Rappaccini’s Daughter

Braden Garrison

Mrs. Carter

English 2

September 6, 2012

Rappaccini’s Daughter

        In the short story “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author expresses how Giovanni meets a young girl named Beatrice but, finds out they can’t be together. Hawthorne tells us in his story that Beatrice and Giovanni can never be together. Hawthorne shows similes, personification, and alliteration throughout the story to tell us about this dark tale.

        One of the ways the author describes Beatrice is by using simile’s to describe her beauty. Hawthorne wrote, “That Beatrice’s voice is as rich as the tropical summer” (Hawthorne, 2). In this, he describes her voice as being very enticing. He also wrote, “That Beatrice is as beautiful as the day” (Hawthorne, 2). By this he meant that Beatrice has a warm appearance about her. Saying that she’s is a bright young girl with a lot of youth.

        Hawthorne portrays personification through Giovanni that the plants seen to be quite mischievous. Hawthorne wrote, “That some plants tended to creep and crawled serpent like across the ground” (Hawthorne, 1). Meaning that some plants would grow around anything it could reach. That statue in the garden was covered in plant growth. The author also says, the strange plants swayed now and then “nodding ever so gently to one another” (Hawthorne, 4). Through the authors and Giovanni’s eyes the plants seemed to be moving together like they were agreeing on something.