serves as an observer who presents the reader with the depressing details of the Ushers condition. Through his use of lonely characters, Poe explores the theme of Isolation and its effects on the human mind. He uses literary devices to establish a connection between the theme and the characters of the story. In “The Fall of The House of Usher,” Edgar Allen Poe uses imagery, allusions, and metaphors to portray isolation and its effects on the human mind.
Poe does not hesitate to use imagery throughout the story. As soon as the narrator is introduced, his observations create an atmosphere of loneliness and despair around the Usher family house. He describes the house’s features “upon the vacant-eye like windows—upon a few rank sedges—and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees—with an utter depression of the soul” (Poe 1). The gloomy setting uses imagery to portray the secluded mansion of the Usher’s. The decay represents their isolation driving them
Poe uses the characters in the story to portray the feeling of confinement and seclusion from the world. Imagery, allusion, and metaphor collectively show the effects of isolation on the human mind. Poe tries to get his message across in a fearful manner through the heavy use of dark elements of Gothic literature. The feeling of isolation is common in every person’s life, but submitting to it can blur the line between the real and supernatural. Separation from the outside world is harmful and suppresses a person’s ability to live