Dr.Heideggers Expeiment
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Dee Holden

CHARACTERS

• Dr.heiddegger-Old and wise physician who is the protagonist of the story.
• Mr.Medbourne-Once a rich merchant who lost most of his money in speculation.
• Mr.Gasaigne-A politician whose career was cut short.
• Widow Wycherly-Formerly a beautiful woman loved by the three gentlemen.
• Sylvia ward-Woman whose portrait hangs on the wall. She was supposed to marry Dr. Heidegger but died a day before their marriage.

SETTING

• Around the 19th century

INTERNAL CONFLICT

• He recieves water to be from the fountain of youth and thinks he should share with his guests

EXTERNAL CONFLICT

• The ways the guests act as they drink more of the elixir makes they fight each other

SYMBOLISM

• Rose-shows he regrets his loss of his true love
• Water-univeral theme of life, cleansing, and renewal
• Mirror-hold the souls of patients who died from his experiment
• Skeleton-sins in his past that are best kept hidden

IMAGERY

• Dim, old fashioned clamber, festooned with cobwebs, sprinkled with antique dust

THEMES

• Little words, big ideas
• Human nature is innately prone to flaw and sin
• We cannot erase our sins but we can correct our behavior

The story begins with old Heidegger inviting four elderly friends over to this rather eerie study: Colonel Killigrew, Mr.Medbourne, mrGascaigne, and Widow Wycherly. The four old folks have all fallen a long way from their prime, each squandered his own type of fortune (youth, money, power, beauty) and is now in a miserable state.

DARK ROMANTICISM

• the Dark Romantics adapted images of anthropomorphized evil in the form of Satan, devils, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and ghouls”,as more telling guides to man's inherent nature.

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

• He was born in Salem Massachusetts on july 4,1804 into the sixth generation of his salem family
• When he was four-years-old, his sea captain father died of yellow fever in suriname and his strict mother stsrting taking care of him
• In Boston on july 9, 1842, hawthorne married painter and fellow trancendentalist Sophia Peabody and had 3 kids. Una (1844-1877) rose (1851-1926) julian (1846-1934)
• They all settled in the middle of Concord, Massachusetts living in the "the old manse"
• He worked in the boston custom house in 1839 to 1840 and was a member of the idealistic brook farm communitynear boston

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

• Even though he wasn't entirely interested in higher education, enrolled at Bowdoin College in 1821.
• WHile at the college, he met friend the he would be with forever, like poet henry wadsworth longfellow, soon to be naval commander horatio bridge, and future president franklin pierce
• His first novel "fanshawe" was published in 1821
• Herman melville dedicated "moby dick" to hawthorne
• His work's probe into human nature, especially its darker side

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

• He died on may 19, 1864 while traveling on to plymouth, new hampshire. Most say he died in his sleep
• Hawthorne was appointed to overseas post of american consul at liverpool, england by his president friend franklin pierce
• Even though he was always an active man, his heart began to fail him

WORKS CITED

• The european graduate school
• The literature network
• Notable biographies
• PBS
• Houghtan mifflin harcourt