Well, when I was first diagnosed with MS, I had several childhood friends contact me. I thought it was thoughful and lovely. So, of course, Roderick feels obligated to contact his childhood friend.
@mortiz-- i agree with you. if inbreeding is all they know, they would be embarresed, they are just worried that since they are dying their family will not exist anymore.
@matt its because that is all they know. Their family has been inbreading for a long time so they probably think it is weird to marry outside of the family.
In the story it says that Roderick and Poe were best friends when they were kids, so as an adult you would look back on all the fun you had, and your mind would go to your best friend. Then you would want to contact them it wouldnt be an obligation, it would be something you would want to do for your own mind.
Maddy: I think Poe is showing elements from his life and the way he is feeling. Its so dark because thats the way he feels about is his life which then makes his life sad and unhappy
@ally I thought they were inbreading in order to keep the wealth in the family. If everyone is dying I don't see why it wouldn't be ok to go outside the family just enough to continue the line and not lose money.
I'm not sure he is happy to help his friend. He speaks as though he is frustrated that his friend is so dark, so bitter, that there is no way he can help him. So why doesn't he just leave? Is he sucked in? Does the house have some sort of hold on him?
@Ally- That's a great point. If you have ever visited someone who is dying, it is uncomfortable. Going to nursing homes is uncomfortable. Why do we have such issues with death and people who are dying?
Because the family seems to be reserved from outsiders, the house could be the only representation of the state of the family that can be seen from outside the family.
@mike and @nile-- I mean i agree with mike but i see where you are coming from nile. I feel like they should have been smarter and figured out that the only way to keep their family "alive" was to marry other people but it was too late for that.
@moritz-- I think that people in this society view death as a bad thing, which it isnt. So going into nursing homes makes people feel uncomfortable because they think about their death and how they dont want to die.
@moritz I think people are so umcomfortable about death because death is something that comes and creeps up on you. No one can choose when they die or not, so I think a lot of people are more afraid of death, because they arent sure when its suppose to come get them. So people even ask themselves, " Am I next?"
@ Everyone-- What do you think about the end of the story? The process of loading the coffin and placing it in the house? The screaming Roderick hears. Do you think she was dead? Do you think she was a ghost? Was she buried alive? On purpose?
@Mike- I agree, I also thinks this represents his life and his writing. The writing is like the house because it is where he escapes to when his life is too hard to face.
@ally I think the reason people dont like to visit nursing homes and such is not because they themselves are afraid of dieing but of loosing these people that you are seeing in this place.When you see a little old lady you dont want her to die.
I think she was buried alive on purpose because Roderick was becoming more and more uneasy and he couldn't deal with her anymore. He is super depressed and i think he wanted to believe she was dead so he buried her, assuming she would die in the tomb. But then he beings to feel regret and it sneakes up behid him and kills him.
@ maddy yes i think that it goes both ways (he is not ready for them and they are not ready for him) like how no one understands his familys ways even in this classroom.
yes i agree but have you ever been to a nursing home and when you walk out you say, " wow i dont want to get old" obviously i dont want those little old ladies to die but i also think about getting old and dying...but that is just me.
I think the end of the story is his regret and his sorrow coming to kill him. Because he buried her alive, so as in the shape of that woman, his sorrow and regret comes to cut his air off. As he did to her a long time ago. I think if Poe would have stayed he would have witnessed the miracle of revenge and passing to the " light"
@Ally I completely agree with you. Looking at those old ladies makes you think about how you would be old, and will you be strong enough to fight death off once it comes?
I think that the reason why we are uneasy around death is because we all as humans fear death because death represents the unknown. Being around death reminds humans that they will not live forever.
In regard to death being unconforatable I agree with Nile in that you can not do anything about death and you can not change or help the people who are going to die so you feel bad and uncomforatable.
What does any of this have to do with the story?
ReplyDeleteI agree, I thought it was confusing. I don't know what his motive was to go there?
ReplyDeleteWell, when I was first diagnosed with MS, I had several childhood friends contact me. I thought it was thoughful and lovely. So, of course, Roderick feels obligated to contact his childhood friend.
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly does the girl represent?
