Dr+Heidegger

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: Dr Heidegger's Experiment

 Point of View: Third person Omniscient

 Protagonist: Dr Heidegger

 What type of character is the Protagonist? Round

 Antagonist:Themselves

 Describe the setting  Probably in the late 1800s or the early 1900s place: Dr Heidegger's study: "A dim, old-fashioned chamber" mood: mysterious

 Type of Conflict: Man vs self

 Describe the main conflict: The fountain of youth drives these old shriveled-up people into an insane vision that they are young again. They forget their promise to the doctor, and they make the same mistakes they did when they were young mistakes.

 Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax of this story is when Dr Heidegger's patients realize that the water from the fountain of youth only simulates the effects of there youth for a short time. After this point, the old folks see their mistake and decide that they have been foolish, and should have listened to the professor.

 How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? The doctor, though he knew all along that the water of youth would not bestow youth forever,acts as if he did not. He pretends that the experiment will make the old people forever young, and, in doing so, completes his experiment. His experiment, it turns out, is not to find out if the water works, rather it is to find out what the process of aging does to a person, and what the revers process does as well.

 Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. The theme of this story, I believe, is that humans never have all that they could possibly want. The old, who have had their own fair share of life, want to be young again, so that they can re-experience it, whereas the young, who have so much of life ahead of them wish to experience that in a matter of minutes. Though the actual title of this tale is not very revealing, - for Dr Heidegger could have any multitude of experiments- the small caption underneath the title foreshadows old people drinking water that will make them youthful. These old people will, without a doubt want nothing more than to be young again, something that they cannot have.

 How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The old men and woman want that which they cannot get, youth. The one way that this can be restored to these people is through the fountain of youth, which, needless to say, they go to any lengths to drink. But, as one can see, the fact that they drunk the water and became foolish young people again shows that this brilliant idea is not in their best interests.

 How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? When the old lady and gents find out that they have not regressed in age, and simply had the illusion of youth, they find, with mundane finality that they cannot really have what it is not possible to have. What they really wanted most was beyond their reach, so they had better live in the now, and not wish for the past.

 Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):  Simile: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> "deathlike slumber"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Metaphor: The skeleton in the closet

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Personification: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> "tremulous glitter of diamonds"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Symbol: "my poor Sylvia rose... it appears to be fading again" this symbolizes the fact that the old people will too return to their old state.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Foreshadowing (give both elements): The point at which Dr Heidegger warns his guests not to make the same bad decisions they made in the past foreshadows that these old people might not heed his words. Medbourne, a merchant by trade, would only do that which profits him. Killigrew, a military person might not care what ends are cut to achieve his ends. Gascoigne, a politician, would do as any government man would do, and not listen to public anyhow, only doing that which benefits his wants and needs. Finally, the beautiful Widow Wycherly could only think of her past beauty, and wouldn't care if the whole world went to pieces and she got her beauty back. These characters would naturally lean towards helping themselves before others. If, however, Heidegger had chosen a better array of old people, such as a philosopher or a theoretician, his final outcome might have been different. What happened in the end of this experiment, however was the old fools did not heed the warning of the doctor, and proceeded in fighting over the lost beauty of the Widow Wycherly

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Irony: The irony in this story is the fact that water from the fountain of youth does not restore youth, but instead it simulates it. After the brief haze of external, visible youth, they old people go back to their withered state and are left more unhappy than they were when they first drank. This is ironic because the fountain of youth has brought about more bad than good.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Imagery: "healthful suffusion of color in their cheeks, instead of ashen hue that made them look so corpse-like"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> The class theme of choices ties into the theme of this story in only one way that I can see. The theme of this story is wanting what you cannot have. Yet, say you were really old, and you were presented with the chance to become young again, would you choose to be young, or experience your life until death. This was really the main choice that the characters in this story were presented with. The characters all chose eternal life over death, giving them half an hour of wondrous pleasure, and then sadness at the fact that they really were old, decrepit and ugly-looking. Personally, if I were of their age, and had seen that much of the world, passing on would seem like another great adventure.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> 1. According to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of this experiment? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> What Dr Heidegger says and his true motive in the experiment vary a great deal. To his guests, he appears simply curious as to what to the properties of this wondrous water do to people, and to see if it really works. Yet, I feel that there is a hidden, deeper meaning to his experiment. He appears not the slightest bit surprised when his beloved Sylvia rose withers back to its old, forlorn state, and even less surprised when the old folks he invited over turn back into the old crinkled people that they once were. I believe that the hidden experiment was to find out what old people (or people in general) would do when given the deepest most desperate wish of their hearts.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> 2. What do Dr. Heidegger's friends have in common? How does each of them behave during the experiment? Dr. Heidegger's friends have in common is that all ﻿of them made mistakes in their past. During the experiment, their behavior was very shallow, they all start to act foolish and do dumb stuff, just as they did when they were young. An example of something silly they did was when they all started to fight for Madame Wycherly again just like the old days, because she had looked young again, with no wrinkles or anything. None of them learned anything from the experience except for how the Fountain of Youth make you young again.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> 3. Why would Dr. Heidegger not stoop to bathe his lips in the Fountain of Youth? Do his friends feel the same way? Comment Dr Heidegger would not drink from the fountain of youthe because he says that he has "...had much trouble growing old..." and he is in "...no hurry to grow young again." I think that he already suspected side-effects such as redoing the same mistakes one had already done in life. He tried to warn the others of this but they did not listen. They were greedy for youth and ignored all the warnings and unknown parts of it.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> 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 of the story is the author. He knows what happens because he is limited omniscient towards this story. The narrator is completely sure of his facts.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> 5. What points are made about youth and aging in the story? Do you agree with the views of the story? Some of the points made about youth and aging are generally true like how youth are reckless and that you generally get wiser as you age. So yes, I agree with these points to an extent. Because the four guests of Dr. Heidegger’s did not get wiser with their age but, instead got greedier for their youth. But, in contrast the Doctor did grow wiser and repented his mistakes.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> 7. Some scientists hope to develop a vaccine against aging. They speculate that human beings could live approximately 800 years. Do you feel this is desirable? Yes I do because it gives you the option of living that long and if you find it's starting to bore you you could just kill yourself. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">