 Annabelle Lee  The Tell-Tale Heart  The Raven  The Cask of Amontillado  The Masque of the Red Death

 Born January 19,  His father left and his mother died of tuberculosis.  He was adopted by the Allans, but Mr. Allan did not care for Edgar.  He sent him to school at The University of Charlottesville, but did not provide enough money for him.  Poe fell into gambling.  He went into the army for income.

 He was recommended for West Point, but could not pay his debts and was dismissed.  Mrs. Allan, who was fond of Edgar, gave him money to get to Boston to pursue writing.  She died soon after, and he moved in with his Aunt Clemm.  His brother was living there too, but also died of TB.

 Things started looking up…  He got a job as an editor.  He married his cousin, Virginia.  Until…  His drinking problem lost him his job.  Virginia died of TB.

 Virginia’s death nearly killed Poe. He and Virginia had been very happy together and were very much in love. Friends noticed a huge change in Poe after Virginia’s death: deep depression, thoughts of suicide, his drinking worsened, and many suspected drug abuse. It was during this time, however, that much of his best work was written!

 Poe was found unconscious on the steps of an abandoned hotel in the middle of the slums of Boston on October Apparently he had drank and drugged himself into a deadly stupor (though there are some arguments that there were other causes of death. He never regained consciousness. He died at the age of 40 on October 7, 1849.

Pg. 293

 1. Isolation: The mind and body of the Ushers have been destroyed due to their isolation from the rest of the world.  2. Incest: Roderick and Madeline were guilty of incest. He buried her to try to escape his guilt, but his guilt destroys them both.  3. Conscious vs. Unconscious Mind: Roderick represents the conscious half of the mind; Madeline represents the unconscious half. Roderick (the conscious mind) tries to bury or deny the needs and desires of Madeline (the unconscious mind), but cannot. Ultimately the unconscious desires destroy the conscious.  4. Mind vs. Body: Roderick represents the mind; Madeline represents the body. Roderick tries to bury the body and the desires of the body, but cannot do this without also destroying himself—the mind.  5. Autobiographical: Poe’s mind vs. Poe’s body; Poe’s conscious vs. Poe’s unconscious. Poe tries to deny his body (Madeline) and its needs, but cannot. Or Poe tries to deny the needs of his unconscious mind (Madeline), but cannot.

SIMILARITIES  Use of nature  Focus on individualism DIFFERENCES  The Party of Hope believed in man’s natural goodness and optimism (Emerson and Thoreau).  The Party of Irony was cautious and skeptical. They preferred to point out the natural flaws of transcendentalism (Hawthorne, Poe, and Melville).

TRANSCENDENTALISM  Self-reliance  Non-conformity  Nature  Intuition  Simple living/hard work HAWTHORNE?  Hester stayed  The A  The meteor  Chillingsworth  Hester’s needlework

 Describe the setting. Give 3 quotes that support your answer.  What do we learn about the House of Usher that is very important?  What kind of person is Usher?  What theory does the narrator have for what caused Usher’s problems?

GOTHIC CASTLEAMERICAN GOTHIC HOME

 How is the description of Roderick Usher similar to the description of his Gothic house?

 Describe Usher’s artwork.  Usher’s song  In what ways is it like the artwork?  What lines from the song suggest Usher’s mental instability?

 Why has the narrator gone to visit Usher? Does the narrator succeed in his purpose? Explain.  What beliefs about the “sentience” of matter does Usher express to the narrator? How are Usher’s beliefs and fears borne out by the final events of the story?  In the description of the exterior, which words suggest the presence of decay in the structure itself? In what ways does this description foreshadow the ending?

 Which descriptive details of the interior of the house suggest that the narrator has entered a realm that is very different from the ordinary world? Which details in Usher’s appearance suggest that he has been cut off from the outside world for many years? In what ways is the appearance of the interior of the house related to Usher’s appearance and the condition of his mind?

 What is the significance of the detail that the narrator finds himself becoming affect by Usher’s condition? Do you think the narrator is a reliable witness of the events he describes? Explain your opinion.

 Create a written response for your interpretation (individually write in your notes though you are discussing as a group).  Include evidence for and against this interpretation.  Be prepared to present the evidence to the class.  If time allows, have a brief discussion of the other interpretations so that you can respond to the other groups.