The Fall of the House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher"

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" is the story of an enlightenment-type charater entering into the old house of his friend Roderick Usher in hopes of helping him. The "House of Usher" respresents two different things. The "House of Usher" can be used to refer to both the building itself and the family of the Ushers. However their remains only one surviving member of the family of the Ushers, and as such the lone member is named the "House of Usher". Roderick Usher is the only remaining member of the old House of Usher being that his entire family including his twin sister had died. Something strange happens to Roderick in fact. Only a few years after his childhood, Roderick begins to age, and takes on the appearance of a weak and pale man. Roderick also changes in that his senses grow weaker and he can only be appealed by the most grim and ghastly of sounds, tastes, and sights. The final and most important of Roderick's changes was that of fear. Roderick was constantly filled with fear of something unknown to the narrator. These same charateristics were also present in the build itself of the House of Usher. The building itself looked old, broken, decaying, and grim. Finally when the narrator described the building itself he said that he could feel that something was wrong with the presence of the building but he could not understand it.

The narrator came to the House of Usher at the request of Roderick, who wanted the narrator to help and support him after the death of his sister, and to help him cure the "disease" of the House of Usher. The narrator tried to help Roderick by a series of methods such as painting and reading, but Roderick could not be cured of his fear and grim attitude. The narrator also helps Roderick put his "dead" sister in a secure vault where she would wait for two weeks until being buried. Eventually, one stormy night strange sounds are heard throughout the house and Roderick comes, with fear, to meet with the narrator. The narrator decides to try to calm Roderick by reading him the first book he finds, "The 'Mad Trist' of Sir Launcelot Canning". Soon the sounds of the book come to life and as the narrator reads the book, Roderick and the narrator both become scared until Roderick finally confesses that his sister in fact is not dead and is "living". At that moment Roderick's sister bursts through the wall covered in blood and kills her brother. The narrator then runs away terrified. Finally when the narrator turns around, a safe distance outside, A vertical crack opens up, with a bloody tint (from the moon), and the entire House of Usher falls and is broken.

The story of "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a gothic, anti-enlightenment story, which clearly gives the idea that not only are there some things which are not entirely explainable but that some things want to destory you. In this story, both one man and his sister age rapidly and begin to suffer strange unexplianable symptoms. The sister seems to die. She appears and acts dead at first, but suddenly one night she breaks out of her locked coffin and locked iron door, and weakly arrives in the room where Roderick and the narrator are standing which she breaks a way open through the wall and kills her brother. This is entirely unexplainable in which a dead figure can not only break out of her own prison, but also can have the strength to destroy a wall and kill her brother. The final unreasonable event of the story was the eventual fall of the House of Usher. The House itself was riped apart from top to bottom by a crack that was unnoticable at first but after the death of Roderick, it opened itself quickly until the House of Usher was gone. The entire story builds up to the fear of this one night in which the most unreasonable happens in an attack against the one who knew it would happen. Not only are some things unable to be fully understood but these unknowable things also want to kill you and you cannot stop them.

This idea of the unknowable wanting to harm you parellels with Poe's "The Raven" in which the raven's presence not only brings harm to the narrator but also is certain and can never be avoided or removed. Here the fear and fall of the House of Usher cannot be stopped. Lady Madeline of Usher will come and kill her brother, and Roderick cannot stop her.

If some things are truely unknowable and also harmful to us, then how can we hope to avoid these things in hopes of survival? Are we just to be left in hopelessness to accept out eventual death?

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is a story of a man (This story is written in first person and as such the main charater of the story could be either Poe himself or another imaginary character whom Poe has created and given identity through his writing.) who is looking back on a memory of his first encounter with a mysterious raven who appeared outside his door. At first this raven appears as a visitor waiting outside, quietly calling to the narrator, through a simple knock. The narrator responds to the call of his visitor by opening his door to greet them but he sees nothing but the raven, and closes the door. The same call of the raven is repeated and the narrator answers it by looking out his window in hopes that it is his lost love Lenore. upon opening his window he finds nothing except the raven, and decides to greet the raven as a visitor and talk with it. The Narrator first asks the raven its name and then a series of other questions to which the raven relies only with the word "Nevermore". The story concludes after the narrator becomes angry at the raven when he asked if he (the narrator) might ever see Lenore again, the raven told him "Nevermore".

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" provides in great detail a personification of a memory (especially the memory of a loved one). In the beginning of the story the narrator is longing for a woman whom he greatly loved but is no longer with him. As he looks at what he has left of his love Lenore, he hears a quiet knock on his door. The narrator answers this knock and as previously stated sees the raven "and nothing more." However Poe gives a significant description of memories by stating that the narrator first saw, "Darkness there, and nothing more" then saw the raven "Merely this, and nothing more". These two phrases give a personification of emptiness to memories. Memories are dark figures of nothingness which work only to bring you sorrow.

Following the scene at the door, the raven makes another call which the narrator responds to just as teh first as if it were made by a visitor but this time he opened his window instead of his door. This action gives memories another set of personifications. Memories now also appear as persistent figures which continually come to you in order to show you their meaning and bring you their sorrow.

Following the window scene, the narrator begins a dialoge with the bird in which he asks a series of questions to which the bird always responded saying "Nevermore". The first of these questions was his name. Having the name "Nevermore" showed not only the emptiness of memories but also the simple fact that you can never go back and experience what youlong for anymore. Your memories are merely vague remnants of a past which you may never see again. The second question empasises the persistance of memory as when asked when he shall leave the raven again said, "Nevermore." Poe concludes his poem by reemphasizing his previous personifications. Memories are only sad reminders of a better past of which you may never return, and no matter how hard you try memories will always remain, "Only this, and nothing more".

