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

f_melvil.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2_6.zip)

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

Melville

Perhaps you've heard of Herman Melville's most famous novel, Moby Dick. That story grew out of Melville's experiences as a sailor. His first novel Typee, written in 1845, is also a tale of sea adventures based on his travels in the South Seas. In the excerpt you're about to read, Melville and his mates are visited aboard ship by the peculiar King and Queen of the Marquesas Islands, near Tahiti. Pay special attention to which sentences are long and which are short.

Their appearance was certainly calculated to produce an effect. His majesty was arrayed in a magnificent military uniform, stiff with gold lace and embroidery, while his shaven crown was concealed by a huge chapeau bras [stylish military hat], waving with ostrich plumes. There was one slight blemish, however, in his appearance. A broad patch of tattooing stretched completely across his face in a line with his eyes, making him look as if he wore a huge pair of goggles, and royalty in goggles suggested some ludicrous ideas. But it was in the adornment of the fair person of his dark-complexioned spouse that the tailors of the fleet had evinced the gaiety of their national taste. She was habited in a gaudy tissue of scarlet cloth, trimmed with yellow silk, which, descending a little below the knees, exposed to view her bare legs, embellished with spiral tattooing, and somewhat resembling two miniature Trajan's columns. Upon her head was a fanciful turban of purple velvet, figured with silver sprigs, and surmounted by a tuft of variegated feathers.

Did you notice that the first sentence was short, and the one immediately following was long and loaded with detail? Here they are again:

Their appearance was certainly calculated to produce an effect.

His majesty was arrayed in a magnificent military uniform, stiff with gold lace and embroidery, while his shaven crown was concealed by a huge chapeau bras [stylish military hat], waving with ostrich plumes.

Talk with your partners about why Melville might have made that decision. What function does the short sentence perform?

<  >


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

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Suppose you were Melville's editor and you didn't like the long second sentence. Suppose you asked him to give the same colorful details in two sentences. Try it yourself, first. Make your changes in the copy below:

Copy to Edit

His majesty was arrayed in a magnificent military uniform, stiff with gold lace and embroidery, while his shaven crown was concealed by a huge chapeau bras [stylish military hat], waving with ostrich plumes.


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Melville might have explained his decision about the long sentence by saying that he wanted to describe the king's clothes in one sentence. He could have written the next idea: "If you thought his clothes were peculiar, get a load of this!" Of course Melville didn't. He liked the art of understatement, and so it came out like this:

There was one slight blemish, however, in his appearance.

Followed by:

A broad patch of tattooing stretched completely across his face in a line with his eyes, making him look as if he wore a huge pair of goggles, and royalty in goggles suggested some ludicrous ideas.

Try your hand at editing again. Rewrite this long sentence as two sentences on the copy below:

Copy to Edit

A broad patch of tattooing stretched completely across his face in a line with his eyes, making him look as if he wore a huge pair of goggles, and royalty in goggles suggested some ludicrous ideas.


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Now, we get a description of his fair lady -- and how colorful a lady she is! Again, look at the information in each sentence, and talk about why Melville might have gathered up his details the way he did.

But it was in the adornment of the fair person of his dark-complexioned spouse that the sailors of the fleet had evinced the gaiety of their national taste.

She was habited in a gaudy tissue of scarlet cloth, trimmed with yellow silk, which, descending a little below the knees, exposed to view her bare legs, embellished with spiral tattooing, and somewhat resembling two miniature Trajan's columns.

Suppose you broke up the second sentence into skinny sentences. Look at all the ideas contained here!

She was habited (dressed) in a cloth.
It was gaudy scarlet in color.
It was trimmed with yellow silk.
It descended a little below her knees.
It exposed her bare legs to view.
Her legs were embellished with spiral tattoos
Her legs resembled Trajan's columns.

As an ambitious editor wanting to tinker with Melville's writing, try your own hand at it! Turn the skinny sentences into one long, flowing sentence. Let each partner add another part to the sentence, making your revisions on the copy below.

Sentences to Combine

She was habited (dressed) in a cloth.
It was gaudy scarlet in color.
It was trimmed with yellow silk.
It descended a little below her knees.
It exposed her bare legs to view.
Her legs were embellished with spiral tattoos
Her legs resembled Trajan's columns.


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Copy your flowing sentence here to the angle brackets below. Then turn it into two sentences! There are lots of ways to do this. Let each partner try a different way.

My Copy

<  >

1. <  >

2. <  >

3. <  >

4. <  >


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Now let's switch your editor's hat to your writer's hat. Suppose you want to describe, in Melville's style, a weirdly dressed or strangely decorated person whom you have just met. We'll give you two short, introductory sentences; you fill in the details. Try to write one or two long descriptive sentences at the <  > angle brackets below. Have fun describing the "effect" and the "blemish"!

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Their/his/her appearance was certainly calculated to produce an effect. <  > There was one slight blemish, however, in their/his/her appearance. <  >


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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