52 pages • 1 hour read
What Moves the Dead
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Background
Literary Context: “The Fall of the House of Usher”
What Moves the Dead is based on “The Fall of the House of Usher,” a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and published in 1839. The short story is written from the perspective of an unnamed male narrator who is visiting his friend, Roderick Usher. As a work of Gothic fiction, much of the story is devoted to developing a dark, foreboding tone through detailed descriptions of the ominously cracked and rotting house of Usher. In Poe’s original work, the Usher family’s house is deteriorating and covered in fungus, and Roderick’s and Madeline’s health conditions are notably poor. After Madeline dies, Roderick’s mental health rapidly declines, and he comes to the narrator in the night to show him glowing lights coming from the tarn outside. Roderick also declares that he can hear Madeline. The door opens, and the narrator sees Madeline and flees. When he looks back, he sees that the roof of the house is on fire (Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” 1839. Project Gutenberg).
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