Blog Entry 16:Final Reflection

In this class I learned a lot and I have a better understanding of the literature elements, such as symbolism and tone. Also I’m able to identify the elements of the Monomyth in movies, which is very helpful to understand the meaning of the story. I liked the supernatural theme in our class and the blogging made it even more interesting. With the blogging and the feedback from the classmates, it was much easier to see my mistakes and helped me develop my writing skills. This class gave me an opportunity to see poems and stories, also movies from a different perspective; I’m able to see the hidden meaning in the poems, what the symbols represent and also the feelings of the poets. I’m able to identify the different stages in the Hero’s Quest, such as departure, initiation and return, as well to identify the hero in a movie and what is his goal. I really enjoyed and I would definitely recommend this class to other students.

Blog 15:Final Draft

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most extraordinary writers in history. He was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston and died on October 7, 1849 in Baltimore. Poe is known for using literature elements, such as symbolism to show meaning in his work. With the use of the psychoanalytic and the new critical approach I will analyze the short story “Fall of the House of Usher.” The short story “Fall of the House of Usher” was first published in 1839, later revised and published in 1840. With the psychoanalytic theory I will analyze the symbols in this short story, what the symbols represent and what Poe is trying to show the readers. With the new critical approach I will focus on the theme of death that Poe used in order to show the meaning of the story.

At the beginning of the story “Fall of the House of Usher” the narrator receives a letter from Roderick Usher explaining that he suffers from an illness and he requests the narrator’s company. The narrator decides to visit his close friend, who is emotionally and physically ill. Poe uses the words “dark” and “dull” in his first sentence, which shows us that this story is mysterious and morbid. Through the whole story the narrator is experiencing something strange and unexplained in the house of Usher.

The narrator observes a bridge across a lake that provides access to the house of Usher. According to the dictionary of symbolism, “bridge” symbolizes passage to reality or from one state to another, also it can be a change or desire for change. The narrator has to cross the bridge from his real world to get to this mysterious and evil world. The lake is right next to the mansion and the whole place seems very frightening to the narrator. According to the dictionary of symbolism, the symbol “lake” represents the transition of life and death; with the symbol “lake,” Poe shows death, which is all around the house. The narrator mentions that Roderick and his twin sister Madeline are the only ones left from the Usher family. Poe uses the word “evil” when he refers to the house of Usher and there is mystery all around him. Roger and also his sister Madeline suffer from a strange illness, a mental disorder. The physicians believe that Madeline suffers from catalepsy, a death-like trance.

Usher and his sister have lived their whole life in this house. According to the dictionary of symbolism, the symbol “house” is the center of the world, what happens inside a house, happens inside ourselves. The inside of the house seems gloomy and depressing to the narrator, Usher as well is feeling depressed because his sister was suffering and dying. Also according to the dictionary of symbolism, “house” means security and shelter. In this story Roderick and Madeline have isolated themselves from the whole world; they have no friends no family, only each other inside their big and mysterious house where they fell safe. The narrator goes inside the dark house; he walks through the hall and enters the large room, where the master of the house waits for him. He describes the long and narrow windows, the ebon blackness of the floors and the dark draperies over the walls in the house. With this description, the inside of the house is just as frightening as the outside of the house. The narrator enters the large room and Usher greets him sincerely. He notices that Usher’s skin is pale and he seems nervous. For the next couple of days the narrator is reading stories and poems to cheer him up.

One night Usher informs the narrator that his sister Madeline had died and he needs his help to put her dead body in the family tomb within the walls of the house. According to the dictionary of symbolism, the symbol “tomb” symbolizes the imprisonment of the soul within the body. Madeline was still alive when her brother places her body into the tomb; she was in a state of catalepsy. The narrator notices the faint blush on Madeline’s face and he wonders if Usher and Madeline were twins. Usher confirms that they were identical twins; they have been so close that they can sense what has happened to each other.

