In the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar Allan Poe compares the house to its owner, Roderick Usher, in various ways. Poe employs personification to liken the house to a person, describing it as having eyes in the form of “eyelike windows” (p. 308). Additionally, when Usher is seen again, Poe emphasizes the significance of his eyes.
He then goes on to compare the house and Usher, describing them both with similar features. He refers to the house as having “an eye large (p. 313)” and mentions how they both have “eyes.” Additionally, Poe describes the house as having “fungi overspread…hanging in a fine tangled web-work from the eaves (p. 311),” resembling hair hanging down from the roof. Later, when Roderick Usher is introduced, Poe describes his hair as “more than weblike softness (p. 313).”
Edgar Allan Poe compares the house and its owner, emphasizing their unkempt appearance. Both are described as having hair like a cobweb. Poe points out that the house and Roderick Usher lack proper care and are in a dilapidated state. He uses words like “melancholy (p. 308)” for the house and “cadaverousness of complexion (p. 313)” for Usher to convey their saddened look and feel. Ultimately, Poe uses the House of Usher as a symbol, drawing similarities between the eyes, hair, and overall appearance of the house and its owner.
