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- 1. Multiple Choice
At the beginning of “The Fall of the House of Usher,” what does the narrator do?
He listens to Roderick Usher's improvisations on the guitar.
He travels with Roderick Usher to visit Usher's family home.
He travels to visit Roderick Usher at Usher's family home.
He helps Roderick Usher bury Roderick’s sister Madeline in a vault.
- 2. Multiple Choice
Which phrase best describes Usher’s state of mind in “The Fall of the House of Usher”?
cautious and glum
dull and depressed
suspicious and miserable
nervous and agitated
- 3. Multiple Choice
In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” what does Usher say is his biggest fear?
being frightened to death
being accidentally buried alive
the death of his sister Madeline
the collapse of his family's house
- 4. Multiple Choice
Which of the following is the most accurate description of what happens to Madeline Usher in "The Fall of the House of Usher"?
She dies, is buried by her brother, but then returns to life to terrorize her brother and the narrator.
She appears to die, is mistakenly entombed, but then revives and forces her way to freedom before dying.
She pretends to die, is taken for dead and is buried, but then emerges from her crypt to destroy the house
She nearly dies, recovers through a doctor's help, but then is thrown into an underground cell by her brother.
- 5. Multiple Choice
Which is the most accurate description of the ending of the “The Fall of the House of Usher”?
During a storm, the waters of the tarn surrounding the house rise until the house is submerged.
During a storm, the barely perceptible fissure in the façade of the house widens until the house collapses.
During a storm, Roderick Usher madly rushes about striking at the house until he causes its collapse.
During a storm, Roderick and Madeline Usher struggle so madly that they cause the collapse of the house.
- 6. Multiple Choice
If a storm were to annihilate a building, which of the following would most likely be the result?
The building would have part of its roof torn off.
The building would have damage but would remain intact.
The building would be reduced to small fragments.
The building would be removed from its foundation.
- 7. Multiple Choice
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
The narrator is worried that it will seem rude if he does not answer the letter in a personal way.
The narrator hopes his friend will invite him to stay in the distant part of the country where his friend lives.
The narrator believes that his friend is threatening to harm him if he does not give the right answer
- 8. Multiple Choice
The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.
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 confused behavior is reflected in the broken mirrors.
Usher’s self-assurance and noble manner is reflected in its wealth and splendor.
Usher’s advanced age and old-fashioned ways are reflected in the ancient furnishings.
Usher’s physical and mental deterioration is reflected in the gloomy darkness, lack of comfort, and old, worn-out possessions.
- 9. Multiple Choice
Part B
Which excerpt from “The Fall of the House of Usher” best supports the answer to Part A?
The room in which I found myself was very large and lofty.
The general furniture was profuse, comfortless, antique, and tattered.
A small picture presented the interior of an immensely long and rectangular vault or tunnel, with low walls, smooth, white, and without interruption or device.
Our books—the books which, for years, had formed no small portion of the mental existence of the invalid—were, as might be supposed, in keeping with this character of phantasm.
- 10. Multiple Choice
The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.
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.
Usher believes that his house will fall apart, sliding into the tarn.
Usher believes that his sister will die, even though she is healthy.
Usher believes that the narrator has held a grudge, ever since boyhood.
- 11. Multiple Choice
Part B
Which excerpt from the story best supports the answer to Part A?
Although, as boys, we had been even intimate associates, yet I really knew little of my friend. His reserve had been always excessive and habitual.
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.…
“I shall perish:” said [Usher], “I must perish in this deplorable folly. Thus, thus, and not otherwise, shall I be lost. I dread the events of the future, not in themselves, but in their results.”
[O]ne evening, having informed me abruptly that the lady Madeline was no more, [Usher] stated his intention of preserving her corpse for a fortnight.…
- 12. Multiple Choice
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.
Although, as boys, we had been even intimate associates, yet I really knew little of my friend.
Beyond this indication of extensive decay, however, the fabric gave little token of instability
It had been used, apparently, in remote feudal times, for the worst purposes of a donjon-keep, and, in later days, as a place of deposit for powder….
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