Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

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

__Point of View:__

1st person

__Protagonist:__

Dr. Heidegger

__What type of character is the Protagonist?__

The protagonist is a dynamic and round character, he has several personality traits.

__Antagonist:__ The antagonists are the greedy consciences of the Widow Wycherly, Colonel Killigrew, Mr. Medbourne and Mr. Gascoigne.

__Describe the setting:__

The story is set in Dr. Heidegger's study, a dim, old-fashionsed chamber, furnished with several oaken bookcases, a narrow oaken closet, and a small round table.

__Type of Conflict:__

Man vs. Self, and Man vs. Man

__Describe the main conflict:__

The main conflict would be the subjects of the experiment's wish to become young again. I believe this because it seems that they are fighting against themselves, in a way, fighting against the ignorance and and delirium of their youth. A secondary conflict would be how the men fight among themselves, for the favor and hand of the Widow Wycherly.

__Describe the Climax of the Story:__

The climax is the scene where the three men fight over the Widow Wycherly, and they overturn the table, and break the vase in which the precious Water of Youth was held.

__How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?__

In the beginning of the story, Dr. Heidegger was a curious, elderly man who wished to perform an experiment. and had chosen his four friends to perform the experiment upon. By the end of the story, he knows of the evils that the apparently sudden onset of youthfulness can bring.

__Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.__

The relationship between the title and the theme is that through "Dr.Heidegger's Experiment", in the actual experiment, the doctor comes to the conclusion that is the theme.

__How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?__

The main conflict shows the men fighting for the favor of the widow, it shows that the men are not appreciating their new found youth with the wisdom of the elderly.

__How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?__ When the climax happens, each of the men are too focused upon maiming the other so they break the vase that contains the Water of Youth. This shows that they are not appreciating their short lived youth, instead wasting it upon the urge to fight one another.

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

__Simile__: "the shadows of age were flitting from it like darkness from the crimson daybreak-"

__Metaphor:__ "The fresh gloss of the soul"

__Personification:__ as if the flower were reviving from a deathlike slumber-"

__Symbol__: the rose seemed to symbolize the four friends, and how their youth was

__Foreshadowing (give both elements):__ ``I am desirous of your assistance in one of those little experiments with which I amuse myself here in my study.'' This foreshadows that something regarding an experiment will occur later in the story.

__Irony__: ``Nonsense!'' said the Widow Wycherly, with a peevish toss of her head. ``You might as well ask whether an old woman's wrinkled face could ever bloom again.''

__Imagery__: "-a rose, or what was once a rose, though now the green leaves and crimson petals had assumed one brownish hue, and the ancient flower seemed ready to crumble to dust in the doctor's hands."

__Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.__ The class theme of humanity's relationship to this story, is that humanity does not appreciate what one has before it is gone, with few exceptions. This is the story's theme, and the story shows yet another trait of humanity.

__1. According to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of his experiment? __

The purpose of Dr. Heidegger's experiment is to find if the Water of Youth would be able to transform the body of an elderly person back into it's youthful prime, while still keeping their wisdom

__2. What do Dr. Heidegger’s friends have in common? How does each of them behave during the experiment? __

Dr. Heidegger's friends all show ignorance and delirium in the process of the experiment. During the experiment, the Widow Wycherly preens in the mirror flattering herself with her youthfulness, while the Colonel belts out beer songs, which I personally find most distasteful. Mr. Medbourne thinks only of money, and a scheme to make it, while Mr. Gascoigne returns to his political ideas, and thirst for power.

__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 stoop to bathe his lips in the fountain of youth because his friends have demonstrated the dangers and ignorance the sudden onset of youth brings. On the contrary, his friends are delirious with the power that youth again has granted them, and wish to soon make a pilgrimage to the fountain of youth to once again dabble in this nonsense.

__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 is facts is the narrator? __ The narrator of this story seems to have been someone the story has been told to, and he is retelling it. The narrator seems to be fairly sure of the majority of his facts, but in a few instances, he says "Now, if the stories are true...".

__5. What points are made about youth and aging in this story? Do you agree with the views in the story? Comment. __ I think that a point in the story that was made about youth and aging was that it seemed very shallow, and that only the way the woman looked counted for anything. This shows how skin deep society was, and continues to be. Also, it is showing that the old which have become young again have not retained their wisdom, and instead, have reverted back to the very same mistakes that they made when they were young.

__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? Explain your answer. __ The vaccine that could slow down aging to an extreme would be desirable, but only if these conditions were met. Firstly, in regards to population control, it would need to cause women not to have any more than two children, in their entire life spam. Secondly, it should slow, but not stop, the process of aging. It would be nice if it was more slowed down from your twenties until your fifties, then sped back to normal. This would allow people not to look the same age as their parents. Third, it should be given to animals as well, so family pets could be take along for the ride of almost eternity.

COMPLETION 5/5 EFFORT 5/5 CONTENT 4.5/5 QUESTIONS 12/12 TOTAL 26.5/27