Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville Comparison Connecting themes within the “realm of darkness”

Similarities and Differences “The Fall of the House of Usher” “The Raven” “The Minister’s Black Veil” Moby Dick

Activity Instructions: I will break you into groups of 3 One person will be the “recorder” (the one who writes down the answers). Another will be the “researcher” (that person is responsible for finding the pages where the answers are located). Finally, the third student will be the “presenter” (the one who presents the answers to the class). **Remember that this is a class participation grade-everyone must participate and work carefully on the project. As a group- pick two points that you will share to the class. **this is a great review for next week’s test on the American Renaissance unit.

Instructions Continued… You will be comparing Captain Ahab’s behavior (in Moby Dick) with that of the three other protagonists (main characters) in the works previously mentioned. Therefore, you are comparing Captain Ahab’s behavior to that of: 1. Roderick Usher, from “The Fall of the House of Usher” 2. The narrator, from “The Raven” & 3. Mr. Hooper, from “The Minister’s Black Veil” **At this point, we have watched scenes from Moby Dick, (the film). The film’s depiction of Ahab’s character should help you with this project.

Next step After going back through the textbook and brainstorming the similarities and differences between the characters, you will be creating two charts that we will display in the classroom (so, make it nice and legible).

The Charts The Charts can look something like the examples on the following slides. I will give you markers and paper, so get creative 

Double sided charts Use the following structure for note taking (this part will be collected as well).

Ahab vs. Roderick Usher – similarities and differences Point 1 Point 2 Point 3 Differences Point 1 Point 2 Point 3

Instructions Continued… Please make a similar chart / graph for each set of character comparisons.

Once you are done with part one… After you have 3 comparison charts done, you will come up with the final charts that will be handed in and presented to the class. The final product will answer two main questions: 1 “Why do all four characters fit into the unit theme-The Realm of Darkness”? 2. “Which character has the least in common with the others and why”? The final product will look a bit like the following slides:

Realm of Darkness---define in your own terms what the “Realm of Darkness” stands for Usher -Why does this character fit into the theme of this unit? Ahab Narrator in “The Raven” Mr. Hooper

Similarities and differences: “which character has the least in common with the others and why”? Usher 3 specific examples of his character (Ex: Eerie, creepy, obsessive…) Ahab The narrator in “The Raven” Mr. Hooper

Finished! Hand in your notes and double sided charts. The main charts: hold on to these while you present them. We will then hang them up.