Dr. Heidegger's Experiment (Creative Short Stories) [Hardcover]

Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Creative Short Stories

Dr. Heidegger experiments with four of his friends by giving them water supposedly from the Fountain of Youth.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Creative Education (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886824656
• ISBN-13: 978-0886824655
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,027,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Ambiguous Hawthorne Classic!, June 10, 2010

By 

Gerald P. Murphy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dr. Heidegger's Experiment (Kindle Edition)

Ambiguity is a key element in much of Hawthorne's writing, but it is especially evident in "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment." Dr. Heidegger has evidently discovered a potion that can return youthful vigor to even the most decrepit old sinners he uses as the subjects of his experiment. But almost everything that happens in the story is up for question. For instance, how did Dr. Heidegger's youthful love, Sylvia, really die? And did the potion really work, or was it merely group hypnosis? Do the subjects really get younger, or, as the mirror suggests, are they still living in a world of blissful illusion? As usual, Hawthorne teases us with possibilities, but his final answers remain elusive.

3.0 out of 5 stars Leaves one to question the nature of the good doctor himself., October 19, 2011

By 

Peter M. Bush "Peter Michael Bush" (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dr. Heidegger's Experiment (Tale Blazers: Wraparound) (Paperback)

I had not read Hawthorne in quite some time, but DR. HEIDEGGER'S EXPERIMENT was a nice surprise. It has a differnt feel from the Hawthorne I remember.

Let me say outright, that I wwas not approaching the story for its allegory or its inherent moral statemnts. I was simply there for the read. My wife, an AP English teacher, actually asked me to read it. What I found interesting is that we had slightly different takes on the nature of Dr. Heidegger. While neither one of us considered DH to be the benevolent, wise sage that most take him for, she felt he was more "like" those he used in his experiment: namely, he had never learned from his past meddling in his arts (that may have led to the death of his beloved). I felt like he was actually malevolent. He had to know the effects of the elixr were temporary, yet rather than tell his guests that, he chose to be vague about it all, knowing (as he seemed to) that they would react as they did. In the end, the experiment is exceptionally cruel, even though (and because) it plays on the the guests terrible natures.

Still, I thought the atmosphere of the story was good and creepy. The opening details of the study lend themselves to much speculation on the reader's part as to what the nature of Dr. Heidegger is. I imagined Heidegger sitting there with a sly, knowing smirk the whole time.

Well worth the quick read and it can easily lead to a wide variety of discussions, debates and disagreemnets. Always fun when a story can get folks thinking.