Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment

Point of View: 1st Person, Limited Omniscient

Protagonist: Dr. Heidegger is the Protagonist in this story and I believe he is a round and static character. What type of character is the Protagonist?

Antagonist: I believe the Antagonist is himself, meaning Dr. Heidegger.

Describe the setting I think the story happens sometime in the 19th century. The characters all meet at Dr. Heidegger's house, in his study on a summer's afternoon. The study is described as on old and musky place.

Type of Conflict: Man vs. Himself

Describe the main conflict: I think the main conflict is the indecision of Dr. Heidegger. He is wrestling with the idea of eternal youth/life. His four friends were merely pawns in his decision. The way eternal youth/life effected them, helped Dr. Heidegger decide whether or not he should take eternal youth/life because to him, they mirrored what he would do.

Describe the Climax of the Story: I think the climax of the story is when the vase is knocked off the table, spilling the Water of Youth. I believe at this moment Dr. Heidegger decides on whether or not he is going to take the Water of Youth. Also shortly after this moment, his four friends start to grow old again and the joy of being young has passed them.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? Dr. Heidegger goes from being uncertain about his decision on whether or not to take eternal youth/life, to being absolute certain he would never take it. His friends demonstrated that even with the gift of eternal youth/life, people would go back to old ways and just repeat history. Dr. Heidegger does not wish for that to happen to him and therefore, he says "I bemoan it not; for if the fountain gushed at my very doorstep, I would not stoop to bathe my lips in it.."

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. The title very much so describes the theme in an excellent way. The title, "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", explains to us that Dr.Heidegger is trying to prove something or decide on something. He is undecided about a particular concept and wishes to experiment to turn his undecision to a desicion. How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? I think the main conflict helps illustrate the theme by illustrating an undecision. Dr. Heidegger is undecided over the concept of eternal youth/life and he has to make his mind up. How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax helps illustrate the theme by ilustrating the switch from an undecision to a clear decision. During the climax, Dr. Heidegger finally decides on whether he would take some water from the Fountain of Youth.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Simile: " A visage as faded as her dress."

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Metaphor: " Whose eccentricity had become the nucleus for a thousand fantastic stories."

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Personification: " Dewdrops were sparkling." " Cheerful Sunshine"

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Symbol: The rose symbnolizes Dr. Heidegger's past. He is holding on to it to remember his deceased fiancé, who died on their wedding day. It also symbolizes a part of his humanity. A part of humanity is emotions and by holding on to the rose, DR. Heidegger is holding on to emotions he felt for someone dear to his heart.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Foreshadowing (give both elements): It says in the beginning that "I will merely hint that Dr. Heidegger and all his four guests were sometimes thought to be a little beside themselves; as is not unfrequently the case with old people, when worried either by present troubles or woeful recollection." This I believe is the 1st element of a foreshadow because the author is hinting that the five characters tend to be selfish. I believe the 2nd element of this foreshadow is throughout the story because when Dr. Heidegger's four guests drink the water form the fountain of youth, the act rather selfishly. Also the last snetence "but the doctor's four friends had taught no such lesson to themselves. They resolved forthwith to make a pilgrimage to Florida, and quaff at morning, noon and night, from the Fountain of Youth." Could also be the 2nd element of the foreshadow because Dr. Heidegger's friends are obviously only thinking of themselves. Another example of foreshadowing would be in the beginning the author says "It is a circumstance worth mentioning, that each of these three old gentlemen, were early lovers of the Widow Wycherly, and had once been on the point of cutting each other's throats for her sake." And then later on in the story, the men do attack each other's throats over the Widow Wycherly. <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Irony: I think it is ironic how when Dr. Heidegger first talks to his guests about hte water of youth, they say they will not act selflishly and behave themselves but them when they do grow young again, the do the exact opossite of what they had said before. <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Imagery: "It was a dim, old-fashioned chamber, festooned with cobwebs, and besprinkled with antique dust. Around the walls stood several oaken bookcases, the lower shelves of which were filled with rows of gigantic folios and black-letter quartos, and the upper with little parchment-covered duodecimos. Over the central bookcase was a bronze bust of Hippocrates, with which, according to some authorities, Dr. Heidegger was accustomed to hold consultations in all difficult cases of his practice." <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">This story has a lot of elements of humanity within it. It describes the concept of the fountain of youth, which is a part of humanity. It also describes the state of being undecided which happens to almost everybody, therefore it is a part of humanity. There is also all the emotions within this story. The good and the bad emotions are a part of who we are, whether we like it or not and this story deminstrates both those sorts of emotions. Questions:
 * 1: The purpose of his experiment was to establishe his desicion on whether or not he should drink from the fountain of youth.
 * 2: All of Dr. Heidegger's friends are selfish and would rather return to their youth then grow old. When they do finally take the water or youth, the fall back on old ways.
 * 3:Dr. Heidegger would not drink from the fountain of youth because he does not want to became a slefish person, who is only absorbed by themselves and their needs. His friends on the other hand, feel the complete opossite and would do anything to return back to their youth and become selfish people again.
 * 4: I believe the narrator of the story is perhaps a relative of Dr. Heidegger or one of his friends. He was unclear about some details within the story, so a relative would make sense because one of the five could have possibly told the story.
 * 5: One of the points of the story is that of making mistakes. If you make a bad mistake, you have to live with that mistake for the rest of your life. There is no going back. All of the characters in the story had made bad mistakes and had wishe they could change them. Perhaps if the outcome of those mistakes was different, they would be so greedy for the concept of repeating their youth.
 * 7: If I was offered this vaccine, I would turn it down for several reasons. For one, I would not want to slow the process of aging, I want to grow old and watch my grandchildren grow up. The concept of that is intriguing for me. Two, even though scientists took quite some time working on this vaccine, it would still be in the experimental stage and I would not want to live my life with the risk of being killed by some chemical or being aa guniea pig.

COMPLETION 5/5 EFFORT 5/5 CONTENT 5/5 QUESTIONS 12/12 TOTAL 27/27