Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

Short Stories Literary Devises

Point of View: First Person (Peripheral Narrator).

Protagonist: Dr. Heidegger. What type of character is the Protagonist?

Antagonist: Dr. Heidegger.

Describe the setting. The story takes place in Dr. Heidegger's study and takes place in the late 1700s. The mood is mysterious and creepy.

Type of Conflict: The conflict is man vs. himself.

Describe the main conflict: Dr. Heidegger is trying to figure out the consequences of the water because he wants to relive his life better, but he decides not to drink it.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax is when the water from the fountain of youth's effect starts to wear off.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? Dr. Heidegger decides that he will never drink the water because of the actions of the subjects.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. The theme of the story is that instant gratification isn't the best thing. The theme connects to the titile in that when you are doing an experiment, the answer won't come instantly.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The conflict helps illustrate the theme by showing that if Dr. Heideggerhad drunk the water, he may have acted foolishly at his chance to be young again.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? Instant gratification doesn't last long and that exactly shows when the guests grow old again. It leaves them wantiing more just like instant gratification.

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

Simile: "...and witha visage as faded as her dress."

Metaphor: "In the obscurest corner of the room stood a tall and narrow oaken closet, with its door ajar, within doubtfully appeared a skeleton." the skeleton represents the secrets in Dr. Heidegger's past.

Personification: "...as if the flower reviving from a deathlike slumber..."

Symbol: The book represents the imagination of man and how he can stretch it to a point were he believe anything.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): The promise that the guests made to Dr. Heidegger and the way they agreed to it foreshadows that they will go back on it.

Irony: "The most singular effect of their gaiety was an impulse to mock the infirmity and decrepitude of which they had so lately been the victims." Even though they were old moments previously, thay still mock old age.

Imagery: "It was apparently impregnated with an effervescent gas, for the little bubbles were continually ascending from the depths of the glasses, and bursting in silvery spray at the surface."

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. The story is about three old men and an old waman, who throughout their life strived to gain power over other people. The fountain of youth allows people allows people to have power over age. They can be young again with just a glass of the water which can be a very dangerous power. This power leads them to do very foolish things for the short time they have. The power over their self control is lost almost instantly. In the end, this lust for power is so great that they decide on going to Florida to find the fountain of youth. If they ever found it, they would be controled by this power so much, thay may not be able to live without. With power, comes responsibility.

Questions: 1. According to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of his experiment? The purpose is to find out if people who led miserable lives would act the same if given a second chance.

2. What do Dr. Heidegger's friends have in common? How does each of them behave during the experiment? They are old and led miserable lives which have been forgetten by others. They behave foolishly and with disrespect.

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 does not want to relive his past. His friends do feel the same way for they want to make a pilgrammage to Florida to find it.

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 the facts is the narrator? He is obviously a friend of Dr. Heidegger's and knows of this story through him.

5. What points are made about youth and aging in the story? Do you agree with the views of the story? Comment. Aging is a natural part of life and sometimes living as a youth, you can do foolish things you will regret later in life. I do agree, we need to have the experiences of aging to understand what life is about.

7. Some scientists hope to develop a vaccine against aging. They speculate that human beings could live approximately 800 years. Do you feel this desirable? Explain your answer. No I don't. I would like to live maybe 150-200 years at most. Life is not easy and to endure pain and trials more than necessary is not needed even though living longer can let you do things you didn't have the chance to do before.

 Completion: 5/5 Effort: 5/5 Content: 5/5 total: 15/15

Question Completion Mark: 5/5

total 20/20