Dr. Heidegger´s Experiment : Story Analysis

Short summary of Nathaniel´s Hawthorne´s biography-

     Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American fiction writer.  He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1804.  His writing was influenced by his Puritan descent.  Two of his most famous works are The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables which are now American classics.


Own summary-

Dr. Heidegger invites four of his friends to his house,  they are all old.  He wants them to participate on an experiment.  He gives them all water from the Fountain of Youth, so that they become young again.  He reminds them to not forget the mistakes from their past before drinking the water.  After drinking the water they continue making the same mistakes, and after a while they become old again.


Plot Analysis-

Conflict-  Dr.  Heidegger wants his friends to participate on the experiment and see if they learn something from it.

Rising Action-  Dr. Heidegger shows his friends the rose and explains about the water.

Climax-  when the vase breaks.

Resolution-  the four friends become old again and decide to look for more water in Florida.


Characterization-

Dr. Heidegger-  affectionate, sentimental, wise.

Mr. Medbourne-  old man with a white beard, greedy, made some bad business deals.

Mr. Gascon-  old man with a white beard, dishonest.

Colonel Killigrew-  old man with a white beard, ate and drank too much.

Widow Wycherly-  elderly woman with white hair, once quite beautiful, very conceited, not beautiful anymore.


Moral or learning-  One should try to learn from the mistakes of the past so that you don´t repeat them.


Personal Opinion-

To me this short story is neither too good nor too bad.  I think that the story is entertaining and deals with an interesting topic, which is aging.  I like how it shows the different ways the characters have failed in their past.  I like the symbolism with the rose.

         

Something Funny: Story Analysis

Short summary of literary biography- 


      Elizabeth van Steenwyk has written over 65 books for young people and more than 250 articles and short stories for adult and children’s magazines. She has written books from biographies to fictional stories about animals and has won several awards throughout her writing career. Some of these awards are the Helen Keating Ott Award for outstanding contribution to children’s literature, presented by the Church and Synagogue Library Association. She has also received the silver medal at the International Film and Television Festival for an adaptation of her book, The Best Horse.

                                                                                                

Own summary-

 This short story is about a girl named Janey who is dating a guy named Bill.  At first she likes him, but then starts to get tired of him because she thinks he is boring.  Bill has a dream about a spaceship and aliens and tells Janey about it.  Janey decides she wants to brake up with Bill and does so by showing him the third eye she has on her forehead and revealing that she is an alien.  Bill is shocked by this.



Plot Analysis:



Conflict-  Janey is getting tired of Bill, doesn´t know whether she should brake up with him or not.



Rising Action-  Janey and Bill leave for the party,  Bill tells Janey about her dream.



Climax- Janey shows Bill the third eye on her forehead.



Resolution-  Bill is shocked about seeing Janey`s third eye and discovering she´s an alien aswell.



Characterization-



Janey- is anxious about her situation with Bill. She is a little dominant over Bill. She has a third eye on her forehead.



Bill-  loves Star Wars movies, and things related to spaceships and aliens. He thinks his dream is funny. Has a more positive attitude towards his relationship with Janey.



Irony-  the irony in the story is that Bill has a dream about aliens and tells Janey about it and in the end Janey is an alien herself.



Personal Opinion-

    My opinion about the story is that it is a good story for being a short story. By this I mean that it is not a very complicated story nor the development of the story is very deep but it has elements that make it interesting. It is realistic because it exposes conflict between a couple.  It brings suspense with the dream about aliens, and it has irony.

Something Funny: Story Analysis

Reading Report 2

1) a
2) c
3) a
4) d
5) b
6) a
7) c
8) d
9) d
10) d

thoroughly- completely, fully

wholesome- healthy

figure out- know, find out, find the solution to

rashes- eruptions on the skin

hives- a skin condition with itching welts and caused by an allergic reaction, also called nettle rash

joint pains- aching of the joints

breast milk- milk from the female breasts

migraines- strong headaches

aged cheese-  cheese that has been let to ripen or mature