Is it possible that two stories of the same genre could have completely different settings, but end the same way? The two stories The Fall of the House of Usher and Where is Here? are both gothic stories. In The Fall of the House of Usher by: Edgar Allen Poe, the story begins with the narrator going to visit his old friend in an isolated house built on a swamp. In Where is Here? by: Joyce Carol Oates, the story takes place in a quiet, residential neighborhood, then a stranger comes to visit. Although The Fall of the House of Usher and Where Is Here? are both Gothic works of literature, the settings of the two stories have a distinct difference, but have a similar ending. Although the two stories The Fall of the House of Usher and Where Is Here? are both gothic plays, they begin in very different ways. At the beginning of The Fall of the House of Usher, the visitor is also the narrator. This gives information that he came to meet Roderick Usher in times of distress because he was Roderick's only friend growing up. "Throughout a gloomy, dark, silent day... when the cloud hung oppressively in the sky... while the evening shadows drew on... and I found myself at last... in sight of the melancholy House of Usher” (Poe, 293). The narrator (the visitor) explains in this quote the atmosphere of the Usher House and the decor that surrounds it. It also shows the depression and isolation that must come from living in a place like this. In the story Where is here? the setting begins completely differently. It opens with a normal family, living a normal life, in a normal neighborhood. “...They lived in a quiet, residential neighborhood” (Oates 325). This quote really shows that this f...... middle of paper... swamp it was built on. The end of Where is Here? is similar due to the fact that the house has returned to its original, strange and depressing appearance. "...The lights flickered..., the patterned wallpaper seemed faded..., the sturdy green of the carpet seemed faded... In the kitchen, the lights were dim and there was a sour smell of smoke, subtle but unmistakably, made his nostrils clench (Oates, 332), it is easy to understand the depressing mood that reigns after the stranger's departure. once produced in the house fell on the new family The two stories The Fall of the House of Usher and Where Is Here have obvious differences in setting, but end in a similar way. all Gothic literary works? The answer is yes, considering that all Gothic literature ends in a depressing or disturbing way...