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Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

Dr. Heidegger's Experiment. Nathaniel Hawthorne. n old friend. Deeply allegorical writer. Hawthorne wrote about many Gothic themes. Six Traits of Gothicism. 1. Gothic Architecture 2. Dark Colors/Imagery 3. Supernatural. Six Traits of Gothicism.

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Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

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  1. Dr. Heidegger's Experiment Nathaniel Hawthorne

  2. n old friend • Deeply allegorical writer. • Hawthorne wrote about many Gothic themes.

  3. Six Traits of Gothicism • 1. Gothic Architecture • 2. Dark Colors/Imagery • 3. Supernatural

  4. Six Traits of Gothicism • 4. The Dark Side of the Individual • 5. Mental/Emotional Anguish • 6. Allegory/Symbolism • How do these traits work in a story?

  5. Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment

  6. Dr. Heidegger invites four old people (friends) to meet him (3 men, 1 woman—Colonel Killigrew, Widow Wycherly, Mr. Gascoigne, and Mr. Medbourne) They have not had great lives. All 3 men had dated the woman when they were younger and had fought over her. • Dr. Heidegger wants them to participate in an experiment. • Dr. Heidegger’s study is a creepy, supernatural place.

  7. Dr. Heidegger has acquired water from the Fountain of Youth. He changes a dead rose back to living. He wants his friends to drink the water so that he can see if it works and study the changes. • He warns them not to repeat the errors of their youths.

  8. Their transformation is slow and all four beg for more, showing that they are actually greedy, vain, selfish people. • They begin to act young and act as they did when they were younger. • The men fight again over the woman.

  9. While they are fighting, they break the vase that hold the Fountain of Youth water. • The Fountain of Youth water does not last. First the rose dies, then the people grow old again.

  10. Dr. Heidegger learns that it’s not all that great to repeat your youth and that some never learn from their mistakes. • The four learn nothing—they immediately make plans to move to Florida and drink from the Fountain of Youth morning, noon, and night and stay young forever.

  11. Architecture • Creepy laboratory (many quotes about it) • “Dr. Heidegger's study must have been a very curious place. It was a dim, old-fashioned chamber, festooned with cobwebs, and besprinkled with antique dust” • What does this do for the story?

  12. Dark Imagery Some items carry dark imagery. • The book • Black ebony table • Red rose (black and red again)

  13. Dark Imagery • "My dear widow, you are charming!" cried Colonel Killigrew, whose eyes had been fixed upon her face…like darkness from the crimson daybreak.” (p. 378) • “Their eyes grew clear and bright; a dark shade deepened among their silvery locks: (p. 379) • How is Hawthorne using this trait?

  14. Supernatural • Magical water • Mysterious mirror • The folio (book of magic) • What do these things do for the story?

  15. Dark Side of the Individual • Mr. Gascoigne was a ruined politician, a man of evil fame • Fighting guests (“Hands on throats”) • What do these things do for the story? • How might this trait be working differently than the previous 3?

  16. Mental/Emotional Anguish • Loss and gain (and loss) of youth. • Hawthorne loved this one! • What’s different about what we gain from examples of this trait?

  17. Theme • Complicated themes are being revealed: • Impossibility of earthly perfection • Loss of innocence • Can’t have youth and wisdom (Zack R)

  18. Mental/Emotional Anguish • Another theme of this story is that a person’s character, once developed does not change over time, and when faced with conflict and adversity, his/her true character becomes boldly evident. - www.classicreader.com

  19. Allegory/Symbols • The Mirror = Failure • The Rose = Bride, Youth and natural balance, wisdom of age, the inevitability of death.

  20. Allegory • The bride’s portrait = Failure, mistakes of youth • The magic book = ??? (strong forces, moral stability)

  21. Allegory • Dr. Heidegger = God figure? • The Guests = Lust, Greed, Vanity, Lies, Anti-Progress

  22. Other symbols • The butterfly • The skeleton • The fountain of youth • The table

  23. In summary • The traits help: • Create a mood/atmosphere • Develop (darker) themes • Challenge the reader to interpret meaning

  24. Two Questions: • 1. Was it real or a delusion? • On a scrap piece, answer the following: • 2. What is more valuable: • "Life is about having fun and having fun now" or live a quiet life, analyzing and correcting mistakes, with the aim to reach calm and happy life when you are old.

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