The Fall of the House of Usher

“The Fall of the House of Usher”

• Genre: Fiction; short story; horror
• Originally Published: 1839
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 1420L; 10-12
• Structure/Length: Approx. 20 pages; approx. 39 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Roderick Usher and his sister Madeline, the last of the Usher line, live in the large, ominous family estate. When Madeline dies, her body is entombed in a section of the house. Roderick, afflicted by a nervous condition that heightens his senses and causes bad dreams, becomes increasingly distressed as horrific sounds plague his mind and lead to the story’s shocking conclusion.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Death, gore, intimation of incest

Edgar Allan Poe, Author

• Bio: 1809-1849; attended the University of Virginia; joined the United States Army; wrote often in the Gothic horror genre; became editor, literary critic, and writer; writing influenced literature and popular culture; popularized and helped shape the field of cryptography; mystery surrounds his death; from 1849-2009, every year on Poe’s birthday, roses and cognac were left at his grave; has literary award named in his honor: Edgar Awards
• Other Works: “The Masque of the Red Death” (1842); “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1843); “The Raven” (1845); “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Incest, “Madness,” and Moral Consequences
• Sentient Decay
• Narrative Reliability and Supernatural Versus Rational Explanations

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Analyze and evaluate the elements of the Gothic genre, especially the theme of Incest, “Madness,” and Moral Consequences, and identify those elements that appear in “The Fall of the House of Usher”; compare and contrast those elements in related works.
• Create visual media, including charts or images representing the elements of the Gothic genre, especially as they appear in “The Fall of the House of Usher” and other related works.
• Analyze the character of the narrator in terms of Narrative Reliability.
• Analyze the author’s use of symbolism, such as objects, images, and weather, to convey the theme of Sentient Decay.