Nathaniel Hawthorne:
Biography:
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American writer.
He was born in Salem, Massachusetts. He stared writting short stories, and then
he began to write novels. Some of his stories were published anonymously in
magazines. He wrote The Scarlet Letter that made him famous around the world.
Some of his short stories include: Twice-Told, Mosses from an Old Manse, and The Snow-Image. Hawthorne also wrote some famous novels, wich include: The
House of the Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance, A Wonder Book, and Tanglewood
Tales.
Summary:
The story begins when Dr.
Heidegger invites four friends to meet with him at his house. He wanted to show
them the water of the “Fountain of Youth”. He shows them the effect of the water
with an old rose. They were surprised to see that the old rose began to bloom. Dr. Heidegger promised them that they could drink as much water as they wanted; but they should think about the mistake that they made when they were young, and
avoid do it again. Finally, they drank the water, and they feel and look like
young people again. All of them were happy, until the three men began to fight because
they wanted to dance with the lady, suddenly they spilled the water and they grow
old again. Dr Heidegger was scolding them, but they just wanted to go to
Florida at once to look for the water.
Plot analysis:
*Conflict: Dr. Heidegger invites four of his old friends to show
them an experiment (the water of the Fountain of Youth).
*Rising
Actions:
·
-Dr.
Heidegger took them to his laboratory.
·
-He
shows them a rose that he had saved for fifty-five years in a book.
·
-He
shows them what happen with the rose.
·
-The
old people drank the water.
·
-They
felt and looked like young people again.
·
-The
three men began to fight each other.
*Climax: During the fight, the water spilled on the floor, and
they grow older again.
*Resolution: The guests grow old again, Dr. Heidegger learned a
lesson, but not his friends and they want to look for the water of the Fountain
of Youth.
Characters:
- · Dr. Heidegger: is a widower, estrange old man. He is interested in the water of the Fountain of Youth, and he wants to show an experiment to his friends.
- · Mr. Medburne: Is an old man, with a white beard. One of the Dr. Heidegger´s friends. Years ago, he had been a rich and greedy man. He made bad business and lost his fortune. Now, he begs for money.
- · Mr. Gascon: Is an old man, with a white beard. Years ago, he was been a dishonest and famous politician. He was sent to jail, because he stole money. Now he was poor and lived in shame.
- · Colonel Killigrew: Is an ill, old man with a white beard. He once was a soldier, but he spends his life eating and drinking. Now is health is so bad.
- · Widow Wycherly: An elderly woman with white hair. Years ago, she was quite beautiful, but she was conceited. Now she is no longer beautiful.
- · Sylvia Ward: Her picture was hanging on the wall. She was going to marry Dr. Heidegger, but she died the day before their wedding. She gives a rose to Dr. Heidegger, and he saved it in a book for fifty-five years.
Teaching of the story:
This story has a very important teaching. Sometimes we
make mistakes, and sometimes the life gives us other opportunity to fix it or
don´t do it again. We must learn to seize the opportunities. Every day is a new
chance to forget the mistakes, but most of all it´s a new chance to learn about
them.
My Opinion:
I like this story because it´s different than the
others. The story has a lesson of life. We have to learn about our mistakes. Sometimes
the life gives us opportunities that we have to take. The irony could be that
despite the characters are elderly, we thought that they do not make the same mistakes
again, and that they want to remake their lives again, but the opposite
happened.
