"The Fall of the House of Usher" and its Gothic Themes

Gothic literature mixes elements of horror and romance. Often the setting is extremely detailed to add to the horror. The setting usually has a history of its own, which adds dread as well. Many times the setting, or the house, in the story is deteriorating, which is similar to our view of a haunted house today. Gothic stories involve the supernatural, and often describe the protagonist’s fall into madness or death. There are often psychological elements in the novel, and there is often a reasonable explanation for what happens in the pot. It is hard to trust the narrator because they are affected in some way by the story.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher incorporates many elements of Gothic writing. First of all, the setting around the House of Usher is described in great detail, along with the inside of the house. The narrator uses words that immediately give the reader chills, and instantly foreshadows dread that will occur throughout the story. The house also has a history of its own. All of Usher’s family has lived there; and they have a history of illness, which makes Usher ill himself, because he expects to be ill. Usher believes the house to be sentient, and the narrator describes it himself with human features; he says the windows are “eye-like” twice.

Fall of the House of Usher also has a more reasonable explanation. Opium is brought up many times throughout the story; Usher claims he was an opium addict. This could mean that the old friends did drugs together, and much of what they are seeing and hearing are hallucinations. Also, if Usher is not using opium anymore, than his symptoms of illness could be possible withdrawal. Usher and his sister both have unexplained illnesses. However, Usher thought he would get ill because of the history of illness in his family. Usher and his sister seem to both be hypochondriacs.

It is hard to trust the narrator in the story because he is so frightened.  Often when people are frightened, details become skewed and many ideas get expanded to become even more horrifying. Also, if the narrator was on opium, his recollection of what happened is definitely distorted.

Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher present many themes of Gothic writing; he combines horror and romance to create an extremely chilling story.

The Big Two-Hearted River

Some themes seeen in Hemingway's story are destruction, nature, and recovery. The scene Nick is sitting in has been completely destroyed by a fire. Everything is burnt down, and things that Nick remembered about the town are no longer there. After re-reading "The Big Two-Hearted River," I am thinking that the town of Seney is where Nick lived before. He knows the area very well, and is looking for specific landmarks; the homes on the hill, the bridge by the railroad, and finally the river. Nick's town being demolished reflects how soldiers may feel when the return home; everything is different. Places that they used to really enjoy have a different feel and no one understands what soldiers have been through.

However, Nick is still surrounded by nature, and seems to be calmed by that. Nick seems very observant of everything around him and is happy to be alone in nature. I think this ties in with the theme of recovery. I think Nick is coming back from war and is trying to recover from everything he has seen and been apart of. He is happy being alone because he often feels alone, no one can understand what he has been through at home. Being in nature by himself may be Nick's way of recovering from war. He seems content the whole way through, maybe just happy to be alive.

Symbols in the story are the grasshopper, the river, and the fish. The grasshopper is a very important symbol. When Nick sees the grasshopper, he realizes it is blackened from all the soot from the fire. The grasshopper illustrates a soldier coming back after he has seen so much destruction. They're feelings are hardened and they often will not talk about their experiences. Just like the grasshopper, no one knows how long returning soldiers will stay like that before they return to their natural selves.

To me, the river represents how soldiers can always find a constant when they come home from war. Whether it is their family, their favorite restaurant, or in Nick's case, a place to sit and think. Nick seems very calmed by the river, and he knows it will be there, regardless of all of the destruction surrounding it.  I think the fish represents how Nick is not over his experiences in war yet. His fishing becomes a battle between him and the fish, and is much more of a fight than the normal peaceful fishing experience. Nick is finding things to fight instead of calming down and forgetting about the war.

The iceburg theory is very noticeble in this story. Hemingway's writing of the piece really only scratches the surface of Nick's life, and leaves the rest up to the imagination. "The Big Two-Hearted River" seems to be just a series of small observations at first; however, with analyzing further, the reader is able to make a series of inferences about Nick's life and his background that add depth and intrigue to the story.