THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

Describe the house in the story. How do the narrator and Usher spend their time? What happened to Usher's sister? What happened to the house? Include a quote about your favorite part.

1) The interior and exterior makeup of the house is described, by the author, as an extremely desolate andmelancholy environment. The house is surrounded by a lurid moat, with a little draw bridge connecting the entrance of the house to the outside world. The narrator receives a letter from Roderick Usher, stating that he is very emotionally and physically ill. The narrator spends many days with him and later learns that he has a twin sister. Him and his twin sister Madeline, share an extreme mental bond, that makes Roderick feel and at times, hear, things that Madeline hears or does. Madeline suffers from a rare illness that gives her no control over her limbs. She later dies from this, so Usher and the narrator bury her in the basement. They do this to avoid scientists who want to perform an autopsy on her because she died from such a strange andsingular illness. The narrator reads to Roderick one night to calm him from his hysterical mood. He constantly says that he was able to hear his sister moving in the coffin for days and that she is now behind the door. The door swings open and shows Madeline, enshrouded, standing, bloody and bruised. Roderick is appalled and dies of fear while his sister attacks him. The narrator fleas the house and watches the house crumble and collapse into a discernible fissure in the ground. My favorite part of the novel was when "Madman! I tell you that she now stands outside the door!" This is my favorite part because it signifies the climax of the novel where you find out if Roderick is crazy or if Madeline is actually standing outside the door.