Participate thoughtfully and frequently on the outer circle by posting your questions and comments here. Try to bring in passages from the text when possible, and when responding to someone, address him/her by name. Remember to uphold our class's standards of professionalism.
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71 comments:
do you think that this whole brother marries sister thing might have caused their madness?
Wait, does that mean that Madeline was Usher's sister? Then how could he do what he did to her?
Do you guys think that Roderick was aware that his sister was alive when he initially put her in the tomb? Why?
Along with what Jose is saying about the brother/sister marriage, Poe married his 13 year old cousin and he was addicted to opium, which he mentions twice in the story. Do you think he liked writing from experience?
well he was insane...
allison- I think it is possible because science has shown us that insest can create mental disoders
Could they have married only brother and sister to keep the house only in the family, and not have an insiders take possession of the house?
I think that it would have some effect on the craziness of the family because that can cause genetic disorders and if one person was mentally ill than eventually they all would be
@ allison
it may have, bearing children with a blood relitive is know to cause probplems and produce children who are mentally ill
Allison~The intermarriage of the family obviously could give them weird sicknesses, and marrying your sister could make anyone go a little nuts.
Catem
I think that he did know that his sister was alive. I think he knew this because he intentially put her in there. Later when he says that he heard her but did not say anything pretty much tells us that he did it on purpose and just wanted to get rid or her.
Allison--it may have. Most families behave similar and share a similar mindset, so without varriation, I know I would go insane. But maybe it may have been that, it could have been some inherent gene that continued in the line. Which is what the inner circle just said so yeah
allisons - I definitely think it could have, but at the least I think it affected their mental health. Do you think this was a major factor in the "Fall" of the House of Usher, or just an insignificant fact?
DO you think that the house was "alive" in some way?
well then why would they continue this trend, it dosenet make sense to me and it's gross
Did the story ever say if Roderick and his sister had any children? Do you think this would be signigicant?
Erin- I think that's a really good question but I think the anwser is based on personal opinion.
Why do you think that he put her in the tomb alive, or why would he want to get rid of her, and if he didn't know if she was alive at first why would he not go get her out.
Cate- I'm not sure if he knew she was alive but I do think he knew shortly after because he said he could hear her the day after they burried her.
Actually, I still don't understand that whole thing because wouldn't the narrator have noticed she was alive still? It just seems like there are two options: either neither of them knew she was alive, or Roderick knew.
Seth- I think the house was alive in the way its atmosphere had an affect on the people who lived there.
Ray
I dont think they had kids because it would have been mentioned at some point
I think paranoia substantiates their incest.
Seth
I think the house was "alive" in the sense that the carecters minds made it alive, because it became a part of them in a way.
Kelsey~ What motive do you think Usher would have for murdering his sister? Do you think that it may be tied back to marriage between brothers and sisters?
Allison
-I agree that the tradition is gross, but they probably felt that no one was good enough to become part of their family. That same thing has happened in royal blood lines and they eventually died out because of the problems from intermarrying.
maddieh- But Usher was crazy so even if he could hear her maybe he thought that it was all in his head and that it was nothing new to him. And if the narrator heard it, he might think that he was going crazy too from spending so much time with Usher and in that house.
Alyssa- Do you think that the house is tied at all to their family and their actions?
Allison-
Well it was a completely different time. Poe married his 13 year old cousin when he was like 25 or so. Yes, its gross, but that's how they did things back then.
Helen
That makes sense but it's still creepy = ]
What is the importance of Roderick being insane? and Why is that important?
To me, the House of Usher seemed to be somewhat irrelevant. The title, though seeming to pertain to the actual physical house,really was intended to relate to the family Usher. THe house seemed to be just to be an extra something to the story and not the actual story. Maybe the house was put in there to be a blinding spot to the reader. It makes you think there is something with the house that is strange when in reality it is the family one should be watching. And in gothic literature, doesn't the house seem to be always hiding something? Maybe it is hiding the reality of the family.
Did anyone else see the painting of the underground tunnel as a symbol, or as foreshadowing to the future?
Seth
I like what you are saying about the paranoia. I think that the house and how Usher was acting created a sense of paranoia for the narrator and he also began to be changed by the house.
maddie
But having a whole family be 100% realated couldnt be considered normal ever, a cousin is only partially related so it's different in a way.
How does the house have a connection to the Usher family in a spiritual sense.
Seth- I think all of those are tied together. The family never brings in any outsiders, so no one besides the family had ever lived in the house, and the house seemed to have the strongest effect on the family and their actions.
Alyssa-but do you think that it crumbled becuase the family had failed?
