Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment


 * Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: __Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment__ **

**Point of View:** First Person

**Protagonist:** Dr. Heidegger

**What type of character is the Protagonist?** The protagonist is a round, dynamic character. We know this because we are given information about him and his past, and because he changes slightly over the course of the story.

**Antagonist:** time, possibly Dr. Heidegger’s friends

**Describe the setting:** The setting is Dr. Heidegger’s study. It is an old-fashioned room filed with books of all sizes, a bust of Hippocrates, a closet containing a skeleton, a painting of the woman who was to be his wife, a book thought to contain magic, and a mirror that was said to show the spirits of all the doctor’s dead patients. The timing is during the summer, from mid-afternoon to evening. The story seems to be set in the mid-1800s.

**Type of Conflict:** Man vs. Time, Man vs. Man

**Describe the main conflict:** The main conflict is when the men all start fighting over the widow, and break the vase holding the water. Also, the entire story seems to be conflicting Time itself by restoring old people to their youth, even for just a few moments.

**Describe the Climax of the Story:** The climax of the story is when Dr. Heidegger gives his friends the water from the Fountain of Youth, and they begin to grow younger. They then demand more and more of the water, until they have finally become teens again.

H**ow does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?** Dr. Heidegger changes his opinion of the water over the course of the story. At first, he seems to be skeptical that it will work, as he is testing it on his friends and a rose. As the story continues, he becomes slightly impressed, as anyone would, when witnessing such a miracle. At the end, though, he is not impressed with the way the youth fades, or with the behavior of his friends, because when they are given a gift such as Dr. Heidegger’s water, they immediately demand more, and in their frenzy fighting over the widow, they spill the water, and decide to find the Fountain of Youth for themselves, just so they can enjoy their youth again, and not for any-one's benefit but theirs.

**Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.** The theme of the story is the experiment. The relationship between the title and the theme is that Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment (the title) is testing the hypothesis “how will my friends behave if restored to youth again?” Quite literally, the title is the theme.

**How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?** The main conflict is when the men start fighting over the widow. This helps to illustrate the theme because it is the result of the experiment, which is the main theme of the story.

**How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?** The climax is when the friends grow younger. This helps to illustrate the theme of the experiment because the climax is the result of the experiment. Dr. Heidegger sits back to watch the experiment, not drinking the water, and waiting for the results.


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

**Simile:** An example of a simile is “while the shadows of age were flitting from it like darkness from the crimson daybreak”.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Metaphor:** An example of a metaphor is the widow Wycherly's quote “ you might as well ask whether an old woman’s wrinkled face could ever bloom again”. She is not really asking if an old woman’s face could sprout flowers again, but if it could grow young and pretty again.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Personification:** An example of personification is the sentence “A strange chilliness, whether of the body or spirit they could not tell, was creeping gradually over them all”. Of course, chilliness cannot creep. That is something only a live creature could do.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Symbol:** An example of a symbol is the bust of Hippocrates. it is a bust, and a decoration, but it also symbolizes wisdom to Dr. Heidegger since he is thought to hold consultations about difficult cases with it, regardless of whether it really speaks or not.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Foreshadowing (give both elements):** An example of foreshadowing in the story is that when we are shown that the old people given the water desire more and more to become younger and younger, this foreshadows the point when the water’s effect fades, and they decide to travel to Florida to drink constantly from the fountain and try to become eternally young.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Irony:** I found it ironic that the four people the water is offered to, of all the people Dr. Heidegger could have chosen, are ones that are selfish and do not deserve something as good as eternal youth, or even youth for just a moment. Meanwhile, others who doubtlessly deserve youth more, and would agree with Dr. Heidegger when they find out that youth produced by the water is only temporary.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Imagery:** An example of imagery is the description of Dr. Heidegger’s study. A quote containing imagery is “ The greatest curiosity of the study remains to be mentioned; it was a ponderous folio volume, bound in black leather, with massive silver clasps.”


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> There are a few relationships between the class theme (humanity) and the story. One is that the friends of Dr. Heidegger had lost their humanity in their youth,and then, soon after, their youth left, too, but seek to reclaim only good looks and fitness, and refuse to acknowledge that they went astray when they were younger and, being given a second chance, they should at least attempt to fix them. Another relationship is that Dr. Heidegger has retained his humanity by not partaking in the shameful things the others did as youth, and refuses to “stoop to the level of his friends” by drinking the water. He says he had some trouble growing older, and has no wish to repeat that, and give himself a fresh chance to make new mistakes in life.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Questions:**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**1)** The purpose of the experiment, according to Dr. Heidegger, is to amuse him. He conducts these strange experiments for his own enjoyment and entertainment.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**2)** Dr. Heidegger's friends all have wasted their youth, and wish that they could have it back, though they only want it to be pretty and fit again. All of his friends act selfishly during the experiment, requiring glass after glass of water to become younger and younger. Then, when they spill the water fighting over the widow like children, and become old again, they decide to go visit the real fountain and drink constantly to stay young.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**3)** He would not "stoop to bathe his lips in the Fountain of Youth" because he has not wasted his youth like the others, and he doesn't want another chance at youth because he risks repeating his mistakes, or making new, worse ones. His friends do not feel the same way. They would happily stoop to that level to regain their youth, and squander it all over again.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**4)** The Narrator seems to be someone who was told about the event after it happened, probably by Dr. Heidegger(because the story is told from his perspective), perhaps a relative or another friend. The narrator is not entirely sure of his facts, and says so, but he seems to know the general idea of the story.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**5)** Some points made in the story about youth and aging are "youth is wasted on the young" and that all old people wish they were young again. I agree that all old people such as the ones in he story do wish they were young, but I don't believe youth is wasted on the young. Youth, while lacking the wisdom that comes with age, are not stupid, and can understand things almost as well as adults, who have experience puzzling through life.

====**6) Interview:** Host: While modern medical scientists are attempting to find a way to slow or stop aging, they are still a long way from the "Fountain of Youth". Dr. Heidegger, how do you feel about scientists being able to counteract the effects of aging?====

====Dr. Heidegger: I don't feel that people should be given the option of eternal youth. I once tried an experiment with my friends, to see how they would react if restored to youth, and it showed me how immature even the oldest adults can become when restored to good health and good looks. While not all of the population would behave like this, i believe that for the greater good, and to protect the good from the selfish behavior of the unworthy, the general population should be denied eternal youth.====

====Col. Killigrew: That's preposterous! My fellow "experimentees" and I did no such thing! Alright, fine, we did get a little caught up in the fun of momentarily being young again, but we did not "act immature"! And Why should all the old and decrepit people of the world be denied a chance at feeling young again?====

====Dr. Heidegger: Because even if only a few of them act the way you three did during my experiment, the gift of eternal youth would be wasted. And just think of the effects on the planet no-one dying would have! Our resources would evaporate almost overnight, and we would all die out! There is no point in giving eternal life to everyone if they would die out within a few years of being given such a gift because no-one was dying!====

Host: Thank you for your time, gentlemen.
====**7)** I do not think a vaccine against aging is desirable. This could cause infinite problems with overpopulation, and most of the people given the vaccine would not live to be 800 because all the natural resources would have been harvested and demolished by them and their younger counterparts. Prolonged age is pointless if you don't live to the end of it because by not growing old and dying, you caused the end of the planet.====

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