American Literature - Essay Example

“The Fall of the House of Usher” Answer The house had an unspoken sort of hideous relation with the fate of all the characters. Roderick and his sister Madeline were the descendants of an ancient clan that never flourished. Same was the deteriorated condition of the house that never got renovated. Moreover, the disturbing look of the house from outside can be linked to the Roderick’s reckless condition. Similarly, the mysterious look of the house within can be linked to the strange sickness with which Madeline was suffering.

The mansion’s damp and silent environment appeared as the mysterious paths leading to secrets. Same can be linked with the truth revealed to the narrator there that Roderick and Madeline were twins. Lastly, the sudden crumbled house was clearly a direct link to the deaths of the inhabitants.Answer 2The story told by narrator and the events occurring at those moments were as bringing the story’s events alive. The escape of Madeline from the tomb was quite comparable to the forceful entrance of Ethelred into residence of a hermit, as written in the story.

Various descriptions in the story resulted in real and non-ignorable sound as if came in accordance to the event being described in the story.Answer 3In general perspective, the human beings are always influenced by the nature and environment in which the lives. The supernatural thing can be in the form of human powers that are beyond will in normal scenario. As this story depicts, the mysterious environment of the house ultimately affected Roderick mentally so much that he buried his sister alive considering that she cannot fight back the fatal disease.

Moreover, the reflection of the mansion in the murky pond showed that the sickness of Roderick is reflected too in his sister but both had opposite nature. The escape of buried-alive Madeline showed the supernatural force inside her that made her escape after so many hurdles. “Bartleby, the Scrivener”Answer 1This story presents the strange behavior of a hopeless scrivener hired by a lawyer (the narrator). The narrator explains Bartleby’s emotional and physical isolation in terms of his rigid attitude toward not doing any task and being totally loner.

The reliability of narrator’s told events can be judged easily by Bartleby’s continuous rejection toward doing small tasks by simply saying “I would prefer not to”. Moreover, various people in the prison named him as an odd pitiable person and “silent man”.Answer 2Narrator’s description of isolated life of Bartleby is far different than that of his because the real matter lies in the emotional and physical behavior of both. The narrator, if on one hand is emotionally attached toward every other employee and worked hard to make his life secure financially, then on the other hand, Bartleby seemed to have no concern with his own life most of all.

It was the despair condition of Bartleby that made him die despite of any calamity, whereas the narrator still lived a happy life, having business of his own.Answer 3The story throws light on the criticism of capitalism and revolution of socialism. It is depicted in the form of lawyer’s personal business. By demolishing the economic trend of capitalism, there is more flow of wealth in the society and so does was the motive of the narrator i.e. to make himself financially secure and successful.

Answer 4The story concerns the ethics of capitalism and that of Christianity against each other only to the extent of the private business of lawyer. Since, Christianity particularly criticizes capitalism due to its encouraging destructive egoism (Eppler 1). The private business of narrator highlights then the revolution of socialism which is as demanded by the Christian communism. Works Cited Eppler, Erhard. “Capitalism and Christian Ethics.” Social Europe Journal (2009) n. pag. Web. 24 Oct. 2012