ReplyDeleteIts like in starwars when he doesn't know he has a sister untill the end of the movies
ReplyDelete@Maddy--which girl? The sister?
ReplyDeleteWhy are they embarrassed to indbred if that's what they have always done
ReplyDeleteI dont think he though twice about going to see Usher because he was one of this only friends and he was dying so of course he would go see him
ReplyDeleteI think the confusion in the story is significant because it represents the confusion in his life.
ReplyDelete@Matt--
ReplyDeleteI don't think they are embarrassed. I think they are dying and know that their family lineage will cease to exist when they die.
Yeah I don't know why they wouldn't just stop
ReplyDeleteWhen you find out someone is dying I think you will always make an effort to reconnect with them even if you haven't talked in years.
ReplyDeleteI think he is more ushers friend then usher is his friend
ReplyDeleteSo why don't they start to marry people outside the family instead of just confusing themselves and letting the family die off
ReplyDelete@mortiz--
ReplyDeletei agree with you. if inbreeding is all they know, they would be embarresed, they are just worried that since they are dying their family will not exist anymore.
Does the decaying house represent the family?
ReplyDeleteIs Poe taking elements from his own life to create this type of gothic setting?
yes i like the symbolism of confusion with the house
ReplyDelete@matt
ReplyDeleteits because that is all they know. Their family has been inbreading for a long time so they probably think it is weird to marry outside of the family.
I think the fall of the house represents the disinegration of the blood line.
ReplyDeleteIn the story it says that Roderick and Poe were best friends when they were kids, so as an adult you would look back on all the fun you had, and your mind would go to your best friend. Then you would want to contact them it wouldnt be an obligation, it would be something you would want to do for your own mind.
ReplyDelete@Maddy-
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think that this story definitly represents elements from his own life.
Maybe if they had never started the inbreeding and married like normal people all these weird things wouldn't have happened
ReplyDeleteMaddy: I think Poe is showing elements from his life and the way he is feeling. Its so dark because thats the way he feels about is his life which then makes his life sad and unhappy
ReplyDelete@ally
ReplyDeleteI thought they were inbreading in order to keep the wealth in the family. If everyone is dying I don't see why it wouldn't be ok to go outside the family just enough to continue the line and not lose money.
I think he feels good about being there but can't wait to leave
ReplyDeletePoe had a rough life and this confusion is probably an example of how he felt
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think is Roderick's real motive for travelling to the house of Usher.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure he is happy to help his friend. He speaks as though he is frustrated that his friend is so dark, so bitter, that there is no way he can help him. So why doesn't he just leave? Is he sucked in? Does the house have some sort of hold on him?
ReplyDeleteI think the narrator begins to feel uneasy not because of the house but what is going on in the house ( Usher and his sister dying)
ReplyDelete@ kelly E
ReplyDeleteI agree his life style majority influenced his writing.
Poe's life wasn't full of daisies, and yet his views really influenced his writing.
i think the house and the mystery of what goes on inside intrigued Roderick
ReplyDelete@nile
ReplyDeleteI think that they have been doing it for so long that its just too late to do anything about it now
@Ally-
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point. If you have ever visited someone who is dying, it is uncomfortable. Going to nursing homes is uncomfortable. Why do we have such issues with death and people who are dying?
@Ally-
ReplyDeleteI agree, it's not the house itself, it's what is happening inside of it.
He feels like he is committed to help his friend.
ReplyDeleteThey had been friends since childhood. He can't turn his only friend down for help
I feel like the house is a metaphore for the siblings condition
ReplyDeleteBecause the family seems to be reserved from outsiders, the house could be the only representation of the state of the family that can be seen from outside the family.
ReplyDelete@Moritz-
ReplyDeleteI think people are uncomfortable with death because it is a reality that they don't want to face.
@Maddy
ReplyDeleteI complete agree with you. But then again if you look at it, his life may have been dark and gloomy but it's beautiful in its own way.
@mike and @nile--
ReplyDeleteI mean i agree with mike but i see where you are coming from nile. I feel like they should have been smarter and figured out that the only way to keep their family "alive" was to marry other people but it was too late for that.
