The fall of the House of Usher
What illness does Madeline suffer from?
She suffers from a mysterious illness that causes her to become very weak and appear to be dying.
Where does the narrator find the second black cat, and what physical characteristic does it share with Pluto?
He finds it at his favourite bar. Like Pluto, the second cat is black and has one eye missing.
Why does Prospero invite his friends to his castle?
He wants to protect himself and his guests from the Red Death, which is killing people outside the castle.
What similarities do the two boys share?
They have the same name, a similar appearance and similar voices.
How does the narrator hide the old man's body after the murder?
He cuts the body into pieces and hides them under the floorboards.
Who invites the narrator to visit the House of Usher?
Roderick Usher, an old friend of the narrator.
What does the narrator do to Pluto after the cat bites him?
He cuts out one of Pluto's eyes.
How many rooms are there in the castle's decorated suite?
There are seven rooms
Who is Lord Glendinning, and what does the narrator try to do to him at Oxford?
He is a wealthy student. The narrator tries to cheat him while gambling.
What physical characteristic of the old man makes the narrator obsessed with him?
His pale, blue, vulture-like eye.
What happens on the night of the storm when the narrator is reading to Roderick?
Madeline appears at the door, covered in blood, after escaping from the vault.
What is the name of the narrator's first black cat?
Pluto
What is unusual about the mysterious masked guest who appears at the party?
The guest is dressed like a victim of the Red Death, with a costume resembling a corpse affected by the disease.
Where does the narrator meet the other William Wilson for the first time?
At a boarding school.
How many nights does the narrator watch the old man before killing him?
Seven nights
Where do Roderick and the narrator place Madeline after they believe she is dead?
They place her in a family vault inside the house.
How does the narrator's wife die, and where does he hide her body?
He kills her with an axe in the cellar and hides her body behind a wall.
What happens when Prospero follows the masked figure through the rooms?
Prospero tries to confront the figure, but he dies. The other guests also die, and the Red Death enters the castle.
What does the second William Wilson do when the narrator tries to cheat at gambling?
He exposes the narrator's dishonest behaviour.
Why do the police visit the house, and what makes the narrator finally confess?
A neighbour reports hearing a scream. The narrator eventually believes he can hear the old man's heartbeat beneath the floor and confesses to the murder
What happens to Roderick, Madeline and the house at the end of the story?
The twins die, and the House of Usher collapses into the lake.
How does the narrator kill Pluto?
He hangs Pluto from a tree.
What are the colours or the rooms?
Blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet and black.
Where does the final confrontation between the two William Wilsons take place, and what weapon does the narrator use?
It takes place at a masked gathering in Rome. The narrator uses a sword.
What happens on the eighth night when the narrator enters the old man's bedroom?
The old man wakes up and becomes frightened. The narrator hears his heartbeat and eventually kills him.