Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

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

Point of View: 3rd Person, limited omniscient

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

Antagonist: the water from the Fountain of Youth

Describe the setting The setting is a night in Dr. Heidegger's house. Because of the way the characters talk, the time is around the early 1900's. The atmosphere is dim, and the mood is kind of cautious at the beginning, excited in the middle, and disappointed at the end.

Type of Conflict: Man vs himself

Describe the main conflict: The main conflict in the story is that Dr. Heidegger is struggling to decide whether or not people will repeat their actions when given a second chance, and also if it would be a good thing if the water was readily available to the general public.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax of the story is when the effects of the water fade and the characters turn young again.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?

Dr. Heidegger does not change much over the course of the story, but becomes more knowledgeable about the effects of the water from the Fountain of Youth, and also about whether or not people will repeat their choices when given the chance to be young again.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.

The title and the theme of using second chances wisely are related because the title is "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", and the whole experiment is to see whether or not his three friends will use there second chance wisely, or simply do what they did before.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?

The main conflict of Dr. Heidegger's decision helps to illustrate the theme by telling the reader that his three friends should change their ways when they are given the water, but since they don't, Dr. Heidegger doesn't give them any more.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?

The climax of the story helps to illustrate the theme by showing that if you don't use your second chance wisely, nothing will change when the chance ends.

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

Simile: "... as if the flower were reviving from a deathlike slumber." pg. 161

<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Metaphor: "... she examined whether the snow had so entirely melted from her hair..." pg. 164

<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Personification: "... red leaves curled modestly around its moist bosom..." pg. 161

<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Symbol: The water is a symbol that represents the youth and beauty that the four friends had, and to have that back is all they really want.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Foreshadowing (give both elements): An example of foreshadowing occurs when Dr. Heidegger dips the rose into the water in the vase. It becomes fresh and dewy and new, which is a hint of what will happen to his friends.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Irony: The irony in this story happens when Dr. Heidegger explains to his friends about retaining the knowledge that they have gained over the years, and choosing more wisely when they become young again. Instead, when his friends realize that they are once again youthful, they make the same bad decisions that they made originally.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Imagery: "... little bubbles were continually ascending from the depths of the glasses, and bursting in silvery spray at the surface." pg. 162

<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The relationship between the class theme of choices, and the story's theme of using second chances wisely, are closely related because when you are given a second chance, you have to make a choice as to whether or not you will change what you did the first time, or simply live the same way you did the first time. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Examples from the story?

<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">__**Questions**__

According to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of his experiment? The purpose of his experiment is to find out if people will take into consideration what they have learned as adults when they get the chance to become young again.

What do Dr. Heidegger's friends have in common? How does each of them behave during the experiment? Dr. Heidegger's friends are similar because they are all old, and they all wish to become young so they can receive the attention from the community that they had before. During the experiment, all four of them act exactly as they had when they were young.

Why would Dr. Heidegger not stoop to bathe his lips in the Fountain of Youth? Do his friends feel the same way? Dr. Heidegger would not drink from the Fountain of Youth because he does not want to go through his life again, now that he knows what is in store; he does not think the joy of a few moments is worth the disappointment of becoming old once again.

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 is an omniscient outside party.

What points are made about youth and aging in the story? Do you agree with the views in the story? The story implies that people in their youth can make bad decisions, wrong choices, and so on, and I agree with that to a point. Yes, many young people make bad decisions, but not all of them.

Some scientists hope to develop a vaccine against aging. They speculate that human beings could then live approximately 800 years. Do you feel this is desirable? I would not want this for myself, because then you would just live a life where all the experiences that people would normally have would be stretched out. For example, school would last for maybe 50 years, and you would work as an adult for 650 years, and that I don't think would be very enjoyable.

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<span style="color: #ae1610; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Total 13/15

<span style="color: #ae1610; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Questions Completion Mark 5/5

<span style="color: #ae1610; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Total 18/20