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? The main character is round but dynamic

Antagonist: I think that there are many antagonists, because the main conflict is internal. I think that the main antagonists are dr. Heidegger’s four friends that he invites to his study.

Describe the setting: The setting is in the 19th century in Dr. Heidegger's study. The mood is spooky and tense

Type of Conflict: man versus self

Describe the main conflict: I think that the main conflict is if humans will take a second chance when they are given it.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax of the story is when the four friends become young again.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? I think that Dr. Heidegger finds that the liquid of youth is addicting and makes men mad, so he decides never to drink of it.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. I think that another part of Dr. Heidegger's experiment is on human psychology and how humans behave when they are given another chance to live their lives, and if they will do the same bad things that they did before.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict helps illustrate the theme by showing that people don't always want to redeem themselves and not repeat their mistakes.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax helps illustrate the theme by showing the consequences of our behavior.

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

Simile: "... not unlike wine..." compares the liquid of youth to wine.

Metaphor: The metaphor is the skeleton in Dr. Heidegger's closet, and the door was slightly ajar, so the "skeleton" could be known which compares his closet and the skeleton inside it to his own regrets.

Personification: "... the brazen head of Hippocrates frowned and said Forbear." is saying that a bust can talk.

Symbol: The butterfly falling to the floor is symbolic of death.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): The rose dying again foreshadows everything else dying off as well.

Irony: It is ironic that the four friends made fun of old people once they were young again

Imagery: "... of a young lady, arrayed in the faded magnificence of silk, satin, and brocade..."

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. The relationship between the class theme and the story is that if you had the fountain of youth, then you have power because everyone wants it for themselves and you could turn that desire into power.

According to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of his experiment? To study the effect that the fountain of youth has on humans.

What do Dr. Heidegger's friends have in common? They all did things that they regret and they are all old.

How does each of them behave during the experiment? They all behave exactly like they did when they were younger.

Why would Dr. Heidegger not stoop to bathe his lips on the Fountain of Youth? He knows that it will make him crazy if he does.

Do his friends feel the same way? Comment. No. They got addicted to the fountain of youth and swore to make a pilgrimage to Florida and drink form the fountain morning noon and night.

Who is the narrator of the story? It is not clear who the narrator is.

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? I believe that it was passed by word of mouth from person to person.

How certain of his facts is the narrator? The narrator seems very sure of his facts, although I don't think that he got all of his facts correct.

What points are made about aging in the story? The story infers that time can obscure even the most prominent people.

Do you agree with the points in the story? Comment. Yes. I believe that even the most famous people will become obscured by time.

Some scientists hope to develop a vaccine against aging. They speculate that human beings could live for approximately 800 years. Do you feel that this is desirable? Explain your answer. No, I wouldn't want to live past 100 years. I think that it would be catastrophic to meddle with the natural process of aging. Also there would be so many people on earth, because it takes longer for us to die off, that all the natural resources of the earth would be depleted very quickly.

 Completion: 5/5 Effort: 4/5 Content: 4/5 total: 13/15

Question Completion Mark: 4/5

total 17/20