In response to Poe's "The Raven", one could ask the question: If the memory of a long lost lover will bring so much sorrow why should men submit to love in the first place? Could Poe with this poem be leading to an even larger idea of which the world is one large and complicated trap with works only to bring you sorrow?

James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans (Indians)

James Fenimore Cooper's Defence of the Indian

In his novel, The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper not only provides an example for and American novel, but also provides a minor defence for the humanity of Native Americans. James Fenimore Cooper begins his story during the historic conflict between Britian and France, the French and Indian War, in which Native Americans were used by both sides. Within this conflict, Cooper begins his story from a relatable perspective, in which three of his main characters (Duncan, Cora, and Alice) are to be escorted through an unfamiliar climate by one of the only people who could already know the land, an Indian runner. Cora and Alice are the daughters of the British Officer Munro who at first along with Major Duncan Heyward, distrust the Indian runner, who latter in the story is named Magua.

Although all three of these characters have their doubts about Magua, Cora, the braver of the two sisters, asks a question which begins to bring humanity to Native Americans. Cora asks, "Should we distrust the man because his manners are not our manners, and that his skin is dark?" This single question opens a large amount of argumentation. This statement, not only sarcastically, but also directly, defends Native American humanity. The first point of defence is the clear and dirrect point in which Cooper calls Magua, an Indian runner, a man. In this one word James Fenimore Cooper has used Cora to accept the humanity of the Indian runner. Upon closer inspection, this question can be asked not only to the characters of the story, but also to the reader. Cooper in essence asks the question of whether a man's backround and habitual actions determine his humanity. Can a man be distrusted or lessened by his background as an Indian or his difference. That is the question Cooper asks through his character Cora. The rest of Cooper's story continues with an answer to that question.

Throughout the story, Cooper points out the differences between the Indians and the white men. Cooper specifically points out how the Indians are better than the white men, in warfare. He calls the Indians quick and "quiet footed" in which not only are Indians quick to move and attack but they also are so silent that hundreds of them can move through the woods without anyone noticing. The Indians also have much stronger senses (especially sight and hearing) than the white men, with which they can track each other down as quickly as they can run. Cooper's reasoning for all of this manifest itself in Hawkeye a colonial hunter who lives in the wilderness with two Indians of the Mohican tribe, Chingachgook and Uncas (the son of Chingachgook). Hawkeye, having lived with these two Indians for many years had become like them and through practice he had greatened his senses. In return for the teachings of the Indians, Hawkeye taught Chingachgook and Uncas how to properly use guns and also Chirstianity. By this process, Hawkeye became a "white-Indian", and made himself along with his two friends not only the most important heroes of the story but also an example for Americans of what they can do if they accepted the Indians and human beings and lived with them in peace.

Cooper however also shows the difference between Indians throughout his story. As soon as Hawkeye and his friends meet Duncan, he distrusts Magua, not because of Magua's humanity, but because of his appearance and the alliegence which goes with it. This leads to Magua's choice to run away after which, Hawkeye decides to lead the group to safety, and after much difficulty they arrive at Fort William Henry which is under siege. Eventually Munro (who was leading the defence of William Henry) surrendered and was given the right to march his men unopposed, out of William Henry. The Indian savages helping the French did not accept this very well and attacked the exposed British troops. massacring them due to their lack of morality, but Cooper does claim that the Indians have some morality in the few people who survived walked through the battle untouched. Alice and Cora being defenceless women hide under the angelic character David Gamut who sang throughout the entire battle and whom the Indians could not touch. The second major survivor was Munro who in his love for his daughters moved bravely through the battle, untouchable. The final act of humanity shown in this battle was the act of Magua who saved David, Alice, and Cora from the fight. Magua cared about Cora and her sister despite Cora's judgement of him. Magua could have let this Cora die in the fight but instead he saved her and brought her to safety with him.

Following this tragic massacre, Hawkeye, Duncan, Uncas, Chingachgook, and Munro head after Magua in an attempt to free Cora and Alice. Soon these characters caught up to Magua who was with his own tribe and eventually Heyward manages to free Alice and David from Magua but Cora remained captured. Finally Uncas, Hawkeye, and Heyward led a second tribe of Indians to war against Magua. These Indians are greatly successfull and wipe out Magua's tribe. The final sense of this battle featured Magua on a high cliff giving Cora one last chance to be his wife. Cora again refused but Magua could not kill her because of his love. at this point Uncas charges onto the cliff in a passionate form of love. At this instance not Magua but his fellow Indian stabs Cora, which weakens Uncas to the point where he is also slain by Magua. Magua finally dies after a failed attempt at escape in which he is shot by Hawkeye.

Cooper's answer to his own question is that Indians are men in a similar way to white men. Indians however are trapped in their own free will and although they can have an idea of the truth (Christianity), they can also have an idea of pure evil, in which they speak and act evil things. This comparision parallels to Jonathon Edward's teachings in which John Edwards told people they as well as Indians are actively hanging over a pit in which they can easily turn to and fall in. According to Jonathon Edwards Indians and white men are equal in their free will and also in their fate (of being in the destructive hands of an angry God who enjoys their downfall). Cooper mainly focuses on puting Indians and white men together in a sense of humanity. According to Cooper the Indians may choose to act differently but deep down can easily be human.

Upon reading James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans, one could ask the question: In his story James Fenimore Cooper describes Indians as having the choice of being good or evil, because Indians and white men are both human. Could a white man also have this choice of becoming as evil as an Indian, and if so can this white man redeem himself?