The Rebirth of Youth in "Dr. Heidgger's Experiment"

1017 Words3 Pages

Life is short. Death is forever. Time is of the essence. When the performances of our lives upon earth have reached it final act, human nature forces us to reflect on the fragility of not only the human body, but also the fragility of the human psyche. We are all just visiting this life, just passersby seeking to find our way through the blizzard of existence. Literary works swoop readers to distant lands and drop them in life defining situations; Works of art that assault the eyes and force the mind to become one with the painting are just two of the many ways humans have attempted to stay connected to life after death.

In the story “DR.HEIDGGER’S EXPERIMENT” the transition of the human condition from old with snow colored hair to merry filled with youth displays the rebirth of youth. Hawthorne attempts to convey the difficulties the four victims had with accepting the truth of reality; and how he strives to reach out and provide beyond a helping hand the chance of experiencing youth again. Hawthorne was the leading writer of his time using his creativeness and deriving from his own self hidden characters; created a new stance in American writers to have no fear in expressing individual thoughts and their position in the world(Fitzgerald). Many can receive the notion that Hawthorne was actually trying to extend life through the depiction of magic through the vase where the half century flower revived from decay. The value of second chances is not always given but, because of an experiment it can be suggested as that the main theme of Hawthorne’s story is repution. There is no single way to interpret his story; it contains many hidden symbols, metaphors and the true meaning of disbelief.

Hawthorne uses three methods to express ...

... middle of paper ...

...nce gave them a magnificent time in life to recapture again.

In conclusion, Hawthorne uses excellent techniques to convey the power of rebirth and allowed his thoughts to speak within the form of the characters. Hawthorne uses belief in love to allow the readers to understand how symbolic the rose was to the entire story. Hawthorne mastery of rebirth of youth shows how symbolic the water worked to manipulate his victims into the same form they once were, and how the pleasure and pain can affect the control over the mental and psychical behavior after all. The use of repetition was created to show how change in time can either make you or break you.

Works Cited
Hawthorne,Nathaniel. Dr. Heidegger's Experiment. Mineloa, New York: Dover Publications, Inc 2005.Print

Fitzgerald, Sheila. "Hawthorne Writing Style" Gale Research Company. Detroit, 1996. Web.29 Oct. 2009.

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