Dr Heidegger's Experiment

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Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment Title: Before reading the story, I took a careful look at the title and predicted that this piece would be comparable to that of Frankenstein. The name of the title character paints the picture of a mad scientist, and the mention his so-called experiment alluded to a mental image of a creepy laboratory. In terms of plot, I assumed that his experiment would somehow backfire - and I shuddered just thinking about the endless possibilities. Facts: Dr. Heidegger invites four elderly friends over to his rather eerie study: Colonel Killigrew, Mr. Medbourne, Mr. Gascoigne, and the Widow Wycherly. The doctor presents his guests with four empty champagne glasses and an ornate vase full of clear, bubbling liquid. He takes…show more content…
For instance, throughout the piece, the narrator’s vocabulary sparks curiosity, especially as he uses words such as duodecimos, obscurest, tarnished, gilt, visage, and brocade. It is understandable that he merely wants to get his point across while describing the study, but his over-the-top word usage is not necessary to achieve this. He's gone a bit too far, and he recognizes this. Shifts: In comparison to many other pieces within a similar genre, Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment did not experience any major shifts in its use of literary techniques, mechanics, or narration. This consistency exhibited throughout the story purely serves the purpose of unifying the events and offering the reader to undergo a smooth transition, in order to have a lasting impact during the climax of the plot when the conclusion of the doctor’s experiment is revealed.…show more content…
Heidegger's Experiment is rooted in a rather pessimistic view of human nature. The story argues that people are, for the most part, fools; we are incapable of learning from our mistakes, and we can't expect anyone else to change for the better. In this story, foolishness is particularly associated with youth, or at least a youthful state of mind. Hawthorne does provide a counterexample to his foolish characters in the form of Dr. Heidegger, but even this character has his sinister side. As long as we can remember, young people have been associated with foolishness. Our grandmother told us as much when we were kids, our parents warned us when we went started high school, and we may have proved them all right in college. Growing up is about making mistakes and, hopefully, learning from them; once we're old, we've learned our lesson and there will be no more free-for-alls. However, Hawthorne challenges the idea that mistakes are made because we don’t have the wisdom or the knowledge to prevent us from doing so. Instead, he seems to say that young people make mistakes simply because they are young. Even if we were graced with the 20/20 vision of hindsight, he argues, it's unlikely we would do any better with a second chance at a journey through the perilous minefield that is our
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