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Post by Mr. Thomas on Nov 20, 2013 20:22:17 GMT -5
The disturbing conclusion...
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Post by eointunney on Nov 20, 2013 20:50:46 GMT -5
Eoin Tunney
Mr. Thomas
English 11
20 November 2013
C. While reading part two of this story, especially the end I was sort of confused about Madeline. Before the end the story says that they buried Madeline in the tomb, but then Roderick realizes that they buried her alive. When Madeline throws herself at her brother and then dies I became confused. I was wondering if Madeline was actually alive or not because she had been buried alive, which would most likely kill her.
A. I felt this story, especially the end, seemed more like a horror story rather than a gothic story. When the narrator is reading the story and they can hear all the sounds of the story I thought this was extremely creepy. Also when a bloody Madeline appears at the door and dies with her brother, I felt this freaky and did not seem like a gothic story. These two scenes would fit perfectly into some sort of paranormal horror film
E. When Madeline and Roderick die at the end, the house begins to crumble. When the house started to crumble I automatically thought about he beginning of the story when the narrator describes the house with a crack from the roof to the bottom. The crack signifies the beginning of the end, while the crumbling house shows the very end. Also I thought it was weird that the house began to sort of self-destruct when these two died. I thought by them dying the family name only died out, but I guess the house had some sort of crazy connection with the family.
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Post by bourdonm15 on Nov 20, 2013 22:26:27 GMT -5
Matthew Bourdon
Mr. Thomas
English 11
11/20/13
F. I found the ending of the story very creepy. “then, with a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and victim to the terrors he had anticipated.” (Page 12) I found the ending really creepy as to how she came out of being buried and killed Roderick Usher. I have a couple of questions though, how did she get free from being buried? It also says that he anticipated this, how did he know this was going to happen exactly? This was a real interesting ending but what made it even more mind-boggling was how it said that he anticipated this.
B. As we talked about in class the house was symbolically Roderick Usher, but it was also Usher literally as well. “While I gazed, this fissure rapidly widened – there came a fierce breath of the whirlwind – the entire orb of the satellite burst at once upon my sight – my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder… and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the “House of Usher”. (Page 12) The house represented Roderick as well as the family dynasty. Since both he and Madeline died, the house was destroyed along with them. The house both represented the family dynasty as well as Roderick because once he died, the house was destroyed.
I. I agree with Eoin’s comment about how the story was more of a horror story than a gothic one. The fact that Madeline came out from being buried and was standing in the middle of the doorway with blood all over her is very terrifying alone.
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Post by georgebaroudos on Nov 20, 2013 22:49:29 GMT -5
George Baroudos
Mr. Thomas
English 11
20 November 2013
A – I feel as if the owner of a house gives a special distinct feeling to a house that is irreplaceable. When humans own something, we assign a certain meaning to the house that molds our character. Where we come from really molds our character. Usher lives his whole life in that house. With his death also ends with the death of that meaning he assigned. With the death of the generations, comes the death of the house. The memories and all things that happened died with the Usher house. This is similar to Hurricane Sandy when I lost my house. All the memories in my basement died and a small part did of me as well.
D – “Overpowered by an intense sentiment of horror, unaccountable yet endurable” (9). At this point in time if I felt this way I would be half way down the block running. That unidentifiable feeling of fear we may get it is the worst feeling a human can experience. In many instances we are put in odd positions that are difficult to face. When we are unable to pinpoint fear we force ourselves into a stage of shock. How we act upon this shock is up to us. This is where quick thinking comes in handy. Instead of confronting Usher I would have left. Usher comes in in a fury and that’s scary, I would not give it the chance.
I – Scenery plays such a large role in Poe’s short stories. In remains a constant thread in his writing. It plays a role when the narrator is helping to bring Madeline to the tomb. It is noted when the narrator is walking around the apartment. It is noted when they see the gas outside of the window. It is also finally incorporated when the house falls down. It emerges as such a large influence on his writing. Poe is able to use it as an advantage because it almost creeps you out. His imagery forces me to embody myself within the story and it is scary.
