Character Analysis of Roderic Usher free essay sample

Edgar Alan Poe is an American writer, who is best known for his fondness for macabre, dualism of the world, mysterious atmosphere and incomprehensible events. He also likes to put very complicated and complex characters into his stories. As the character of Roderick Usher is also one of them. In his short story â€Å"The fall of house of Usher† Poe introduces us to Roderick Usher, one of the main characters in the story. Roderick along with his twin sister Madeline are the last standing descendants of the Ushers. The family was prestigious and rather a wealthy one, but some of its members suffered from some kind of mental diseases. Description Poe describes Roderick’s physical features, which include lips that are â€Å"somewhat thin and very pallid,† hair that contains â€Å"more than web-like softness,† and a face characterized by a â€Å"finely moulded chin. † The character of his face had been at all times remarkable† Isolation Roderick is totally isolated from the world. We will write a custom essay sample on Character Analysis of Roderic Usher or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He does not go out, he does not like the light and he cannot stand the smell of the flowers. He buried himself in his creepy house, abandoning himself in grief. Friendship As the story progresses, he faced with an â€Å"acute bodily illness†, called up a childhood friend. The Narrator arrives at the House of Usher in order to visit at his call. While the relationship between him and Roderick is never fully explained, but the narrator remarks himself, â€Å"†¦as his best, and indeed his only personal friend†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The reader does learn that they were boyhood friends. That Usher writes to the Narrator, urging him to give him company in his time of distress, it shows their close relationship. It seems that that he did not give himself over to despair completely. He has a desire for life and he considers his friend as his saviour. He wanted somebody to help him, but the situation changed dramatically later. Relation with the narrator Another oddity to consider here is Roderick’s relationship with the narrator. He doesn’t know this guy that well – they were friends in childhood but haven’t seen each other in years. Roderick reaches out to him for help because he doesn’t have any companions. Roderick knows that he’s going to die (or at least, he’s convinced himself of as much) – so why ask for help? Does he really think the narrator can do anything to help him? Not really, no. It seems more plausible that he invited the narrator as an audience – to watch the horrors that were going down between him and his sister. Relation with his sister If we talk about this brother-sister connection. What exactly is going on there? Roderick claims that he and his twin share a special connection, one that others would scarcely understand. As we discuss in the â€Å"Sex† section, one interpretation is that they are incestuous. Another, less controversial interpretation is that they share a sort of extra-sensory bond. Those who approach â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† as a psychological tale posit that Roderick and Madeline are actually two halves of the same person: male/female, mental/physical, worldly/other-worldly, natural/supernatural. His relationship with his house We can also think about the spooky connection that Roderick shares with his house. He tells the narrator that he thinks it is sentient or conscious, and that the house is largely responsible for his feeling so dark and gloomy. Many of his artistic compositions revolve around his house. We know that Roderick is a recluse to the extreme, so his existence is confined by the walls of his house. It might be that Roderick’s very identity has somehow meshed with his house, much the same way his identity might be shared with his sister Madeline. Madeline dies and so Roderick dies, too. Similarly, Roderick falls dead to the ground, and so does his house. So by describing what the house is like is showing a reflection of Roderick’s mind. As a Romantic Hero Roderick had some features that could describe him as a romantic hero. He was driven by his heart, not knowledge. He was also an artist. He played guitar and loved to paint. There is also one other matter that is worth thinking it over. A romantic hero had always experienced a feeling of a huge, passionate love, but because of Roderick’s isolation we can assume that his sister was the only woman he did love. Maybe it was not only a brotherly love, more like an incestuous passion. But love is there. So, these peculiarities bring him forward as a romantic hero. As a Villain Roderick Usher can be described as a villain because of his actions concerning his sister. Knowing she was cataleptic, which makes the person unconscious whilst the muscles become rigid and remain in any position they were placed, he put her into a tomb without letting any physicians see her because of the â€Å"†¦unusual character of the malady†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . To conclude, in spite of all the evils as shown, or all the romance as presented, Roderick Usher is not just a one-dimensional â€Å"evil† bad-guy. He is as much victim as villain because he has suffered for probably his entire life in the stigma of being an Usher.