"The Fall of the House of Usher" Study Guide English 10

Which passage from “The Fall of the House of the House of Usher” best captures the story’s single effect?

• There was in iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart-an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime.

• Although, as boys, we had been even intimate associates, yet I really know little of my friend.

• It had been used, apparently in remote feudal times, for the worst purposes of a donjon keep and in later days, as a place of deposit for powder…

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CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which word best describes the single effect created by the opening description of the house?

• Gloom

• Sorrow

• Entusiasm

• Interest

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CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

What Gothic element may be seen in details such as the black tarn, decayed trees and vacant, eyelike windows of Usher’s house?

• Strong language full of dangerous meanings

• Bleak or remote settings

• Macabre or violent incidents

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CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

Which choice below best restates this long sentence from “The Fall of the House of Usher”?

Feeble beams of crimsoned light made their way through the trellised panes and served to render sufficiently distinct the more prominent objects around; the eye, however, struggled in vain to reach the remoter angles of the chamber, or the recesses of the vaulted and fretted ceiling.

• Not enough light came through the window panes, and I had trouble seeing even the larger objects in the room.

• The light that came through the windows was so dim that it made everything in the room seem shadowy.

• The reddish light coming through the windows helped my eyes focus on everything in the room.

• The dim light coming through the windows lit up the larger objects, but my eye could not see anything in the corners of the room.

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CCSS.RF.3.3B

CCSS.RF.3.3C

CCSS.RF.3.3D

CCSS.RF.4.3A

CCSS.RF.5.3A

Which choice below restates this long sentence from “The Fall of the House of Usher”?

Oppressed, as I certainly was, upon the extraordinary coincidence, by a thousand conflicting sensations, in which wonder and extreme terror were predominant, I retained sufficient presence of mind to avoid exciting, by an observation, the sensitive nervousness of my companion.

• I was overcome by many difficult emotions and was unable to avoid upsetting my friend.

• Though I was oppressed by many feelings, those of terror and nervousness were the two strongest.

• Though the coincidence overcame me with many feelings, including terror, I was careful to avoid upsetting my friend.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” what does the narrator find to be the explanation for his host’s sad situation?

• His own failing health

• His sister's illness

• The gloomy weather

• The house needing repairs

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CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

What macabre or violent incident contributes to the Gothic element of the story?

• Roderick having buried his sister alive.

• Roderick’s guitar playing.

• The long hours spend alone by the narrator.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

Which statement expresses a central theme of “The Fall of the House of Usher”?

• Too much contact with the world leads to a distortion of reality.

• Isolation of the mind leads to death of the body.

• A person cut off from the world can fall prey to irrational fears and mental illness.

• The mind cannot affect the body in any way.

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which of the following breaks down this sentence from “The Fall of the House of Usher”?

A letter, however, had lately reached me in a distant part of the country-a letter from him, which, in its wildly importunate nature, had admitted of no other than a personal reply.

• In a distant part of the country, a letter had reached me.

• A letter had reached me and required a personal reply.

• A letter from a distant part of the country had reached me in a wildly importunate nature.

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CCSS.RF.3.3B

CCSS.RF.3.3C

CCSS.RF.3.3D

CCSS.RF.4.3A

CCSS.RF.5.3A

Which detail early in “The Fall of the House of Usher” most clearly foreshadows, or hints at, the story’s ending?

• The narrator’s memories of Roderick as a boy

• The barely perceptible fissure in the front of the house.

• The scattering of musical instruments and books around the room.

• The Gothic atmosphere of the hall.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4