Reflection on the mood of “The Fall of the House of Usher”

The question:

• How do the paintings displayed in the text capture the ‘single effect’ that Poe expresses in “The Fall of the House of Usher”?

The basic explanation:

• Examine the pictures that are displayed on the pages where “The Fall of the House of Usher” appears (308-325).
• In a one and a half-page reflection, explain how the story and the paintings capture the same mood. In other words, compare the paintings with the story. Be specific.

How to be specific:

• Find at least five lines from the text whose mood is the same as the mood of the paintings (or at least the same as the mood of part of the painting).
  • Include these lines as quotes in your reflection. Don’t forget the page numbers!
  • Use only as much quote as you need – do not quote just to take up space.
  • For each quote, use only one painting
• For each of the five lines, pick a specific piece of the painting out to which you can compare it.
  • Example: “The dog’s expression captures the anger expressed in this particular line.”

Tips for success:

• Find words that set the effect Poe was looking for, and you should find that they match many things in the paintings.
• Pick lines that deal with setting, plot, and characters as you search for particulars.
• For a grade higher than a C:
  • Be sure to pull quotes from all over the text – not just the beginning of the story.
  • Also pull quotes that describe different aspects of a story (plot, characters, setting) (i.e. – don’t pick all lines that deal with setting).

Important requirements:

• Type it and turn it in as a one and a half-page (minimum) formal assignment (double-spaced, Times New Roman 12pt. font)

Why you are doing this:

• So that you can read a piece of writing and pick out its important characteristics – like mood, setting, characters, and plot.
• So that you can wrestle with a difficult thought or concept and write it down in a way that makes sense to others.
• Because you will likely understand the story better after working through this assignment than you do before you have done it. 
   

Need some examples to help it make sense?

                 Example 1                               Example 2

Please remember that I know these examples well, and if you steal the passages from these, I'll give you a zero for the assignment.