Comparing The Lottery and Fall of the House of Usher

Comparative Literature Poe Jackson There are a number of literary elements that successful authors creatively and effectively combine so as to demonstrate their style, technique, and knowledge of writing fundamentals. In the short stories, The Lottery and The Fall of the House of Usher written by Jackson and Poe respectively, the authors depend heavily upon the settings within each story to enhance or explore elements such as mood, atmosphere, conflict, and theme. Jacksons The Lottery takes place in small town middle America, while Poes The Fall of the House of Usher presumably takes place in the countryside or suburbs of the eastern seaboard of America. The authors absolutely embody the physical location of each story with the sentiments and desires of the characters within the settings, from the overall geographical location, such as a town, to specific edifices such as the actual House of Usher as well as the path into the town square where the crowd gathers for the lottery. The paper demonstrates awareness of the authors deliberate use of setting to contribute to other important aspects of the story and the writing. The paper references textual evidence for support. The successful emotional affect of The Lottery and The Fall of the House of Usher are contingent on the effective and detailed use of the settings to make prominent aspects of the works such as character and atmosphere. Edgar Allan Poe is one of the numerous writers with a talent for