Rappaccini's Daughter

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals his attitude toward 19th-century society’s treatment of women through Beatrice’s interactions with her father, Giovanni, and Professor Baglioni.

• What do Beatrice’s interactions with these three men reveal about Hawthorne’s views on society’s treatment of women? (topic sentence)
• In defense of your topic sentence, identify and discuss one interaction each between Beatrice and her father, between Beatrice and Giovanni, and between Beatrice and Professor Baglioni that exemplifies Hawthorne’s interpretation.
• In your concluding sentences, consider what Hawthorne might have hoped to achieve by illuminating an aspect of his society.

2. Rappaccini and Baglioni are both great men of science, but they represent very different views of the role of scientific experimentation regarding its ethical use in human subjects.

• How does Rappaccini view the role of scientific experiments and their ethical use in human subjects? How does Baglioni view the same dynamic? (topic sentence)
• Identify and explain one situation for each character that illustrates the character’s view of how scientific experimentation should and should not be applied to humans.
• In your concluding sentences, explain how science is still grappling with the ethical use of science today.

3. Gothic stories can often be identified by their heightened atmosphere.

• What are some characteristics of the atmosphere in Gothic fiction? (topic sentence)
• Identify three examples of how Hawthorne creates this heightened atmosphere, and then explain their impact on the reader.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why the atmosphere in Gothic literature is an essential element of the genre.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Gardens and enclosed spaces are highly significant for Western culture, beginning with the Garden of Eden. Symbolically, gardens can also be interpreted as human domination over nature. What does the garden represent in “Rappaccini’s Daughter”? Why does Hawthorne choose to set this story in a garden? What is Hawthorne’s larger message regarding Nature, Science, and Sexuality, and how does the setting help him convey this message? As you compose your essay, incorporate at least three quotes from the short story that strengthen your points of discussion. Cite your quotations with paragraph numbers.

2. Hubris, or excessive pride or self-confidence, is a recurring motif in “Rappaccini’s Daughter.” Which character or characters demonstrate hubris? What are the consequences of this unchecked confidence? How is Beatrice impacted? What is the larger message about toxic masculinity and its connection to hubris? As you compose your essay, incorporate at least three quotes from the short story that strengthen your points of discussion. Cite your quotations with paragraph numbers.