A fall was the reason for the rise of the narro
tor Justity
Answers
periences at the Ushers’. In order to justify this reading of the story, the narrator’s identity and the purpose of his stay at the House of Usher will be clarified first. It will be illustrated that rationality is the narrator’s key method of analysis used to analyze the observations he makes at the protagonist’s home. Additionally, instances of the narrator’s frustration to rely upon scientific knowledge will be demonstrated. After having paid attention to the growing psychological impact of the proceeding events on the narrator, the question of which message Poe wants to portray to the reader will be addressed.
2. The Narrator’s Identity and Purpose of His Voyage to the House of Usher
The first character the reader encounters is the first-person narrator, who, in response to a “wildly importunate” (Poe 149) letter from his childhood companion Roderick Usher, has proposed to himself a “sojourn of some weeks” (Poe 149) with his friend even though they have not met for many years (Poe 149). The protagonist, Roderick Usher, requested help from “his best, and indeed his only personal friend” (Poe 149), hoping that the presence of a sane, balanced mind will help to alleviate his physical and mental malady (Poe 149). As far as the introductory paragraphs of the story are concerned, one may go along with Gale’s characterization of the narrator, as being a “sensible, friendly man who tries to aid Roderick Usher but cannot” (155).
Apart from the information concerning the purpose of the narrator’s stay with Usher and his relationship to him, Poe leaves the question of his identity unanswered. Therefore one may agree with Leverenz, who suggests that in this case “another of Poe’s many anonymous white male narrators” (112) relates his experiences