1. ASManager2.zip Driver
2. D_FLOWER.txt File Contents

D_FLOWER.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2.zip)

Name: <  >
Class: <  >
Date: <  >

Flower

Giovanni Guasconti, in Hawthorne's story, is going to meet up with a weird scientist, who has something to do with the gloomy edifice. If you've read Gothic mystery stories, this may sound familiar.

Let's look at what Giovanni Guasconti finds out about the garden outside his new lodgings. When he asks the maid if the unusual garden belongs to the house, she answers:

"No; that garden is cultivated by the own hands of Signor Giacomo Rappaccini, the famous doctor, who, I warrant him, has been heard of as far as Naples. It is said that he distils these plants into medicines that are as potent as a charm. Oftentimes you may see the Signor Doctor at work, and perchance the Signora his daughter, too, gathering the strange flowers that grow in the garden."

HMMM . . . and what does he do with those medicines that come from the flowers? You wonder. But first, let's consider what Hawthorne does with sentences.

Below is a description of one of those flowers in the garden. Notice that it is one long and skillfully crafted sentence. Notice also that the last part is connected to the first by a semicolon. Talk with your partners about how to use a semicolon.

There was one shrub in particular, set in a marble vase in the midst of the pool, that bore a profusion of purple blossoms, each of which had the luster and richness of a gem; and the whole together made a show so resplendent that it seemed enough to illuminate the garden, even had there been no sunshine.

Breaking this long sentence down into skinny sentences might result in this:

One shrub bore a profusion of blossoms.
They were purple.
Each had the luster of a gem.
Each had the richness of a gem.
The shrub was set in a marble vase.
The vase was in the midst of a pool.
The blossoms together made a resplendent show.
It seemed to illuminate the garden.
It would have illuminated the garden even with no sunshine.

How would you combine them? Together with your writing partners, try combining these skinny sentences into two sentences. Say each sentence aloud as you build it.


Name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)


Below is Hawthorne's original sentence with connecting words in capital letters. Compare it with yours.

There was one shrub in particular, set in a marble vase in the midst of the pool, THAT bore a profusion of purple blossoms, EACH OF WHICH had the luster and richness of a gem; and the whole together made a show SO resplendent THAT it seemed enough to illuminate the garden, EVEN had there been no sunshine.

Did you use different combining words? Different word order? Please scroll back and put brackets [ ] around the combining words in your work.

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You can learn a lot about writing by imitating famous writers. Try using Hawthorne's sentence structure but plug in your own ideas. Think of something you could describe that is like Hawthorne's shrub. Focus on one especially interesting thing among many. Make a copy of the sentence for each writing partner. 

Let each partner take a turn writing words at the <  > angle brackets below.

Do Your Work on Copy B.

Copy A.

There was one <  > in particular, set in <  > in the midst of <  >, that <  >, each of which <  >; the whole <  > so <  > that it seemed <  >, even if <  >.

Copy B.

There was one <  > in particular, set in <  > in the midst of <  >, that <  >, each of which <  >; the whole <  > so <  > that it seemed <  >, even if <  >.


If you haven't done so already, name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)


By the Way:

It turns out that this bush of flowers is indeed special. Doctor Rappaccini's beautiful daughter, who was raised in this garden, breathes the poisonous perfume of these resplendent flowers and is dependent on them for life. To find out more, do read the story. Your teacher will tell you where to find it.

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end of activity
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