@mmoritz
ReplyDeletedeath is a natural occurance a part of life but the way it happens in the House of Usher seems uncanny
@moritz--
ReplyDeleteI think that people in this society view death as a bad thing, which it isnt. So going into nursing homes makes people feel uncomfortable because they think about their death and how they dont want to die.
@moritz
ReplyDeleteI think people feel that way about death because it is one of the few things in our lives that we have no control over.
maybe more because people want to be in control and when your in a nursing home you can't control the death there
ReplyDeleteWhy does usher feel trapped? Was it a choice or by force?
ReplyDeleteI think that the world around him is too harsh to leave the house. people can not exept him.
ReplyDelete@moritz
ReplyDeleteI think people are so umcomfortable about death because death is something that comes and creeps up on you. No one can choose when they die or not, so I think a lot of people are more afraid of death, because they arent sure when its suppose to come get them. So people even ask themselves, " Am I next?"
"pride comes before the fall" as far as what's being said in the middle
ReplyDelete@ Everyone--
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about the end of the story? The process of loading the coffin and placing it in the house? The screaming Roderick hears. Do you think she was dead? Do you think she was a ghost? Was she buried alive? On purpose?
@mikew
ReplyDeleteSo would that mean that he is unready for the world, and they may judge him?
@Mike-
ReplyDeleteI agree, I also thinks this represents his life and his writing. The writing is like the house because it is where he escapes to when his life is too hard to face.
@ally
ReplyDeleteI think the reason people dont like to visit nursing homes and such is not because they themselves are afraid of dieing but of loosing these people that you are seeing in this place.When you see a little old lady you dont want her to die.
@moritz
ReplyDeleteit seems to me that she was buried alive, maybe she didnt bear a child or did something agaisnt the house so they wanted her dead
I think she was buried alive on purpose because Roderick was becoming more and more uneasy and he couldn't deal with her anymore. He is super depressed and i think he wanted to believe she was dead so he buried her, assuming she would die in the tomb. But then he beings to feel regret and it sneakes up behid him and kills him.
ReplyDelete@ maddy
ReplyDeleteyes i think that it goes both ways (he is not ready for them and they are not ready for him) like how no one understands his familys ways even in this classroom.
@mike--
ReplyDeleteyes i agree but have you ever been to a nursing home and when you walk out you say, " wow i dont want to get old" obviously i dont want those little old ladies to die but i also think about getting old and dying...but that is just me.
I think the end of the story is his regret and his sorrow coming to kill him. Because he buried her alive, so as in the shape of that woman, his sorrow and regret comes to cut his air off. As he did to her a long time ago. I think if Poe would have stayed he would have witnessed the miracle of revenge and passing to the " light"
ReplyDelete@Ally
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. Looking at those old ladies makes you think about how you would be old, and will you be strong enough to fight death off once it comes?
Usher was dead inside long before the house ever killed him.
ReplyDelete@kelley
ReplyDeletei dont think revenge is a miracle, it is often destiny or evil coming after you
I think it is very possible that none of it ever happened, it was all so metaphorical that its likely it wasn't actually real.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the guilt had killed him or was it because of their family ways, and he was ashamed.
ReplyDelete@hayley--
ReplyDeletei agree with you. i think this unreal and Poe was just using this story to vent about his own life.
@Maddy-
ReplyDeleteI think that it was mainly guilt that killed him. Guilt is one of the most powerful and difficult emotions to deal with.
I think that there is a possibility that he was just going to the funeral of is friend and his sister and just imagined all the details.
ReplyDelete@matt
ReplyDeleteIn this case I think it is a miracle because he needed to see what he really did, so in the end it was her revenge that shows him that.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletetest
ReplyDeleteI think that the reason why we are uneasy around death is because we all as humans fear death because death represents the unknown. Being around death reminds humans that they will not live forever.
ReplyDeleteIn regard to death being unconforatable I agree with Nile in that you can not do anything about death and you can not change or help the people who are going to die so you feel bad and uncomforatable.
ReplyDeleteI think that Usher was fed up with caring for his sisters ailments and so he found a way to get rid of her by buring her alive.
ReplyDelete@mmoritz
ReplyDeleteI think that she may have been burried alive and it may have been on purpose because Roderick fears her.