Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

**__Jason Poon__**
 * __ Short Stories: Literary Devises __**
 * __ Title: Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment __**

Third Person and limited omniscient.
 * __ Point of View: __**

Dr. Heidegger
 * __ Protagonist: __**

Round and dynamic.
 * __ What type of character is the Protagonist? __**

I think that Dr. Heidegger is a round and static character because he has many character traits, but he doesn't change over he course of the story. Some of his character traits are calm and clever, and his traits never changed over the course as he was still clever and calm until the end.

The Fountain of Youth liquid.
 * __ Antagonist: __**

Place- Dr. Heidegger’s Study Time: Mid-1800’s Mood: Childlike
 * __ Describe the setting: __**

The setting is mainly in Dr. Heidegger’s study, in the mid-1800’s and the mood is childlike. At the beginning of the story, the narrator describes the setting as Dr. Heidegger's study. The timeline is in the mid-1800's because the "Fountain of Youth" was first been made up in approximately 1513, and Dr. Heidegger stated that, "." The mood is very childlike because the 4 elder friend of Dr. Heidegger are fighting over the Fountain of Youth liquid, and are all fighting over a woman named, which I think is overall very childish as they all want what they cannot get very easily.

Man vs. Nature
 * __ Type of Conflict: __**

The main type of conflict is Man. vs. Nature. The type of conflict "Man vs. Environment" is in it because the Fountain of Youth's liquid is from the fountain's environment, which is Florida. They also decided to travel to Florida to find the true Fountain of Youth. Which means that they have to travel the the different environment to find it.

The main conflict in the story is that four elderly people craving for the Fountain of Youth's liquid, which Dr. Heidegger has a portion of. Dr. Heidegger gives them a sample of it and they all become too greedy and are always asking for more, ignoring Dr. Heidegger's wishes and desires, even when he fulfilled //their// wishes and dream. In the end, they all transform to being in their new young bodies, to their originally old bodies, which was the thing that Dr. Heidegger was experimenting all along.
 * __ Describe the main conflict: __**

The climax in the story is when the doctor's friends become old again after the effects of the Fountain of Youth's liquid wears off. because no new events happen and nothing else is introduced.
 * __ Describe the Climax of the Story: __**

Dr. Heidegger did not really change over the story from the very beginning; he was calm, clever, and never really changed over the course of the story. The other characters in the story did not change dramatically either, as they all were greedy for the Fountain of Youth liquid sample, and after it wore off, they all went to search for the actual Fountain of Youth after the story.
 * __ How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? __**


 * __ Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. __**

Title: Dr. Heidegger's Experiment Theme: Greed may lead you down the wrong path.

There is a strong relationship between the title and the theme as Dr. Heidegger's experiment was to see the behavior and reactions to the Fountain of Youth liquid, and in the end, he concluded that humans' are to greedy to handle such limited and significant items. So in the end, he decided that he shall not drink the Fountain of Youth liquid because he may become too greedy and seek for more like his "guinea pigs" have.

Main Conflict: Dr. Heidegger's friends fighting over the Fountain of Youth liquid. Theme: Greed may lead you down the wrong path.
 * __ How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? __**

The main conflict helps to illustrate the theme as the conflict is that they are too greedy and are fighting over the liquid from the Fountain of Youth, and the theme is basically about greed.

Climax: ﻿ ﻿ The after effects of the Fountain of Youth liquid. Theme: Greed may lead you down the wrong path.
 * __ How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? __**

The climax really helps to illustrate the theme. Since they got so greedy and kept taking more of the Fountain of Youth liquid, they were rewarded with transforming back to their old selves, which was the thing they dreaded most. After it wore off, they went in search for the true Fountain of Youth, which meant they were lead down the wrong paths they did not know if it truly existed.


