Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

Short Stories - Literary DevisesTitle:___Dr. Heidegger's Experiment__

__Point of View:__ 1st person limited omniscient.

__Protagonist:__ Dr. Heidegger

__What type of character is the Protagonist?__ Dynamic and round character.

__Antagonist:__ His 3 friends: Colonel Killigrew, Mr.Medbourne, Mr. Gascoigne and the Widow Witcherly. __Describe the setting:__ The setting is sometime in the past, maybe the 19th century, the characters are in Dr. Heidegger's old-fashioned study. The environment is dusty, poorly lit, and a little bit mysterious. It takes place from about early afternoon until just after sunset. The mood is curious and kind of exciting.

__Type of Conflict:__ Man Vs. Man __Describe the main conflict:__ The main conflict was that the Dr. seemed like he was expecting some of his friends, that he tested, to have the same mind set as him. He didn't think that, after his friends tasted the water, they would behave the way that they did. His friends only got more greedy and selfish after they had the water, they didn't want death, they wanted to stay young. He seemed a bit dissapointed when not one of his friends shared hi opinion on the Fountain of Youth.

__Describe the Climax of the Story:__ The climax of the story was between the time where the 4 characters were laughing and having fun, thinking that they were young again, to when the vase crashed on the floor and the water spilled.

__How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?__ Over the course of the story, Dr. Heidegger doesn't necessarily change but reconfirms his opinions on life and what types of choices he wants to make. However, he does gain some new perspective on his friends, and what they would do in a situation where they could be young again. He finds out if his friends would make the same decisions as him or not.

__Describe the relationship between the title and the theme:__ The theme of this story was taking your humanity for granted and what some people would do if they could relive it. The title "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" is realted to the theme because his experiment was to test how human being's would react to that kind of water. What they would do if they were given a second chance, or if they could relive their past.

__How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?__ The main conflict of the Dr. being dissapointed and his friends having a different opinion helped illustrate the theme of reliving your life because he didn't want to re-do anything, even if he was given the chance. To him, the idea didn't seem practical, yet his friends would do anything to get their youth back. It showed that his friends didn't do everything that they wanted to in life, so they wanted to chance to do everything all over.

__How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?__ The climax (when the four friends are making jokes to where the vase crashes), helps illustrate the theme and how much they truly wanted their old life back. They missed what they once had and were willing to do anything to get it back. When they joke around, they forget that, minutes ago, they were just as old as the Dr. The Dr. is saddened because he can see that his friends do not think the same way that he does. __Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):__

__Simile:__ "...a deepening tinge of crimson, as if the flower were reviving from a deathlike slumber" compares the flower changing color to it reviving from a slumber. "....and greeting it as the friend whom she loved better than all the world beside." compares the Widow witcherly to a friend who she loves. " Youth, like the extremity of age," compares youth to the extremity of age.

__Metaphor:__ "...the snowy head of Dr.Heidegger." However, there is no actual snow on his head. "...as if gray time were calling them back..." 1- Time isn't actually gray and 2-Time can't literally call anyone. __Personification:__ " ... time were calling the back..." This gives time the quality of calling. "The sunshine came through the window,... and fell directly across..." This gives sunshine the quiality of falling.

__Symbol:__ The rose is a symbol for the Dr.'s marriage and his own humanity. Even though it became all crumpled and old, he still kept it and was proud of it. He never wanted to lose it, even if it died, he would still keep it with him and try to keep it alive for as long as possible, much like his own life. The water from the Fountain of Youth represents wanting to restart life and getting a second chance. It represents something that shows that there's always something to fall back on, even if you make mistakes.

__Foreshadowing (give both elements):__ Subtle- "...on the ashen visages of the five old people who sat around. Four champagne glasses were also on the table." Foreshadow's that the story will have something to do with the champagne glasses. Direct- ", I will merely hint that Dr.Heidegger and all his four guests were sometimes thought to be a little beside themselves;" This foreshadow's that the characters in the story are known to be a little bit off, so the story isn't going to be perfectly normal.