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Post by 1adams12 on Nov 20, 2013 23:26:03 GMT -5
11/20/13
C. There were several lines that had me puzzled, but the ones that stood out to me were "A striking similitude between the brother and sister now first arrested my attention; and Usher, diving, perhaps, my thoughts, murmured out some few words from which I learned that the deceased and himself had been twins, and that sympathies of a scarcely intelligible nature had always existed between them. Our glances, however, rested not long upon the dead--for we could not regard her unawed" (Page 9). The thing that I did not understand with this sentence was awed for what? Her death?
D. One of the lines that I liked when I was reading was a little creepy. The line was "He roamed from chamber to chamber with hurried, unequal, and objectless step. If pallor of his countenance had assumed, if possible, a more ghastly hue--but the luminous of his eye had utterly gone out" (Page 9). The reason why I liked that line so much was because of the fact that it described the condition that Roderick Usher was in after he buried his sister.
E. "It was the work of the rushing gust--but then without those doors there did stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of User" (Page 12). I thought this was really creepy because of the fact that she was buried. How could she be back in the house? How did she get out? All of those thought made me have goosebumps all over my body. It was really creepy and I was wondering how could Edgar Allen Poe right such a creepy narrative without caring about how others would act toward it.
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Post by johnmarano on Nov 20, 2013 23:45:37 GMT -5
John Marano
Mr. Thomas
English 11
20 November 2013
C. Some questions that I have about this reading are what is actually going on with Madeline? Does she actually rise up from the dead? Or is there something deeper to it? Does the house being destroyed right after Roderick die have any significant meaning? Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the with the end of Roderick comes the end of the home.
D. A quote that really stood out to me towards the end of this reading was, “ his eyes were tortured by even a faint light, and there were but peculiar sounds, and these from stringed instruments.” I liked this quote because it is basically the same perspective that enables Roderick to know of Maddie’s return. I even want to look at this quote in another way that might not be correct. I want to explain how it is taken literally. Edgar Allan Poe creates story of pure darkness. I love how this darkness can be compared because a faint light tortures or ends darkness. Comparison can be made from this quote and the overall darkness of the story.
I. I would like to point out that George make’s a very good connection to the scenery. I really enjoyed how he brought this up because as we know, Edgar Allan Poe is a poet who is very descriptive and really makes you feel as if you are in the story. I didn’t even think of the scenery the way George pointed it out. He did an excellent job comparing the scenery to such important events that occurred in the reading. I would also like to point out that Eoin has a great response to (e). Eoin really focuses on the specific details that were in the beginning of the story and he compares them to when the house comes down. He even does a great job explaining the importance of the home.
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Post by scanley73 on Nov 20, 2013 23:56:34 GMT -5
A. On the last page I really like how Poe uses the house to symbolize not only Roderick Usher but the entire Usher family as well. Roderick and Madeline were the last members of the Usher family which we can regard as a disturbed and unhealthy family because of their incest. When the house crumbles the family whose name the house bears goes down with it. The way Poe described the house being destroyed it was almost as if Hell was opening up and sucking down the Ushers into its pits.
C. One thing that confused me is how Roderick died. I know that when Madeline jumps on Roderick he is dead when he hits the floor. What I am confused about is whether Madeline killed him somehow or he just died on the spot. Poe never says she ripped his throat out or anything but he also doesn’t say that the shock killed Usher. Is he trying to make people argue over whether Usher was killed by Madeline or his depleting health?
I. In response to Eoin and Matt’s point that it was more of a horror story than a gothic one, I will agree it is a horror story but that is what most gothic stories are. In all of Poe’s books there is some sort of dread and fear. We have to remember that although gothics deal with ideas from the mind most of the time it is the dark parts of the mind that people want to keep buried away and not let out.
