" Dr. Heidegger's Experiment " Story Analysis

Biography

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born July 4, 1804 in Salem Massachusetts and died May 19, 1864.

He was born into a family that had a long New England history. Nathaniel had no interest in studying or pursuing family traditions or careers so he decided to just become an author-writer. His stories reflect and highlight life quarrels of humanity, like sickness, diseases, morality and sins. He declared himself as a “Gothic Romance” writer. Hawthorne's first novel Fanshawe was published in 1828 but he gained international fame with the Scarlet Letter in 1850.

Summary

Dr. Heidegger invited four of his unfortunate old friends so he could conduct an experiment on them. Dr. Heidegger placed a withered old rose in a vase with water from the Fountain of Youth to prove his point. The rose blossomed and revived. The Dr. told the skeptical guest to not make the same mistakes of their youth again before they could drink the water of the Fountain of Youth. The four guests drank from the water, immediately felt the difference. They demanded more water to be even younger and healthier, but the new found youth is merely an illusion. His friends true flaws were exposed. During a fight the water was spilled and found themselves miserable, sick and old again. Dr Heidegger's eccentric and curious wisdom was proven.

Story's Plot

Conflict:

• To conduct an experiment to analyze reactions and behavior of the guests.

Rising Actions:

• All four of his guests had lived a very sad an unfortunate lives.
• The laboratory was unusual dark place with lots of books and he had a large painting of his
• lost love.
• He opened a book and removed a rose from it.
• Dr. H asked them if the rose could ever bloom again
• He placed the rose in a vase with water from the Fountain of Youth
• Told them about the whereabouts of the Fountain.
• The guest were astonished and looked surprised.
• Before they could have a drink of the water he asked them to please think about the past and the mistakes they made.
• Advising them not to commit the same errors.
• The four people drunk from the water and felt better and younger.
• In a hurry they asked for more water
• Dr. H said it took years to grow old and what was the rush to be young again.
• The guests had more water and started to act strange and selfish again.
• During the fight they knocked the table with the vase over.
• Dr. H was worried about his flower, it withered and turned brown again.
• The Dr. saw that his friends did not listen and that they had learned nothing from their mistakes.
• They decided to pursue the water somewhere in Florida and drink it all day long.

Climax:

• Water of the Fountain of Youth spilled and lost.

Resolution:

• Dr. Heidegger's experiment proves that even if people get a second chance in life they will never change.

Physical and psychological traits of characters:

Dr. Heidegger

doctor

curious

eccentric

strange

wise

melancholic

heart broken

proud

sick

sentimentalist

Mr. Medbourne

business man

rich

sad

greedy

angry

melancholic

obscure

vain

poor

beggar

Mr. Gascon

politician

ruined

dishonest

thief

public speaker

angry

disappointed

Widow Wycherly

lady of society

spoiled

self centered

charming

beautiful

conceited

lead a scandalous life

ugly

vain

All four of Dr. Heidegger's guest have many aspects in common:

• The three man and widow have been life long friends.
• The men are wrinkled, sick old with white beards.
• The widow is ugly, wrinkled with long gray hair.
• They all once loved and cherished the widow.
• They all suffered lives of quarrels and misfortune because mistakes they made during their youth.

Moral of story

The experiment proves that you can not go back in time. Life does not give you second chances. Mistakes and actions committed through life should teach and define you. With the freewill people posses, gives them the opportunity to make choices. Every decision has a consequence: good or bad, you are either on the right or wrong path, etc. Which ever the outcome you face and learn from them. Make the best out of it and don't fester over all the “ could – should haves”.

Personal Opinion

I have mixed feelings about this story. I can't say I like it or dislike it, I'm just disappointed in “Humanity”. Maybe I should not generalize people! But I think the way people behave and act, either by being greedy, self centered, vain, dishonest and so on should prof to us that, because we are humans we make mistakes. But isn't the human race the only living creature able to rationalize and learn from misfortune and errors committed in life? I thought so, but it looks like history does repeat itself. The irony is we are what we are and our true nature and colors will always shine through.