__Irony:__ " 'Doctor, you dear old soul', cried she, 'get up and dance with me!' and then the four young people laughed louder than ever, to think what a queer figure the poor old would cut." It's ironic how the 'young people' were as old, maybe even older, than the Doctor minutes ago, but they still choose to make fun of him. __Imagery:__ " In the obscurent corner of the room stood a tall and narrow oaken closet, with its door ajar, within which doubtfully appeared a skeleton. Between two of the bookcases hung a looking glass, presenting its high and dust plate within a tarnished frame." Paints the picture of a dim-lit place that's almost eerie. "...festoond with cobwebs, and besprinkled with antique dust." Makes me think of a place that isn't too clean and possibly an abandoned environment.

__Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.__ The relationship between the class theme of humanity and the story is how you decide to use your own humanity. Dying is something that is naturally part of our existance and without it our humanity would fall apart. This story shows how greedy and selfish people will become if we could live forever. It also shows the lengths that people are willing to go in order to get what they want out of life. Humanity isn't something that you can take back or relive, although the characters in this story think that they are, they really can't change their past.

Responding Questions:

1. According to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of his experiment? The purpose of the experiment was to see if Dr. Heidegger's friends would be mentally affected by the water and to see the way they would react if they thought they were becoming younger. He wanted to see if his friends would have the same perspective as him or if their personalities would change just because they were younger than him. He also wanted to see the affects that the water would have on a human being.

2. What do Dr. Heidegger's friends have in common? How does each of them behave during the experiment? Dr. Heidegger's friends have all had something important in their life take away from them. They feel like they've wasted their life on one thing and that they'd like to change that. During the experiment, they are all greedy for more water, even though they don't actually need more. They all make fun of Dr. Heidegger and forget that they were just as old as he was, minutes ago. The widow witcherly, at first, didn't believe that the water would work. She believed it once she thought she had seen heself as young again. She took full advantage of her old looks and felt like she could to anything. Colonel Killigrew first started to be friendly to the widow witcherly, he started singing and seemed like a much happier person. Mr. Gascoigne started talking about things that were in his past, he talked about politics which seemed to be something that he was passionate about. Mr. Medbourne started making plans on how he would make money and the business that he wanted to create. He started planning ahead, instead of living in the moment like the other three.

3. Why would Dr. Heidegger not stop to bathe his lips in the Fountain of Youth? Do his friends feel the same way? Dr. Heidegger wouldn't stop to bathe his lips on the Fountain of Youth because he doesn't exactly believe in delirium and seeing things the way that they truly aren't. He wants to live his life, until he is old and experience death because it's natural and it's the way life is supposed to happen. He doesn't want to rely water to make him younger, he would rather grow old and die than be led on by an illusion. Also, the Dr. would miss his wife too much to live on and living for a longer period of time would cause him much more pain than dying sooner.

4. Who is the narrator of the story? Though he is not a participant in the experiment, the narrator relates all the details. How does he know what happened to the doctor and his friends? How certain of his facts is the narrator? The narrator is someone who knows the Dr., because the story is written in first person. They knos what happened to the doctor and his friends because the sotyr has been told to them. The narrator seems to be very certain about his facts and tells everything with great detail. The narrator can see what's happening without actually being there, he' s telling things as they happen, the way that they have been told to him.

5. What points are made about youth and aging in the story? Do you agree with the views in the story? The story tells me that youth is something you should treasure because, when the characters had aged, they found that they hadn't exactly done what they wanted to do with their life. No matter how much you fantasize about what could have been, you will be stuck with the present. Yes, i agree with the views of this story, when you only focus on one thing that may not last your whole life, your own youth can be taken away. You should try and do things that will be good for you in the long run. The Dr.'s points about youth and aging were good, he explained how youth can't last forever and that you shouldn't waste it.

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 your answer. I do not think that the vaccine would be desirable to me, however, other people may want it right away. Some people would like to live for a longer amount of time, for their own reasons. So, many people may jump on the idea of this vaccine, however, it wouldn't be something that i would like. I wouldn't want to break the natural cycle of my life, and the vaccince may not even work or it might have bad side affects. Even if the vaccine is very promising, i wouldn't take it, I would rather die when I'm supposed to than live longer than i should.

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