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

"...as black as ebony" (Page 160)
 * __ Simile: __**

"They were all melancholy old creatures...." (Page 157)
 * __ Metaphor: __**

"...the flower were reviving from a deathlike slumber" (Page 161)
 * __ Personification: __**

"...the skeleton had rattled in its closet" (Page 160)
 * __ Symbol: __**

This symbolizes that the book was well-known to be magical, as skeletons cannot rattle in closets without being moved by something else, which will most likely mean that the skeleton was rattled by the "magic" from the book.

"may I reckon on your aid in performing an exceedingly curious experiment" (Page 160) "Such is the lesson ye have taught me!" (Page 167)
 * __ Foreshadowing (give both elements): __**

This is an example of foreshadowing as he said that he had an "...exceedingly curious experiment" which hinted that this experiment may not exactly be something else but to test the experiment on //them//. So in the end, it shows that he concluded his experiment that he should not drink the Fountain of Youth because he said "Such is the lesson ye have taught me!".


 * __ Irony : __**
 * " "Are we grown old again, so soon?" They cried dolefully." (Page 167) **

This is a piece of situational irony because they were so ager to become young again, so they became very greedy and kept taking more from Dr. Heidegger without appreciating it, so in the end, they returned to being old again, the thing they dreaded most, which makes this piece really ironic.

"It was scarcely full-blown; for some of its delicate red leaves curled modestly around its moist bosom, within which two or three dewdrops sparkled" (Page 161)
 * __ Imagery: __**

This is a great piece of imagery as it is very descriptive and describes how the flower is in full bloom with colours to create the image in your head. It also describes the amount of dewdrops there are and how they sparkle.

Class theme: Choices
 * __ Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. __**

The relationship between the two are quite strong because Dr. Heidegger has to make many "Choices," like choosing whether to use his friends as guinea pigs for his experiment, and he also had to decide whether to drink it or not, which he decided not to.


 * __ Questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 __**


 * __ 1. According to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of his experiment? __**

The purpose for this experiment is to see human's behavior to something they wish for. He concludes that humans are too greedy and cannot possess something too special.


 * __ 2. What do Dr. Heidegger's friends have in common? How does each of them behave during the experiment? __**

Something they all have in common is that they love Widow Wycherly and they all want to become young again. During the experiment, they behave very poorly, they all become impatient and greedy, which Dr. Heidegger concludes at the end of the experiment.


 * __ 3. Why would Dr. Heidegger's 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 ff Youth liquid because discovered that he might get to greedy and be led down the wrong path, which is why he experimented on his 4 friends. The result was as he expected, they got too addicted and kept asking for more. Once Dr. Heidegger ran out and the affect wore off, they went in search for the true Fountain of Youth in Florida. He concluded that humans are too greedy and will go through many hardships to get what they want.


 * __ 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 he know what happened to the doctor and all his friends? How certain of his facts is the narrator? __**

We don't exactly know who the narrator is, but he knows all about what happened to the doctor and his friends because he is a limited-omniscient narrator. He is quite certain of his facts as he has knowledge to some events that were not told in the story, but does not inform the reader about events that were going to happen a little further along.


 * __ 5. What points are made about youth and aging in the story. Do you agree with the views of the story? Comment. __**

Yes, I agree with the views of the story as most elder people would have a strong desire to become young again. Like in the story, Dr. Heidegger's 4 friends are all wishing that they were in their youth again, and would do anything to achieve this desire.

__ **7. Some scientists hope to develop a vaccine against aging. They speculate that human beings could then live approximately 800 years. Do you feel this desirable? Explain the answer.** __

No, I do not feel that I would want to live 800 years as you would experience too many thing. Even, if there were some good experiences, there would be a lot of bad ones too, like your family and close friends dying. You would also forget a lot of the experiences as human's memory is not perfect, so you would forget a lot of your experiences in the past couple hundred years of you longer life.  Completion 5/5  Effort 5/5  Content 5/5

 Total 15/15

 Questions Completion Mark 5/5

 Total 20/20