literature: stories of ourselves Flashcards
who wrote the house of usher
edgar allen poe
when was the house of usher written
1839
what type of text is the house of usher
gothic literature combined with aspects of psychological horror
how is the house of usher described in the opening paragraph, and give a correponding quote
it is compared to the crash after taking opium.
“the bitter lapse into everyday life,”
the house of usher is personified in the opening paragraph. why is it and how is it impactful?
it is personified to reinforce the link between the house and the usher’s and they co-dependency between them, and also provides an eerie symbolism of the house being alive.
give a quote used to describe the house of usher in the opening paragraph.
“vacant eye-like windows”
what impact does the description of the house of usher in the lake have
it introduces the theme of secrecy and hidden knowledge and again makes the setting more eerie.
why is the narrator travelling to the house of usher
to reunite with his childhood friend, rodrick usher who has become ill and is in need of a friend.
what is odd about the usher family and give the quote.
incenst is hinted at, with the quote “the entire family lay in the direct line of descent, and had always, with very trifling and very temporary variation, so lain.”
how is the crack in the house of the usher initially described
“a barely perceptible fissure”
how is the interior of the house of usher described
ghostly, dark and gothic
is rodrick usher healthy and stong
no he is described as pale, ghostly and thin.
who is madeline usher
rodrick usher’s sister who is ill and fragile
what is weird about rodrick usher
he is a hypochondriac and hated the light
what verses are written out in the house of usher
the haunted palace
what was one of rodrick usher’s weird beliefs
the sentience of all vegetable things
when madeline died what did roderick do
preserve her corpse for a fortnight in a tomb underneath the narrator’s bedroom
what does the narrator realise when ‘burying’ madeline and give the quote
that they are twins
“a striking similitude between the brother and the sister,”
what does it mean by ‘gaseous exhalation’ in the house of usher
the entire house is glowing - a natural phenomenon and is repeating the personification
what is the main text read near the end of the house of usher
mad trist by sir lancelot canning
what happens as they read mad trist in the house of usher
the sounds in the story start appearing in real life
what happens at the end of the house of usher
madeline is standing at the door after being buried for 2 weeks and falls onto rodrick, killing him. the narrator flees from the house of usher as it crumbles to the ground.
who wrote the open boat
stephen crane
when was the open boat written
1898
was the boat in TOB large? how do you know
no, “many a man ought to have a bathtub larger than the boat”
who are the characters in TOB
the cook, the oiler, the correspondant, and the captain
who is billie in TOB
the oiler
where is the beginning of TOB set
just before dawn, and not far off the coast of Florida
how is the sea anthropomorphized in TOB?
like an animal: “not unlike a seat upon a bucking broncho,”
are the men aware of their surroundings at the beginning of TOB
no “the colour of the sea changed from slate to emerald green streaked with amber lights, and the foam was like tumbling snow. the process of breaking day was unknown to them.”
what are the cook and the correspondant arguing about near the beginning of TOB
the difference between a house of refuge by Mosquito Inlet Light or a lifesaving station.
what came near TOB in the beginning of the second part
canton-flannel gulls
why didn’t the captain get the gull off his head
he didn’t want to capsize the boat.
who is the most optimistic in TOB
the cook
are the men close in TOB
“it would be difficult to describe the subtle brotherhood of men that was here established on the seas.”
who thinks the lifesaving station has been abandoned in TOB
the cook
what does the correspondent find that is comforting and encouraging in TOB
four dry cigars
do the men become accustomed to the boat
yes “they now rode this wid colt of a dinghy like circus men”
was there a lifesaving station where the men were looking in TOB
no, but they didn’t know that
what do they say about fate in TOB
they are angry that they survived that longa and had that much hope, when they are intended to die anyway. she is personified. “just as I was about to nibble the sacred cheese of life?”
how do the men in TOB switch from rowing to sailing
they put the captains overcoat on the end of the oar and use it as a sail
what does ‘spell’ me in the context of TOB
take over the rowing temporarily
what does the correspondent (and captain) see during the night
a shark
what does the correspondent think about during the night
why he is trying and rowing, when he will probably drown, and how nature does not regard him as important, and there is nothing he can do about it. also a poem about a soldier who is at war, and never returns home. (very similar to his situation).
what happens when the men finally see on the shore in TOB
the boat is overturned in the surf, and so they must swim.
what are the men compared to consistently throughout TOB
“children” “babes”
what does the correspondent mean when he says in TOB
“they were not afraid, but the full meaning of their glances were shrouded,”
why does the dinghy “drunken with this weight of water, reeled and snuggle deeper into the sea”
it personifies the dinghy, relates to the state of dizziness and exhaustion the men are feeling, and makes the fate imagery true by implying the dinghy wants to sink, and it was always intending to.
why is it so major that the water was cold in TOB
it emphasizes the situation and seems unluckily coincidental
who is swimming fastest at the beginning of the rescue in TOB
the oiler, Billie
who dies in TOB
the oiler, Billie
how is the oiler’s death portrayed powerfully in TOB
“his forehead touched sand that was periodically, between each wave, clear of the sea.”
where is it shown that the men in TOB have formed a connection with the sea
“the wind brought the sound of the great sea’s voice to the men on the shore, and they felt that they could then be interpreters.”
