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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Of what does the narrator say the atmosphere reeks?

2. What is the "grim phantasm"?

3. What does the narrator describe as long and improvised

4. How does the narrator describe the small pond near the house?

5. What happens to the narrator as he lies in bed the eighth night after Madeline's death?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator say about Roderick's face?

2. How does the narrator describe Roderick's appearance?

3. How does the narrator attempt to calm Roderick?

4. How does Roderick explain his invitation to a visit by the narrator?

5. What does the narrator say about his friendship with Roderick Usher?

6. What is one picture Roderick painted that the narrator describes and says it is not as abstract as the others?

7. According to Roderick, what impact does the sentience of the plants around the House of Usher have on the Usher family?

8. What type of struggle is going on within Roderick?

9. What does the narrator notice Roderick doing as they hear a clanging sound at the same time the book mentions the same such sound?

10. What does Roderick seem to vacillate between?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator approaches the House of Usher with great trepidation when he sees the disrepair. He is telling the story of visiting a friend.

It might occur to the reader that the main character is the narrator but the story gives very little information about him. Discuss how it affects the story not knowing much about the narrator. Use examples from The Fall of the House of Usher to support your reasoning.

Essay Topic 2

Trace and analyze the theme of madness or mental illness in The Fall of the House of Usher. Consider the following questions as you write: Examine which characters are sane and which do not seem sane. What are some symbols of madness? How does the madness of the characters relate to the story? How does the madness of the characters move the story along?

Trace and analyze the theme of isolation in The Fall of the House of Usher. Which characters struggle with this issue? Why? Which characters seem to have been affected by isolation? What are the reasons some of the characters are isolated? How does the theme relate to the plot? Could the plot have occurred without the isolation of some of the characters?

Essay Topic 3

Poe includes a poem, The Haunted Palace, in the story which he later publishes separately.

Discuss the meaning the poem has to the story. Use examples from The Fall of the House of Usher to support your reasoning.

(see the answer keys)

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