Almost a week had passed since the Madeline’s body was placed in the vault, when the narrator hears sounds from the storm. He becomes nervous and his body starts to shake. The narrator can’t sleep and he starts walking around his room. Then Usher comes to his room, seeming very upset. Usher opens a window and then the wind rushes in, which almost lifts them off their feet. According to the dictionary of symbolism, the symbol “wind” is the messenger of divine intervention, often representing those things that are fleeting and elusive. The whole story is mysterious and also the death of Madeline is unexplained. The narrator starts to read stories to keep Usher calm and to pass the terrible and mysterious night. According to the dictionary of symbolism, the symbol “night” symbolizes the obscurity and mystery of the darkness with the moon. It is the symbol of unconscious and is represented by sleep and death. The narrator and Usher heard a wild scream, which Usher believes comes from his sister. He believes that she is mad at him and she was not dead, when he placed her body into the tomb.

Then the wind opens the door of the room and they see Madeline standing there with blood on her hands and clothes. According to the dictionary of symbolism, the symbol “blood” represents life; it is also associated with blood vengeance, blood is tied with passion, and death with guilt. Usher feels guilty because he heard her movements in the tomb and he never dared to speak. Madeline trembles and with a low moaning cry falls upon her brother. When she falls on her brother, both of them die together. They were identical twins, which mean they were two parts of one personality and they couldn’t live without each other.

The narrator escapes from the house, he sees a wild light, he turns around, the house with its shadows is behind him and then the house crumbles to the ground. According to the dictionary of symbolism, the symbol “light” is the source of goodness and the ultimate reality, also light is knowledge. The narrator was in a world that was unknown for him and when he left the house of Usher, he went back to his real world. The psychological archetype “shadow” is the opposite of the ego image, has qualities that the ego possesses and according to the dictionary of symbolism, the symbol “shadow” is considered “dark entities with a nature all of their own.” At the end of this story the shadows overwhelmed the narrator; his conscious mind was traumatized when he saw Roderick and Madeline die together. When the house started to shake, he had to escape. The master of the house died and then the house crumbled into the tarn. The house which was representing Usher’s personality crumbles into this unexplained world, a false reality. The fall of the house represents the fall of the whole Usher family.

According to the dictionary of symbolism, the symbol “moon” symbolizes immortality and eternity, also inner knowledge. Represents the middle ground between the light of the sun and the darkness of the night and therefore represents the realm between the conscious and the unconscious. In this story Poe describes it as blood-red moon shining while the house crumbles into the mountain lake. The moon is also a symbol of the soul. Brother and sister had lost their lives on this mysterious night, but their soul’s will still live on in the narrator’s mind.

With the psychoanalytic approach the story is seen as a dream, which means that the story represses its real content behind obvious content. The psychoanalytic criticism analyses the symbolism of the story to illustrate the real thoughts. Freud believed that a work of literature is the external expression of the author’s unconscious mind. The Id is unconscious, the unknown containing secret desires, fears and wishes. The Ego is logical, correspondents to the reality principle, and the Superego is the censor of the inappropriate desires, working through punishment in form of fear and guilt. The narrator’s Id makes him to leave his real world and go into the mysterious world. Usher’s Id suppresses his Ego when he puts Madeline into the tomb. His unconscious mind is not able to perceive reality. Usher’s Superego, the balance between the Id and Ego, makes him feel guilty because Madeline was not dead when he placed her body into the tomb.
The major theme in this short story, as well as in most Poe’s stories, is death. Also two other themes in this story are horror and evil. Poe uses the word “evil” when he refers to the house; as well he uses the words “family evil,” which means the whole Usher family that had lived in the evil house. From the first sentence through the whole story and the description of the inside of the House of Usher, death is present. Using the psychoanalytic theory one can examine the symbolism throughout the story “Fall of the House of Usher” and see Poe’s obsession with death. Through the analyzation of the symbols in the story, the reader gets a better understanding of the ideas that the author is trying to convey.

Work cited:
Biederman, Hans. “Dictionary of symbolism.” University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website. 2001. Web. 6 June 2010
http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/
“Fall of the House of Usher” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 6 June 2010
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fall_of_the_House_of_Usher
Giordano, Robert. "The Fall of the House of Usher" 27 June 2005. Web. 6 June 2010
http://poestories.com/read/houseofusher
"Psychoanalytic Criticism." Web. 6 June 2010
http://web.olivet.edu/english/rbelcher/lit310/310PSY.htm

Blog Entry 14:Research Update

For my final essay I will have to expand more on symbolism, to analyze more symbols and interpretation of those symbols in the story. Also I think I need to write more about Freud’s theory and maybe to focus on the interpretation of the id, ego and superego in my story. I still have to write the last paragraph, the conclusion.