1. ASManager2_6.zip Driver
2. e_poe.txt File Contents

e_poe.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2_6.zip)

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

E. A. Poe

Edgar Allan Poe is often considered the creator of the horror story in American literature. He was very clever at setting up a scene that promises suspense -- that builds details to arouse our curiosity. One of his most famous stories is "The Fall of the House of Usher," written in 1839. Below, is a scene in which a visitor enters a strange environment and meets an even stranger person. The speaker is a doctor, summoned to treat a man with a strange complaint.

It was thus that he spoke of the object of my visit, of his earnest desire to see me, and of the solace he expected me to afford him. He entered, at some length, into what he conceived to be the nature of his malady. It was, he said, a constitutional and a family evil, and one for which he despaired to find a remedy -- a mere nervous affection, he immediately added, which would undoubtedly soon pass off.

Warm up by paraphrasing the sentences you just read. In other words, put them into your own -- and your partners' -- words! Scroll back to read the original version, and then write your paraphrase at the <  > angle brackets below. The first sentence is done for you.

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He told me why he was so eager to see me and what he wanted me to do for him. <  >


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


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Now the patient goes on to describe his problem.

It displayed itself in a host of unnatural sensations. Some of these, as he detailed them, interested and bewildered me. . . . He suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the senses; the most insipid food was alone endurable; he could wear only garments of certain texture; the odours of all flowers were oppressive; his eyes were tortured by even a faint light; and there were but peculiar sounds, and these from stringed instruments, which did not inspire him with horror.

Well! This patient seems to suffer from sensitivity. Notice that he has complaints about all his senses -- taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight. Please paraphrase (write in your own words) his complaint about each one at the angle brackets below.

Taste:

<  >

Touch:

<  >

Smell:

<  >

Hearing:

<  >

Sight:

<  >


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Maybe you noticed that Poe used semicolons (;) to separate each item and yet keep them all in the same sentence. Semicolons are useful, for they let you tie two sentences together without using a connecting word; they indicate that the ideas in the sentences are related to one another.

Of course, Poe could have made other sentence choices. Suppose Poe had decided to use periods instead of semicolons. Put periods and capital letters where they could go in the passage below.

Copy to Edit

He suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the senses the most insipid food was alone endurable he could wear only garments of certain texture the odours of all flowers were oppressive his eyes were tortured by even a faint light there were but peculiar sounds, and these from stringed instruments, which did not inspire him with horror.


Read your new sentences with your writing partners, and talk about the difference between periods and semicolons in a passage like this.

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Now, suppose Poe had decided to use connecting words instead of periods or semicolons. Because this is a kind of list, he could have chosen to use and. Try that yourself. Put and where periods could have gone in this unpunctuated paragraph:

Copy to Edit

He suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the senses the most insipid food was alone endurable he could wear only garments of certain texture the odours of all flowers were oppressive his eyes were tortured by even a faint light there were but peculiar sounds these from stringed instruments which did not inspire him with horror.


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Reading your new version now, what do you and your partners think about it? Would and have been a good choice for Poe to make? Which of the three versions do you like best?

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Now, try your hand at writing something similar. Imagine a Mr. X with a strange disease that affects one of his senses. Choose one. Make your description as far out as you want to. But, unlike Poe's, your version will use connecting words.

Use the framework below by writing your details in the markers.

His sense of <  > was so <  > that he couldn't <  > or even <  >. He couldn't enjoy any of his favorite <  > anymore, not even <  >. Because he <  >, he never had any <  > and he would <  > if he <  >. Moreover, whenever he <  >, he experienced <  > to such an extent that his <  > left him, and his <  > wouldn't even <  > him.


Welcome to the world of creative writing (and variety sentences). Meanwhile, if you're curious about what happens to this unfortunate man in the story, see your English teacher or librarian about where you can find "The Fall of the House of Usher."


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.)

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end of activity
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