cat; he hangs the cat to the large branch of a tree. Madly, he blows his wife’s head with the axe and she falls dead instantly.
Having treated his wife improperly, cut out his cat’s eye and hung his cat, then he continues commits crime by killing his wife. It is caused by his spirit of
perverseness willfully urges him to do so. The man finds himself doing continuous crime just for the wrong’s sake: “my heart beat calmly as that of one
who slumbers in innocence Poe, 1990: 210. Through the stories composed above; supported by the actions and voices of the character, it has created a
mystery story.
2. 5. Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is the technique of hinting at the nature of coming action. So the reader is not shocked by what happens for the expected to come about.
Foreshadowing usually comes in at the very beginning of the story. The story of The Fall of the House of Usher, takes place in autumn first
paragraph a season associated with death. It brings the reader to a direct reflection that encounters with death. Usher’s mansion is another example. There
is a barely perceptible fissure in the mansion and a small crack in the house of Usher, which the narrator defines as both the family and the family mansion. Also
what the narrator says that the Usher’s mansion has an atmosphere, which has no affinity with the air of heaven. This foreshadows an event that will ruin the house
and the family. From the statement in the first paragraph of The Tell-Tale Heart, the
reader does not exactly know what kind of person the narrator is. The narrator
does not know what he is talking about. He acts as a crazy character. The narrator told the reader that he loved the old man but hates the eye and believe the eye is
evil. The narrator’s fear is represented by the old man’s eye. Whenever the eye fell upon him, he felt that his blood run cold. This foreshadows to an event of a
brutal murder to the old man. While in the last story, The Black Cat there is an interesting passage. The
narrator tells the reader “we had bird, goldfish, a fine dog, rabbits, a small monkey, and a cat” Poe, 1990: 198. This is emphasized to foreshadow the
intense hatred that the narrator will have for the animal. Also when the narrator’s feeling of regardless, he lacked of self-control then he treated his wife improperly
and even offered her personal violence. It foreshadows to an event to the narrator’s wife. At least the narrator’s wife felt in terrible dead by an axe.
2. 6. Diction
Diction refers to the selection and use of words. It is the author’s characteristic manner of expressing himself. Poe had a rather unique writing style. He had
chosen every word in every sentence carefully to create a reader’s suspense. His meticulous choice of words creates a very effective atmosphere of mystery in the
story. The opening sentences in the story The Fall of the House of Usher draw
the reader into this gloomy word. Some of the description of the house includes “dull, dark, soundless, cloud hung oppressively low, melancholy, insufferable
gloom, desolate, and terrible.” This description is beautiful. The imagery of the house is spectacular. It has very good opening. It is like viewing the mysterious
countryside through the narrator’s keen eye. The other words like “white trunks of decayed trees, the black and lurid tarn, the vacant eye like windows” all contribute
to the collective atmosphere of despair and anguish. This is done with the words black, lurid, and vacant. The narrator also finds the expressed feeling of Roderick,
feeling of phantasm by using word FEAR. This indicates an emotion of alarm and agitation caused by the expectation or realization of danger. The grim phantasm,
FEAR dominates this story from the foreboding paragraph to the terrible conclusion. The disease and illness of his beloved sister make him fall in deep
pressure. He is like a bounden slave to fear. He is a mind haunted by phantasm. In The Tell-Tale Heart, fear is represented by the old man’s eye. The words
that the narrator uses are “evil eye and the vulture eye”. It means that the eye is not a natural eye. Someone who has this eye represents that he is a person of
rapacious predator nature. The belief centers on the idea that those who posses the evil eye have the power to harm people of their possessions by merely looking at
them. Vulture indicates to a large bird having dark plumage, naked head and neck, and feeding on carrion. This condition is felt by the narrator whenever the eye
fells upon him. The Black Cat
is an interesting title. Poe used the word “black” to the cat and named the cat “Pluto”. “Black” refers to something evil and wicked. While
“Pluto” in Greek and Roman mythology was the God of the dead. The use of this name leads the reader to believe that the cat is somehow responsible for the death
that is caused by the narrator himself. This is where the reader is first introduced
to the fact that events of this story are full of strange actions and superstition that brings to the atmosphere of mystery.
3. Conclusion