Lopez-PAP: The Fall of the House of Usher

At the beginning of "The Fall of the House of Usher," what does the narrator do?

• He listens to Roderick play the guitar.
• He travels with a friend to visit Madeline Usher.
• He travels to visit Roderick Usher at Usher's home.

How can Roderick Usher's state of mind BEST be described?

• suspicious and miserable
• nervous and agitated
• cautious and gloomy

In "The Fall of the House of Usher," what does Usher say is his biggest fear?

• being frightened to death
• being accidentally buried alive
• the collapse of his family house

Which statement best describes what happens to Madeline Usher in "The Fall of the House of Usher?"

• She recovers from her disease with the help of her doctors, but she is then thrown into an underground cell by her brother.
• She appears to die, is accidentally buried underground by her brother, but then revives and frees herself.
• She dies, but she comes back as ghost to haunt her brother and the narrator.

What is the best description for the end of "The Fall of the House of Usher?"

• During the storm, the small fissure in the front wall of the house widens until the house falls apart.
• During the storm, the lake surrounding the house floods and destroys the house.
• During the storm, Madeline and Usher begin to fight and tear the house apart.

If a storm were to "annihilate" a building, what is likely to happen?

• The building would have parts of its roof torn off.
• The building would be slightly damaged but would remain standing.
• The building would be completely destroyed.

Which of the following items would be considered an "antique?"

• a vase from ancient times
• a house built in the 1950s
• a rusty piece of jewelry

Which of the following is the best example of tumultuous event?

• a foggy night that hides in the moon
• a drought that causes crops to wither and die
• a storm so loud that it is hard to hear other speaking
• a winter night so cold that snow freezes into ice

Which excerpt from "The Fall of the House of Usher" BEST describes the story's mood. REMEMBER: mood is the feeling/ emotion that the story gives the reader.

• Although, as boys, we had been intimate associates, yet I really knew little of my friend.
• Beyond this indication of extensive decay, however, the fabric gave little token of instability.
• There was an iciness, a sickening of the heart- an unredeemed dreariness of thought..

Read the following sentence from "The Fall of the House of Usher," in which the narrator explains that he has received a letter from Roderick 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. What is the most likely reason the narrator says the letter “admitted of no other than a personal reply”? Base your answer on your knowledge of the story as well as on the sentence.

• The narrator feels obliged to respond to his friend's request for a visit because his friend is clearly upset.
• The narrator is worried that it will seem rude if he does not answer the letter in a personal way.
• The narrator hopes his friend will invite him to stay in the distant part of the country where his friend lives.
• The narrator believes that his friend is threatening to harm him if he does not give the right answer.