Kalyn- I think it was important that he was insane because it makes the reader speculate and question him and his actions. If he were a completely sane person the question of if he knew she were alive would not exist. A sane person wouldn't do that to their family memeber.
Has anyone read "The Cask of Amontilado"? This story reminds me of that but I think the motives of the two stories differ yet are still similar. In the "Cask", this man burries alive another man underground and leaves him there to die. He does this out of jealousy? Do you think jealousy had any impact to why Roderrick buried alive his sister? If not, what would his motive be?
Erin
I dont think it was jealousy, I think it was just madness,or isolation
Nicole- Do you think his actions would be more analyzed if he were a sane person? Also do you think that Poe was giving him a sense innocence?
Seth~I think in the begining of the story when the narrator observes the small crack down the middle of the house I think represented the fact that there was tension in the family and it was on the verge of dying off. I think as it decayed, and family members died off, and finally when the line dies off, the house crumbles as well.
Hey Nicole,
But don't some of the sanest people make you question their actions and their thoughts? I tend to believe that those who are insane have more sense and do things more logically since they have no blinding qualities; they speak truthfully without restraint.
Nicole
-I think the idea that he could be sane makes her burial all the more horrible. If you say he is insane then he has his reason and there is no more depth to go into from there.
Seth- I think the house fell because the family was failing. While they were all going insane, the house is a part of them, so it fell along with them.
cate
Wow I never really thought of that and I think thats right..it makes a lot of sense
About the house 'falling' because the family failed - I think this could be true. The house was presented as an entity that was as much a part of the Usher family as Roderick and Madeline. The explosion thing that happened at the end seemed like it could be a concious action by the house.
One connection I saw between Usher and the house was that they were breaking down and the beginning but were not entirely ruined. There was a huge crack in the house but the narrator mentioned that the structure was still there. This is like Usher because he still holds himself like he is normal but inside, he is completely breaking down.
do you think the end explosion of the house was caused by the gun poweder stored under the house?
Hey Allison,
But there has to be some reason beind his maddness. Maddness and insanity is just the label of actions. The actions are driven out of some other emotion. Even Noah in the Village had motives behind the actions he took and he was mad.
Cate
I do think that the painting represents something and I think that it might also connect to the song or poem that he wrote. I think that the song lets us know more about the house of usher and how it has become what it is.
Erin
Maybe his motivation was just that he was sick of his isolation, the family just the way he lived in general and was set out to destroy this so no one else would live this way.
allisons - good idea! When I read it the first time I though it sounded a litle more supernatural, but that would be a realistic explination that makes sense.
Wait, the House was destroyed??!! I thought that is was just a metaphor for the lineage of the family. That the line was destroyed beyond hope. But really, the house went up in flames aswell? With Madeline and Roderrick inside?
I don't think Madeline really crawled out of the tomb. I think she was buried and Usher could have felt guilt about her death for some reason (any one have an idea why) so she is more figurative for secrets and guilt resurfacing.
I think the house represented an internal struggle in the family. If they were all crazy, and he buried her alive, then maybe the house started falling apart as the internal struggle of the family became apparent to outsiders.
rachel
I thought that too but the more you think about it...
I like Seth's connection to Harry Potter cause if you look at the wall, everyone is related to everyone. The Blacks to the Lestranges to the Malfoys and so forth.
Kelsey~ I think that the tunnel painting foreshadows the burying of Madeline, and how the family is trapped in its own fate.
For Kakos's question--
What do you guys think about the red moon?
To reminds me for some reason about the sun and how stars implode. I don't know why but maybe that could relate to something? Any clues?
Kalyn,
Way to destroy evil Kalyn! Way to destroy it!
Kelsey~ I think that the tunnel painting foreshadows the burying of Madeline, and how the family is trapped in its own fate.
I don't think that Roderick and the narrator could be the same person. I don't think it fits the story at all.
I agree because it makes no sense, or at least none to me.
Maddie~I agree, I think that it wouldn't work, because how could part of him escape and part of him die.
I think it makes sense, sort of, because people are unaware of their other personalities and Poe is weird.
Allison- Yeah, I think that that is not how Poe intended the story to be read. I think they are just completely different people.
I don't think that Roderick and the narrator are the same person. It just doesn't seem to fit the story, and I think that bringing in the issue of Split Personality Disorder, would be a little too extreme to add to all of the other things going on in the story.
Helen
That's very true but it's still a stretch
Yeah, but Poe probably didn't know what he was doing half the time. He was really out of it.
Maddie
Exactly Poe wouldn't have come up with it, they are referred to as two people too often
I think that the house and the family have a HUGE connection but I don't think the narrator and Roderick are connected. There is a lot of evidence supporting the house and family but none about the narrator and Roderick being one in the same.
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