Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The Fall

His heart is a suspended lute;
Whenever one touches it, it resounds.

It was during a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens that I delved into the recesses of the House of Usher. I hasten to admit though, that I left somewhat disappointed. While Poe did manage to create an atmosphere that transcended the pages of the book and saturated the room in which I sat reading, I still felt an emptiness that was not satisfied by the story.
I agree with Mr C that the utter helplessness and frustration experienced by the narrator was described to great effect, and the atmosphere of despair was created masterfully, but I feel it lacked something and the worst part is that I cannot describe what. To me, at least, Poe produced a silence that seemed to permeate through every room, and every character and even every word, if that makes sense, and while that added greatly to the atmosphere of the piece it still left me wanting.
In regards to the incest issue, I originally did not understand how Mr C came to his conclusions but the more I think about it now the more it makes sense. The paragraph he posted on the comments and the way I understand the silence that seems to dominate the piece combine to say more than I had first thought. I am going to go back and read the whole thing again because of this, but I wanted to get these thoughts up first before I returned to the ‘insufferable gloom’.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Рабочие Мира Объединяются!


http://img.ruslania.com/pictures/big/501045-Lenin.jpg


"Lenin lived, Lenin lives, Lenin will live"
Happy 7th

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Samhain? How was it.....


I eagerly await word of the celebration that befell Maryland's eastern shore. I also would like a bit of help with the pronunciation of the word. I have much trouble with the Gaelic.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

The Fall of the House of Usher---



What a wonderful horror story. It gripped me from start to finish. My skin crawled as the thought of the incest between the Usher twins manafested itself in my mind and how that incident represents so much of what we are becoming in this country. The whole edifice is corrupted and collasping from with in.


The Fall of the House of Usher disturbed me a great deal as I read it. Poe managed to create a scene of disolation and dispair by a powerful use of language that almost corrupted you as you read it. It might stand as an analogy for the corruption that engulfs a society inbreeding with itself in order to remain pure and eventually destroying all sembalance of what it is trying to preserve. Poe may have aimed his story at the American South but that is pure speculation.


Poe managed to create a real impression of a drug induced hallucination. I could almost smell the opium pipes buring with every paragraph. I indentified with the speaker and the feelings of helplessness that are beginning to assault me about affecting the world around me. Maybe Paddy is right and we should just flee it all, as the speaker did at the end. Who knows maybe we will have a story entitled "The Fall of the House of Hogwarts". It and every place like it may be truly corrupt and venial.

All of these things passed through my mind. "Usher" was a decent into hell.

Thursday, November 01, 2007