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Post by rodriguezj15 on Nov 21, 2013 1:36:11 GMT -5
Joel Rodriguez Mr. Thomas English 11 November 21, 2013 The Fall of the House of Usher C. Does Madeline even exist? Going back to last night’s reading, he says , “that the lady, at least while living, would be seen by me no more (pg. 7).” He barely sees her, he never knew of her, and she dies out of nowhere. It can be just like “The Masque of Red Death”, where there was this supernatural person that was there but not really. And they were twins who were both sick. Madeline being the physically sick one and Roderick being mentally. Probably it’s like Fight Club. He thinks Brad Pitt exists but really he doesn’t. F. I find the relationship between Madeline and Roderick to be like a mirror. I still think they are the same person or Madeline doesn’t exist, but if she were to exist they would look the same but just opposite. When you look into a mirror you see yourself the same way just your right is your left. How the narrator said, “I learned that the deceased and himself had been twins,” so the brother and sister would look just like each other (pg. 10). Even though both of them are sick, Madeline is physically sick, and Roderick is physically sick. Also they both die at the same time. I. To answer Collin’s question on how Roderick dies, I think he died of shock. Poe says, “a victim to the terrors he had anticipated (pg.13).” |
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Post by matthewchan on Nov 21, 2013 10:00:12 GMT -5
Matthew Chan
Mr. Thomas
English 11
21 November 2013
I. Back to Joel’s and Collin’s responses, I think Roderick died from fear. On p.13, Roderick goes on a huge rant about how he buried his sister alive. When reading his rant, you can picture him saying it out loud and being very worried and concerned that she might come back and kill him. Poe also does a great job with this rant by italicizing the important lines. These italicized lines indicate that those lines are important and Roderick is using a harsher and more critical tone.
E. I really enjoyed the ending when Madeline comes out from nowhere and Roderick is killed. I also liked the part where the house collapsed at the end of the story. I find this to be significant because both die at the end of the story. With the house collapsing and being the House of Usher, it shows us that the family has finally died and there will not be a next generation to this family. The house collapsing symbolizes the end of a family generation and the end of their lives.
D. I enjoyed the entire paragraph where Roderick went on a rant about burying his sister alive. I can imagine Roderick going on a huge rang and being extremely worried about everything and anything. As I mentioned before, Poe does a great job italicizing important lines where Roderick uses more power to emphasize to the narrator and the readers.
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Post by michaelannunziata on Nov 21, 2013 12:10:02 GMT -5
Michael Annunziata
Mr. Thomas
English 11
11/15/13
A. The more I read his story, the more I felt like it was a horror story. The fact that madeline showed up all bloody, and when the narrator aid that they can hear the sounds of the story just creeps me out. What makes a horror story from my point of view would be being scared, and throughout this story I was scared. I can relate to this because one time when I went to the movies with my friends they told me that we were going to see a comedy, then once I walk in the doors and the movie starts I was astonished and extremely terrified, mainly because It was the complete opposite of what I expected.
C. This story gave me a lot of questions not because I didn’t understand it but because there was so many things left unsaid. For example they never said anything about Roderick and the house having a physical connection, but why is it that when Roderick died the house get destroyed. Another thing is about Madeline, what is her place as a character?
D. I pretty much enjoyed the whole story. This was one of my favorite stories we have read as a class whole year. I can relate this house and the plot to so many things in my life and that just gives me a great connection to the story. The house potentially being alive is what I liked the most because every person has the one person in there life who talks to a non-living thing but believes that they can hear them and believes they have a connection with that object.
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Post by fotia15 on Nov 24, 2013 20:25:49 GMT -5
I. What the hell is with his sister.. Why would they burry her if she always just goes into comas how do they know that shes actually dead. Also why did they not try to go get help. if my brother died i would tried to get some help in a second. Also why does he help carry the body. he doesnt know this girl and does he feel something really fishy going on. I dont know it doesnt make much sense to me.
e. I wasnt surprised when the sister came back to life. on a real note their is no way she was dead. He teased at the thought that she was still alive the entire time. Also the thought of having her close like in the tomb i thought was weird. What about abuiral if u were so confident.
a. I think this house was somewhat alive. In a way where the sister and the brother were some how part of it. There life was the house's. There are connection to the both of them the entire time.
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