Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

//__** Short Stories - Literary Devises **__// //__** Title: Dr. Heidegger's Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne **__// // Ana and Brianna //

**Point of View**: 3rd person, omniscient. **Protagonist:** Dr. Heidegger **What type of character is the Protagonist?** Dynamic and Round **Antagonist:** The water from the Fountain of Youth (assuming it's not a placebo) **Describe the setting:** PLACE: Probably somewhere in the United States, because they talk about the water being somewhere in Florida. If Dr. Heidegger's four friends are going to move there, it's probably not too far away, because a long time ago (when we think the story was set) travelling far distances or across oceans was quite difficult. TIME: Around the mid 1800's because of the way they talk and the language used, for example today we don't call people merchants. The story was published in 1837, so it was likely set around that time. ATMOSPHERE/MOOD: Creepy and eerie when they talk about his chamber, then lighthearted when the four old people drank the water and became 'young' again. At the end the mood was kind of sad, because the doctor's friends were disappointed when they grew old again. **Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.** The title "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" is referring to the behavioural experiment he is conducting on his four friends. Dr. Heidegger is experimenting to see if he himself would ever drink the water- he wanted to see how a chance to be young again would affect people's thinking. The theme is how people strive to be perfect and how they can't achieve that given the chance.
 * Type of Conflict: ** Man v.s. Water, Man v.s. Himself
 * Describe the main conflict: ** Man v.s. Himself- when the guests drank the water, they were unable to prevent themselves from making the same mistakes. In the past, they caused their own destruction, and when they drank the water they started acting as they did when they were actually young.
 * Describe the Climax of the Story: ** The climax of this story is when the vase breaks (Page 166). The story is building up to that point as the friends drink more and more of water, and become increasingly unreasonable and hysterical with joy.
 * How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? ** The protagonist becomes more stable in his knowledge that he will never drink from the fountain- he becomes more self assured, and in a way heals from Sylvia's death when he states that he "...loves it as well thus as in it's dewy freshness." (The rose she gave him.)
 * How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? ** We think the theme is the strive for human perfection. The guests drink the water so eagerly because they wish to relive their lives, be popular and pretty again. The main conflict is Man v.s. Himself, and this relates to human perfection because that is what they wish for most, and they go to Florida so they can drink the water all day long and have a chance at perfection.
 * How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? ** The climax (the vase breaking) illustrated the theme because the perfect rose shrivelled up when the water was spilled- and the guests immediately felt old again. The water made them feel wonderful again, and they had no hope that they could still feel that young after the effects of the water wore off.

__** Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes): **__

"...fresh as violets..." (Page 161)
 * Simile: **

The skeleton was a metaphor of his past life, when it says that the closet with the skeleton in it was ajar, it meant that that his past was seeking a way out.
 * Metaphor: **

"...while the brazen head of Hippocrates frowned, and said- 'Forebear!" (Page 160)
 * Personification: **

I think the rose is a symbol for the four friends. Once the rose was young and in bloom, but then it withered and died, just like the guests. The water made it young and beautiful again for a while but then it returned to it's previous state of fragility like Dr. Heidegger's friends.
 * Symbol: **

The rose becoming beautiful and blooming again when it was thrown in the water foreshadows that it will make the four guests young again.
 * Foreshadowing (give both elements): **

It was ironic that the old guests made fun of Dr. Heidegger and old people in general when they appeared young.
 * Irony: **

"There, in fact, stood the four glasses, brimful of this wonderful water, the delicate spray of which, as it effervesced from the surface, resembled the tremulous glitter of diamonds." (Page 164)
 * Imagery: **

The class theme of power correlates well with Dr. Heidegger's experiment. The four guests feel they have more power if they are young, because as they grew older they lost their power. Widow Wycherly lost her power over men when she lost her beauty, Mr. Medbourne lost all of his power come from money, Colonel Killigrew lost his physical health and power, and Mr. Gascoigne lost his power as a politician. All of the characters, in some way, strive for power and human perfection. As they grew older, they lost the things they thought gave them that power and drive, and collapsed internally. The water from the Fountain of Youth also had a certain amount of power over them- it made them feel young, alive, and gave them a sense of purpose. When it's properties stopped working, it had such a powerful effect over the old friends that it inspired them to leave their homes in search of it.
 * Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. **

__** Questions: **__

He seems as if he wants to see how well the water of youth will works on his human guests, but it seems more like he is actually studying their behaviour during the experiment. He wants to see if they can resist making the same mistakes twice. It may be that the water is actually alcohol or some other intoxicating substance, and the trick with the rose was only an illusion. All throughout the story, the narrator says 'seems' a lot, she/he never actually tells if they really become young again. Dr. Heidegger may have also wanted to experiment wether or not this placebo would work. They are all old, have led wasteful lives, and have been somewhat destroyed by what they pursued. For example, Widow Wycherly's greatest pride was her beauty, and now it is her sorrow that she does not have any. The guests behave exactly as they did when they were younger- they began to make the same mistakes again. He felt that those who drank the water and became young again were unable to resist reverting to their old ways- perhaps, he way afraid that he would do the same. He may have disliked who he was at a younger age, and not wanted to relive it, or maybe he could not bear being young again without Sylvia. His friends do not feel the same way at all- they set out to Florida so they can drink the water all day long and never be old again. The narrator sometimes asks questions of the reader, like if the waters effect is a delusion, which shows that they might be unsure of their facts. This story could be fiction (from the point of view of the narrator) because they say: "Some of these fables, to my shame be it spoken, might possibly be traced back to my own veracious self; and if any passages of the present tale should startle the readers's faith, I must be content to bear the stigma of a fiction-monger." There is the option that the narrator is any random person, who made the whole thing up based on people he knew. A main point shown in the story is that young people are sometimes too foolish and make too many mistakes, and then when they are old enough to be wiser and learn from their errors, it is too late because there may be many physical barriers. In the story, the four guests are given the chance to become young again, yet they make the same mistakes. We do agree with the views in the story- it was expected that they would behave the same as when they were young as soon as they drank the water. We do not think this is desirable at ALL. Eighty to ninety years on the planet is more than enough for us.... also there would be issues with overpopulation. If everyone lived for 800 years, and people kept having children, there would be no where near enough room on the planet. We are nearing overpopulation already NOW. Also, there would not be enough jobs for people to do, and they wouldn't be able to buy food or a house or support their families in any way. It would be very boring to live on the planet for 800 years as well.
 * 1. According to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of his experiment? **
 * 2. What do Dr. Heidegger's friends have in common? How does each of them behave during the experiment? **
 * 3. Why would Dr. Heidegger not stoop to bathe his lips in the Fountain of Youth? Do his friends feel the same way? **
 * 4. Who is the narrator of the story? Though she/he is not a participant in the experiment, the narrator relates all the details. How does she/he know what happened to the doctor and his friends? How certain of her/his facts is the narrator? **
 * 5. What points are made about youth and aging in the story? Do you agree with the views in the story? **
 * 7. Some scientists hope to develop a vaccine against aging. They speculate that human beings could then live approximately 800 years. Do you feel this is desirable? Explain. **