Introduction to Dark Romanticism: American Gothic Answers

Read the excerpt from "The Fall of the House of Usher."As if in the superhuman energy of his utterance there had been found the potency of a spell—the huge antique panels to which the speaker pointed, threw slowly back, upon the instant, their ponderous and ebony jaws. It was the work of the rushing gust—but then without those doors there DID stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher.How does Poe develop a short story element in the excerpt?

Read the excerpt from Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher."His action was alternately vivacious and sullen. His voice varied rapidly from a tremulous indecision (when the animal spirits seemed utterly in abeyance) to that species of energetic concision—that leaden, self-balanced and perfectly modulate guttural utterance . . . during periods of his most intense excitement.Which short story element does Poe develop in the excerpt?

Read the excerpt from an essay about role models.Hers was a modest career: she received no accolades, no civic recognition. Her name did not appear in headlines. Nonetheless, her candor captured the attention of her students as she told history’s untold stories. From the Trail of Tears to the widespread resistance to desegregation, this teacher shared the injustices that shaped history. She encouraged her students to delve deeper than the facts presented in their textbooks. As a result, she created a generation of activists among her alumni. Her pension was unimpressive; her legacy is not.How does the author's word choice affect the tone of the excerpt?

Read this Nathaniel Hawthorne excerpt from "Introduction to Dark Romanticism: American Gothic."When they met in conclave, it was never to keep up the old English mirth, but to hear sermons three hours long, or to proclaim bounties on the heads of wolves . . .What Dark Romantic theme is reflected in the excerpt?

Read the excerpt from an essay about educational technology.With a laptop for every public-school student, eager learners have the world at their fingertips. But will there still be eager learners, or will students be mindless drones heedlessly surfing the Internet on classroom time? Computers are an invaluable research tool, and laptops render content imminently accessible—but accessibility has a downside. When every question posed to a student can be answered by a search engine, what happens to that student’s need to learn? Perhaps it will suffer the same fate as dusty books and desktops, vanishing in antiquity.How does the author's word choice affect the tone of the excerpt?

Read the excerpt from "The Fall of the House of Usher."From that chamber, and from that mansion, I fled aghast. The storm was still abroad in all its wrath as I found myself crossing the old causeway. Suddenly there shot along the path a wild light, and I turned to see whence a gleam so unusual could have issued.Which best describes the impact of Poe’s tone in the excerpt?

According to "Introduction to Dark Romanticism: American Gothic," how does Poe’s writing distinguish his works from other Romantic authors?

Read the paragraph from an essay about conservation.Many companies claim to be ‘green,’ but few are practicing true conservation of resources. Though e-mails have replaced paper memos, lights use LED bulbs, and toilets are a modern ‘low-flow’ variety, waste is rampant. Trash cans overflow with recyclables. Outlets hum with the recharging of personal electronic devices, and office parking lots boast a shameful number of gas-guzzling trucks that are piloted morning and night by lone commuters too self-absorbed to consider a carpool.How does the author's word choice affect the tone of the paragraph?

Read this Herman Melville excerpt from "Introduction to Dark Romanticism: American Gothic."Hither, and thither, on high, glided the snow-white wings of small, unspeckled birds; these were the gentle thoughts of the feminine air; but to and fro in the deeps, far down in the bottomless blue, rushed mighty leviathans, sword-fish, and sharks; and these were the strong, troubled, murderous thinkings of the masculine sea.What Dark Romantic theme is reflected in the excerpt?

Read the excerpt from Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher."Hitherto she had steadily borne up against the pressure of her malady, and had not betaken herself finally to bed; but, on the closing in of the evening of my arrival at the house, she succumbed (as her brother told me at night with inexpressible agitation) to the prostrating power of the destroyer.Which short story element does Poe develop in the excerpt?