Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: Heidegger’s Experiment

Point of View:

1st person, as the narrator refers to himself many times.

Protagonist:

Dr. Heidegger

What type of character is the Protagonist?

Round, Dynamic

Antagonist:  Dr. Heidegger

Describe the setting: Dr. Heidegger's Study, probably in the first half of the 19th century because of the clothes the characters are wearing as evidenced by the quote “[…] attire, the wide-skirted coats and flapped waistcoats of the young men, and the ancient cap and gown of the blooming girl,” This also takes place right around sunset.

Type of Conflict:

 Man vs. Himself

Describe the main conflict:

The story starts with Dr. Heidegger's claim that he has water from the fountain of youth. His offer to share it with his guests constitutes the central conflict.

Describe the Climax of the Story:

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> You can really feel the story building toward its climax as Heidegger's guests drink more and more of the elixir. Their voices grow louder, their behavior more frenetic and their actions are more frantic as they quarrel and fight. The moment when the vase shatters is the zenith of this stage of the story.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Heidegger finds that his hypothesis is true. It states that man is a hopeless, sinful, foolish creature and probably always will be, but never so much so as when he is a young man.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The title has to do with the theme because Heidegger's experiment isn't scientific – it's philosophic. He wants to see if, given a second youth, his guests will make the same mistakes the second time around. This is evidenced by the quote “[Dr. Heidegger] sat watching the experiment with philosophic coolness.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" is rooted in a rather pessimistic view of human nature. The story argues that people are, for the most part, fools. They don't learn from their mistakes, they're generally petty, and we can't expect anyone to change for the better. In this story, foolishness is particularly associated with youth, or at least a youthful state of mind.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The climax is the turning point in the story. It is when the vase containing the rose is tipped over. The rose is really just a symbol for the transformations that would occur to the four guests. It illustrates the them by showing that humans will never change; and will always remain rather foolish.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Simile: “The shadows of age were flitting from it like darkness from the crimson daybreak.”

Metaphor: “She examined whether the snow had so entirely melted from her hair that the venerable cap could be safely thrown aside.” where snow is compared to the Widow’s white hair.

Personification: “[...]tradition tells us that she was a great beauty in her day.” where tradition is given the human quality of telling.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Symbol: The setting sun is a symbol for the transformations about to take place in the study.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Foreshadowing (give both elements): “ That very singular man, old Dr. Heidegger, once invited four venerable friends to meet him in his study.” This foreshadows right off the bat that this story will be very singular. This is confirmed when Dr. Heidegger pulls out the magical elixir that brings back your youth.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Irony: “T he most singular effect of their gaiety was an impulse to mock the infirmity and decrepitude of which they had so lately been the victims. They laughed loudly at their old-fashioned attire, the wide-skirted coats and flapped waistcoats of the young men, and the ancient cap and gown of the blooming girl. One limped across the floor like a gouty grandfather; one set a pair of spectacles astride of his nose, and pretended to pore over the black-letter pages of the book of magic; a third seated himself in an arm-chair, and strove to imitate the venerable dignity of Dr. Heidegger. “ This is quite ironic, as these folks who were now young used to be quite old and miserable and were probably mocked by the youth of their town, and they are now, in turn, laughing at Dr. Heidegger, who is quite old.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Imagery: “While the bubbles were yet sparkling on the brim, the doctor's four guests snatched their glasses from the table, and swallowed the contents at a single gulp. Was it delusion? even while the draught was passing down their throats, it seemed to have wrought a change on their whole systems. Their eyes grew clear and bright; a dark shade deepened among their silvery locks, they sat around the table, three gentlemen of middle age, and a woman, hardly beyond her buxom prime.” This quote gives a nice image in my head of the changes that occurred to the four guests.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.

The class theme of Humanity and the theme of this story is very closely related. This story states that if we are given another chance at youth, we will waste it and not learn from our mistakes. The story argues that people are, for the most part, fools. They don't learn from their mistakes, they're generally petty, and we can't expect anyone to change for the better. In the story, foolishness is particularly associated with youth, or at least a youthful state of mind.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">1. According to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of his experiment?

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The purpose of this experiment is to prove his hypothesis, which states that if given a second chance at youth, people will make the same foolish mistakes again.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. What do Dr. Heidegger’s friends have in common? How does each of them behave during the experiment? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Each of the four guests Heidegger invites over is a sort of riffraff based on the same basic theme: they all squandered their good fortune and lost everything through their youthful foolishness. Given another chance, they make the same mistakes again. Each of them does the same thing, the only difference being their particular vice of choice.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The first example is the Widow, who was once beautiful but ruined her reputation. After drinking the elixir, she once again becomes vain and looks at herself in the mirror, and encourages the men to fight over here. Mr. Medbourne has fallen from the respect of all because of his greed. When given a second chance, he immediately conjures up new schemes. In the case of Colonel Killigrew, he is a pleasure-seeker, who wasted his youth on women and alcohol. When he is young, he returns to this, pursuing the woman. Lastly, Mr. Gascoigne is a power-hungry fool who falls from grace because of his evil fame but goes right back to rambling about politics as soon as the elixir comes upon his lips.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. Why would Dr. Heidegger not stoop to bathe his lips in the Fountain of Youth? Do his friends feel the same way? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Dr. Heidegger does not stoop to bathe his lips in the Fountain of Youth because he is satisfied with his life and believes that even if he was given another chance, he would squander it. His friends do not feel the same way, and do not realize that, given another chance, they went right back to their old antics. Instead, they went in search for the Fountain of Youth.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">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? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The narrator of the story is someone who has heard the story from someone else and is not very certain of his facts, as evidenced by the quote “ //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now Dr. Heidegger was a very strange old gentleman, whose eccentricity had become the nucleus for a thousand fantastic stories. 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 reader's faith, I must be content to bear the stigma of a fiction monger. // “

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">5. What points are made about youth and aging in the story? Do you agree with the views in the story? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The author argues that if humans are given a second chance at youth, they will squander it, and that humans are never as bad as when they are in the prime of their youth. It is also said that age is a state of mind and that if one believes one is young, one will act accordingly. The author also argues that youth is associated with folly, but offers no hope for redemption in older age, either.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">I agree with the points the author makes because, time and time again, humans have wasted their youth and regretted it ever since.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">6. Some scientists hope to develop a vaccine against aging. They speculate that human beings live approximately 800 years. Do you feel this is desirable?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">I believe this is desirable, and even imperative if humans are to conquer space. So long as we remain in reasonable health and can work, this vaccine should bring humanity into another golden age. Of course, our population would boom, but laws could be made until we had sufficient technology to go into space.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Completion 5/5 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Effort 5/5 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Content 5/5 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Questions 12/12 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">total 27/27