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He was born in boston in 1809, he was orphaned at the age of 3 and spent most of his life as a foster child in Virginia. He joined the army and then became a poet and literary editor. He died at the ripe age of 40 to brain congestion.

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The House of Usher
The childhood mansion of Roderick and Madeline Usher.

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Roderick Usher: The last living descendant of the Usher bloodline (along with his sister); the head of the house; educated and was once an attractive man; however as the story progresses, it is revealed that his appearance has been altered by his deteriorating mental health; the narrator believes that Roderick suffers from a mental illness
Madeline Usher: Roderick Usher’s twin sister; very little is said about her; does not really have much dialogue; when the narrator arrives at the Usher house, she falls into a catatonic state (suffers from cataplexy)
The Narrator: unnamed childhood friend of Roderick Usher; not much is said about the narrator; however as the story progresses we see that in a way he acts as a foil to Roderick (because he is more rational and a man of common sense)

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The narrator approaches the very gloomy house of his childhood friend, Roderick Usher. He enters and is brought to Roderick in a dark room. The narrator spends weeks doing activities with Roderick to cheer him up because he appears to have some mental disorder. Roderick’s sister, Madeline “dies” and they bury her in a tomb. The narrator reads Roderick a story while a storm rages on outside. Madeleine comes back inside as the story is being toldThe narrator runs away from the house as it crumbles to the ground and the Usher lineage ends.

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"The Raven”
“The Masque of the Red Death”
“The Tell-Tale Heart”
“The Gold Bug”
"The Black Cat"
"Annabel Lee"
"The Pit and the Pendulum"

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1st person

Story told through the narrator’s perspective

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He was born in Boston in 1809, he was orphaned at the age of 3 and spent most of his life as a foster child in Virginia. He joined the army and then became a poet and literary editor. He died at the ripe age of 40 to brain congestion.

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Exposition: The narrator, a childhood friend of Roderick, is requested to visit his companion who is ill, and the narrator travels to the house of Usher where they spend a few weeks together. One interesting fact about the lineage of this family is that they are all inbred. Brothers sleep with sisters to keep the family line going.

Rising Action: Roderick, with the help of his friend, entombs Madeline, his sister, who they believe is dead. Or at least the narrator believes so. She was rather ill and suffered from seizure like symptoms so it is not hard to imagine.

Climax: A storm rages outside as the two men are reading a book when they cannot sleep one night. In the climax of the plot, Madeline enters the room covered in blood from her struggle to escape her coffin.

Falling Action: Madeline approaches Roderick and he dies from fear, and the narrator flees.

Denouement: The narrator runs away from the house of Usher, and the building falls to pieces. This could  be representative of the end of the family line.

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“ I had learned, too, the very remarkable fact, that the stem of the Usher race, all time-honored as it was, had put forth, at no period, any enduring branch; in other words, that the entire family lay in the direct line of descent, and had always, with very trifling and very temporary variation, so lain.”

“He suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the senses; the most insipid food was alone endurable; he could wear only garments of certain texture; the odors of all flowers were oppressive; his eyes were tortured by even a faint light; and there were but peculiar sounds, and these from stringed instruments, which did not inspire him with horror.”

“...there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters—and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the “House of Usher.”

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Revenge-  Following the burial of Madeline, she returns to the house to wreak havoc against he that wronged her. She takes revenge by killing Roderick

Fear- Roderick has been getting progressively more sick and fears the possibility of death. This paranoia of Usher leaves the narrator in a state of fear as well. Ultimately what Roderick fears most happens- he dies.

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The Single Effect
applies to short stories, states that every element of a story should contribute to a single emotional effect of the story.
In Usher:
Basically the single effect is horror. Seen through the imagery, the diction, and more. However, there could also be a deeper meaning of the connection of the our actions and their consequences, or of trying to regain touch of reality through love/family/contact.