The Fall of the House of Usher

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The Fall of the House of Usher
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• The House of Usher is a run-down, gloomy, scary
  place.
• The speaker has come to the House of Usher to
  stay with his friend Roderick, who has come down
  with a physical/mental illness. Roderick wrote
  him a letter and asked him to come stay.

3

• Roderick Usher has the paleness of a corpse, his
  eyes are watery, his lips are thin and pale. He
  looks really sick.
• Roderick Usher called his illness a family
  evil.
• He could not stand light. He could only eat
  bland food. He could only wear clothes of a
  certain texture. There could be no flowers. It
  was a morbid acuteness of the senses.

4

• Rodericks sister, Madeline, is also ill, though
  more so than Roderick. They are the last of the
  Usher family.
• Roderick is acting more illand more crazy.

5

• Madeline dies and Roderick has her entombed in
  the walls of the house so that the doctors will
  not dissect her body to study her illness.
• After his sister dies, Roderick gets worse.
• The speaker begins to think he might be getting
  sick.

6

• During a storm, Roderick shows the speaker that
  the house is surrounded by a glowing vapor.
• Roderick and the speaker buried Madeline alive
  and Roderick knew all along because of his acute
  senses.
• The House crumbles after the speaker gets out,
  leaving Madeline and Roderick inside.