PLOT SUMMARY

The unnamed narrator was a boyhood friend with Roderick Usher- the owner of the House of Usher. He was invited to the House of Usher to keep Roderick companied.

However, as the story goes on, it is revealed that the friendship between two was not strong.  Therefore, the narrator hesitated to come but despite the fact that the house seemed gloomy and spooky, he went in with curiosity. As he went in, There is only a small crack from the roof to the ground in the front of the building. 

Roderick Usher, from the narrator’s look, seemed to be remarkably changed from boyhood. He looked pale and terribly troubled.  The narrator amused his friend with art and music. He caught a glimpse of Madeline Usher in the house. She did not notice him, or as so he thought.  Her sickness was strongly revealed by her appearance. Roderick’s sister, Madeline, has taken ill with a mysterious sickness—perhaps catalepsy, the loss of control of one’s limbs—that the doctors cannot reverse.

The narrator thought Roderick was getting better, but as days went by, Roderick appeared to be paler.

Suddenly, one day Roderick Usher announced that his sister- Madeline was dead. He wished to bury her in the vault down in the dungeon. He wanted to keep her temporarily in the house because he was afraid that the doctors might dig her up and use her body to do medical examination.

The narrator also realizes suddenly that Roderick and Madeline were twins. Over the next few days, Roderick becomes even more uneasy. One night, the narrator cannot sleep either. Roderick knocks on his door, apparently hysterical. He leads the narrator to the window, from which they see a bright-looking gas surrounding the house. The narrator tells Roderick that the gas is a natural phenomenon, not altogether uncommon.

The narrator decided to read to Roderick Usher a novel called “Mad Trist”. While he was reading, there were noises correspond to the description of the story. As first, he tried to ignore and keep on reading the story. However, the noises got louder and closer that he could not longer convinced to stay calm. Roderick Usher suddenly slumped over in his chair and is muttering to himself. According to Roderick, he had been hearing these sounds for past several days, he revealed that Madeline was still alive and she was trying to escape. He yells that she is standing behind the door. The wind blows open the door and confirms Roderick’s fears: Madeline stands in white robes bloodied from her struggle. She attacks Roderick as the life drains from her, and he dies of fear. The narrator flees the house. As he escapes, the entire house cracks along the break in the frame and crumbles to the ground.