The Fall of the House of Usher Selection Test

Grade 10 / Volume One California myPerspectives English Language Arts Savvas

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

He travels to visit Roderick Usher at Usher's family home

Which phrase best describes Usher's state of mind in "The Fall of the House of Usher"?

nervous and agitated

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

being frightened to death

Which of the following is the most accurate description of what happens to Madeline Usher in "The Fall of the House of Usher"?

She appears to die, is mistakenly entombed, but then revives and forces her way to freedom before dying

Which is the most accurate description of the ending of the "The Fall of the House of Usher"?

During a storm, the barely perceptible fissure in the façade of the house widens until the house collapses.

If a storm were to annihilate a building, which of the following would most likely be the result?

The building would be reduced to small fragments

Which of the following would most likely be considered an antiquity?

a vase from ancient times

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

a storm so loud that it is hard to hear others speaking

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

Part A: In "The Fall of the House of Usher," which details of the house's interior seem to reflect Usher's appearance and the condition of his mind?

Usher's physical and mental deterioration is reflected in the gloomy darkness, lack of comfort, and old, worn-out possessions

Part B: Which excerpt from "The Fall of the House of Usher" best supports the answer to Part A?

The general furniture was profuse, comfortless, antique, and tattered

Part A: In "The Fall of the House of Usher," which of the following is one of Roderick Usher's disturbing ideas?

Usher believes that his house has awareness, like a living thing

Part B: Which excerpt from the story best supports the answer to Part A?

The belief, however, was connected … with the gray stones of the home of his forefathers. The conditions of the sentience had been here, he imagined, fulfilled in the method of collocation of these stones….

Which excerpt from "The Fall of the House of Usher" best captures the story's overall effect?

There was an 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.

Part A: Which of the following is a defining element of Gothic literature that is clearly illustrated by "The Fall of the House of Usher"?

weird or otherworldly occurrences

Part B: Which excerpt from "The Fall of the House of Usher" best supports the answer to Part A?

[B]ut then without those doors there did stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher. There was blood upon her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame…. then, with a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated.

Which aspects of Roderick Usher's character most clearly illustrate elements of Gothic literature? Choose two options.

1) Roderick fears that unnatural forces control his home

2) Roderick lives in a gloomy ancestral home far from populated areas

Part A: Read the following excerpt from The Fall of the House of Usher:

The impetuous fury of the entering gust nearly lifted us from our feet. It was, indeed, a tempestuous yet sternly beautiful night, and one wildly singular in its terror and its beauty…. —yet we had no glimpse of the moon or stars, …. But the under surfaces of the huge masses of agitated vapor, as well as all terrestrial objects immediately around us, were glowing in the unnatural light of a faintly luminous and distinctly visible gaseous exhalation which hung about and enshrouded the mansion.

In what way is this excerpt most clearly characteristic of Gothic literature?

The description is dramatic. The setting described is eerie.

Part B: Which most clearly is the intended effect of the excerpt in Part A?

to create a mood of terror

Read the following sentence.

The wrestler faced his adversary in the ring.

In which of these answer choices does the underlined word have a denotation and a connotation closest to the denotation and the connotation of adversary?

Keisha's foe on the student council was Joe, who voted against every suggestion she made

Read the following sentence.

Malik bought his mother some flowers, and she enjoyed their fragrance.

In which of these answer choices does the underlined word have the same denotation as fragrance but a clearly opposite connotation?

Arjun knew from the stench of the leftovers that it was time to clean the refrigerator

Select the answer choice in which a dependent clause is underlined.

Though the cause of Poe's death is unknown, many believe that poor health and habits were probably the main factors

Select the complex sentence.

Edgar Allan Poe's stories, while they delight the imagination, also challenge one's intelligence

Select the compound-complex sentence.

He also wrote a poem that he entitled "The Bells" because the words in the verse imitate the sounds of different kinds of bells, and the poem has become a popular piece to be read aloud by a chorus