Imagery of Doom

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Imagery of Doom

A comparison of the short stories "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe and "The Loons" by Margaret Laurence.

1,085 words () | 5 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper posits that while apparently dissimilar in many respects, both Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" and Laurence's "The Loons" make use of settings to convey a fatalistic theme. The paper demonstrates how Poe's association of gothic imagery of doom with the Usher family is thematically and structurally very similar to Laurence's employment of natural imagery, as linked to the Metis/Indians in her story.

From the Paper:

"Upon initial review the setting of "The Fall of the House of Usher" would appear to be radically distinct from "The Loons". In the former story the setting is predominantly man-made in the form of the gothic Usher mansion while in the latter story the setting is predominantly the natural geography of Diamond Lake. Upon reflection, however, the setting of both works are similar in that they convey a sense of age that is associated with the alienation of the human characters from the setting. In Poe's story this aspect of the setting is evident from the opening where the narrator describes "the utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation" that afflicts him upon first sight of the "mansion of gloom" that is the Usher house (Poe 38)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Brennan, Matthew. "Tunerian Topography: The Paintings of Roderick Usher." Studies in Short Fiction. 27.4 (1990):605-608.
Laurence, Margaret. "The Loons." In Course Reader: EAC 150.Toronto: McGraw Hill, 2006, 53-61.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Fall of the House of Usher." In CourseReader: EAC 150. Toronto: McGraw Hill, 2006, 37-52.
Timmerman, John. "House of Mirrors: Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." Papers on Language and Literature.39.3 (2003): 227-244.
Ware, Tracy. "Race and Conflict in Garner's 'One-Two-Three Little Indians' and Laurence's 'The Loons'." Studies in CanadianLiterature. 23.2. (1998): 71-85.