The human imagination is a powerful tool that is sometimes very difficult to control, if it can be controlled at all. In The Fall of the House Usher, Edgar Allan Poe uses imagination as a key tool to bring the story to life. The human imagination is described as wild and uncontrollable. This can be demonstrated throughout the story by Roderick Usher's loss of control of his mental state and the narrator's belief that he too has been infected by the tormented nature of the house. I believe that Edgar Allan Poe personifies the mental concept of imagination because it seems that throughout the story the main culprit in causing madness is tormenting the person with their imagination. The unnamed narrator constantly reminds the reader that things are much worse than he can actually explain, thus causing the reader to use their imagination to conjure something much worse. Roderick Usher is relative because the interior of the house symbolizes his slow and crumbling mind. We can clearly see evidence of this in the narrator's use of words that describe the dark atmosphere of the house. The worn and worn furniture can describe the exhaustion of Usher's mind due to stress. Later in the story, the narrator realizes that he is unable to help Roderick with his condition because he too finds himself affected by the atmosphere of the house. He finds that the terrifying appearance of the house is a distraction because it makes him feel constantly nervous. In the story, there appears to be a supernatural, parasitic relationship between the house and Usher himself. The house seems to feed on Usher's fears and worries... halfway through the paper... he realizes that it is getting worse. Lady Madeline may represent the stable part of him that he wishes to preserve. This is demonstrated by Roderick Usher burying Lady Madeline alive inside the house. It can also represent painful memories that you can't let go of. The narrator may represent a part of him that has come to terms with both other parts, an intermediary. Edgar Allan Poe uses excellent descriptive words to paint pictures of his past life, the feelings he displays, and the feelings he chooses to hide. But most importantly, Edgar Allan Poe uses his unique writing style to show how the human mind and the human imagination are both powerful tools that are very difficult to understand, control, and use. Works Cited "The Fall of the House of Usher." Literature Prentice Hall: The American Experience. Penguin ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.