Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

Questions
 * 1) 1) Accroding to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of his experiment? The purpose of this experiment was not to see whether the water turned the subjects young again, for that Dr. Heidegger was sure of. The purpose of the experiment was for Dr. Heidegger to see if the water was worth drinking and if people really do learn from their mistakes or, if history will just repeat itself.


 * 1) 2)What do Dr. Heidegger's friends all have in common? How does each of them behave during the experiment? Each of his friends as the book puts it, "had been unfortunate in life, and whose greatest misfortune it was that they were not long ago in their graves. " They had all started successful but had made many mistakes witch resulted in losing everything. During the experiment each of them acts exactly the way they did when they were young. The politician started to think about politics, the merchant began to plan new sales...etc.


 * 1) 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 knows that the effects of the fountain do not last forever, and even if they did, he knows now that history repeats itself. People never really learn from their mistakes. Dr. Heidegger obviously thinks that his past will repeat itself, and he probably did not like his past. "For my own part, having had much trouble in growing old, I am in no hurry to grow young again." His friends on the other hand have the complete opposite opinion, they are very oblivious and do not think that they will repeat their mistakes. "The doctor's four venerable friends made him no answer, except by a feeble and tremulous laugh; so very ridiculous was the idea that, knowing how closely repentance treads behind the steps of error, they should ever go astray again." even though they know that the effect can not last forever, they still want more of the drink. This reflects why they lost everything in life, because they have no insight for the future.


 * 1) 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 know what happened to the doctor and his friends? How certain of his facts is the narrator? The narrator in this story is an absent and omniscient narrator, that means that he is not a character in the story but he knows all the details. This is how he knows what happened to the doctor and his friends.

Another point that was made was "don't dread being old, make the best of it because its inedible. "
 * 1) 5)What points are made about youth and aging in this story? Comment. There were many points made about youth and aging, the main one wich is also the moral is "enjoy youth while you can, because you only get one chance."


 * 1) 7)Some scientists hope to develop a vaccine against aging. They speculate that human beings could live to approximatley 800 years. Do you feel this is desirable? Why? For a few thousand people, this vaccine would be very desirable, but only under one circumstsnce. If all of your family and friends all took the vaccine along with you so you were not all alone. Looking at it from a logical point of view, this vaccine would bring many more problems to the world, including, over population,starvation and deseise. One may conclude that yes, this vaccine would be desirable, but no it would not be benificial to the world.

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

Point of View: 3rd person, Omnicient.

Protagonist: Dr. Heidegger

What type of character is the Protagonist? In this story the protagonist, Dr. Heidegger, is a round static character. Dr. Heidegger has depth. We know his opinions and characteristics, but these things stay the same over the coarse of the story.

Antagonist: The antagonist in this story is Dr. Heidegger. Over the coarse of the story Dr. Heidegger battles with himself trying to decide whether or not to drink the magic water.

Describe the setting: It is impossible to tell exactly when the book takes place but given the information, I would guess that it took place in the 1600 or 1700's in the summer. The setting is more or less creepy. The author goes into depth describing the study, trying to make the mood spooky. "If all stories were true, Dr. Heidegger's study must have been a very curious place. It was a dim, old-fashioned chamber, festooned with cobwebs, and besprinkled with antique dust. Around the walls stood several oaken bookcases,..." There were however, times in the story, where the mood almost seemed to be happy or light hearted. " there was an almost immediate improvement in the aspect of the party, not unlike what might have been produced by a glass of generous wine, together with a sudden glow of cheerful sunshine brightening over all their visages at once." Although these parts were quikley gone.

Type of Conflict: Man vs. Self

Describe the main conflict; The main conflict is that Dr Heidegger cannot decide whether it is a good idea for him to drink the water or not. He battles with himself to try to decide.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax of the story is when all three men grab the widow in desperation to dance with her. After that their age begins to catch up with them again and the story begins to come to an end.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? Over the coarse of the story, the Dr. Heidegger himself does not change much. He does however, change or decide on his oppinnions. At the beginning, he is not sure weather he should drink the water or not, but by the end he knows it is a very bad idea.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. The theme, or main ides of this story is choices. Its all about the choices the characters do or don't make. The tittle "Dr. Heidegger's experiment relates to this in that his experiment is all about what choice he will make.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict is Dr. Heidegger trying to choose whether to drink the water from the fountain of youth or not. This relates to the theme because the theme is choices.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax illustrates the theme because the 4 subjects make the wrong choices during the climax and repeat their history.

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

Simile: pg 160, "... as if the flower were reviving from a deathlike slumber..." This simile compares the birth of the flower, to the awakening from a deathlike slumber.

Metaphor: "the skeleton had rattled in its closet" This metaphor means, Dr. Heidegger is hiding something.

Personification:

Symbol:The skeletons in the closet symbolize a secret that he has.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): When the author talks about the woman's picture on the wall. this foreshadows that the woman will play a part in the story. The woman's rose plays a part in the story

Irony: "You might as well ask whether an old woman's wrinkled face could ever bloom again." This is very ironic because the widows face does "bloom" again.

Imagery: " all stories were true, Dr. Heidegger's study must have been a very curious place. 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." When I read this paragraph, I can tell exactly what the author is trying to get at.

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. The class theme choices, and the theme of the story are the exact same thing. The theme of this story is choices because it is all about the choices, whether good or bad, that the characters have to make. The four subjects make bad choices and the main character, Dr. Heidegger, makes good choices.

 Completion 4/5  Effort 4/5  Content 5/5

 Total 13/15

 Questions Completion Mark 5/5

 Total 18/20