The House of Get Me Out of Here!

Edgar Allen Poe was never known for his cheerful stories with happy endings. His short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" is no exception. If I could change anything within the story instead of just reading it, there are a few things I would change.

The narrator does not ask enough questions! If I were the narrator I would ask about the scenery around the house. I find it a little strange that everything is either dead or dying and how even the lake is a murky color. The weather also aids this strangeness. Why does it have to be bad weather all the time? These are important things that should serve as red flags in the narrators mind. But no, he just brushes them off like they are a coincidence.

I would also liked to have made sure that Madeline was really dead. A corpse should not have rosy cheeks for very long after death. This kind of thing should be a sign as in ‘Hey maybe I should wait a few days and see if she is really alive’. If I was ever burying someone, the last thing I would want to do is burry someone who is alive. That is basically the primary job of the person who is burying them; to make sure they are actually dead.

If I was a part of the story, I feel I could help turn the Usher’s luck around. If Madeline were not buried alive, perhaps Roderick would not have gone into such a deep depression. The house itself may not also get so mad at the inhabitants. Even though I feel I would make the story a better, happier place, I would not want to be anywhere near it. The depressing nature of the weather and scenery is just not my style.