english p4

What do the details in this sentence tell you about all four of Dr. Heidegger’s friends? “They were all melancholy old creatures, who had been unfortunate in life, and whose greatest misfortune was that they were not long in their graves.”

They undergo humiliating circumstances in which the narrator suggests that they would be better off dead.

What words would you use to describe the ambience of Dr. Heidegger’s study? What details does Hawthorne use to create this atmosphere?

The ambience is sinister, gothic, creepy, dark. Cobwebs, antique dust, a skeleton in the closet.

The narrator explains that the guests had all “been unfortunate in life.” What has happened to each guest?

Each guest had experienced failure and humiliation due to his or her shortcomings.

• Mr. Medbourne: had been a prosperous merchant, but had lost his all by a frantic speculation, and was now little better than a mendicant

• Colonel Killigrew: "wasted his best years" in the pursuit of "sinful pleasures.

• Mr. Gascoigne: a ruined politician, a man of evil fame until people started forgetting about him

• Widow Wycherly: great beauty in her day; but had lived in deep seclusion, on account of certain scandalous stories, which had prejudiced the gentry of the town against her

What does this detail about the death of Dr. Heidegger’s fiancée reveal about the title character?

He is a tragic figure, for fifty years who had lived with the pain and guilt of having killed the one he loved.

What does the fifty-five-year-old rose symbolize for Dr. Heidegger?

His love for Sylvia Ward, his devotion to the memory of his lost love.

What can we infer about Dr. Heidegger from his willingness to experiment on his old friends?

His interest in experimentation seems to override any concern for his friends’ wellbeing.

What does Dr. Heidegger ‘s warning to his guests suggest about the moral of the allegory?

Suggests that the moral would be about learning from past mistakes.

Why did the guests laugh at Dr. Heidegger’s warning?

They were convinced they had learned their lesson.

How does the first drink of the elixir affect the guests?

Their ashen faces suddenly become to look healthy.

Think about the actions of guests once they feel young again. What moral point does Hawthorne seem to make?

People often seem unable to overcome certain character flaws; given the chance, they would indulge in the same destructive behavior that has proved disastrous in the past.

What does the doctor’s refusal to dance suggest about how he is different from his guests?

He is more realistic and accepting of his condition and fate. He tries to be rational and objective and not emotional and subjective like his guests.

What moral point might Hawthorne be making by the symbolic overturning of the table and the shattering of the vase?

He suggests that the four have again wasted their youth.

What moral point does Hawthorne make by having Heidegger announce he loves the now withered rose as much as when it was fresh?

We must not overvalue youth at the expense of age.

allegory

story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for abstract ideas or moral qualities

venerable

worthy of respect, usually by reason of age

infamous

having a bad reputation; disgraceful

ponderous

very heavy

veracious

honest; thruthful

effervescent

bubbling up; foaming

imputed

credited; assigned

delusion

false belief or opinion

deferential

showing respect or courteous regard

effaced

erased; wiped out

transient

temporary; passing quickly or soon

mendicant

beggar

gout

painful disease of the joints

gentry

people of high social standing

verge

border; boundary; enclosed area

visage

face

forbear

stop; cease

peevish

hard to please; irritable

imbibe

absorb

diffused

spread out; scattered widely

rejuvenescent

causing renewed youthfulness

tremulous

shaking; quivering

palsied

affected by uncontrollable shaking

dotage

feebleness that comes from old age; senility

suffusion

spreading out of glow or color; blush

draft

serving of a drink; large swallow

simpering

smiling in a silly, self- conscious manner

complaisant

willing to please

quaffing

deeply drinking

assimilated

absorbed

rheumatic

suffering from rheumatism, or inflammation or pain of the joints

coquetry

flirtatious attitude

delirium

temporary state of extreme mental excitement, characterized by restlessness, confused speech, and hallucinat

motivation

refers to the underlying reasons for a character’s behavior

ancestral

inherited

intricate

complicated; detailed

obscured

concealed; hidden

retort

quick; sharp answer

touted

highly praised

prodigy

extremely gifted person

malodorous

bad- smelling

concessions

acts of giving in

careened

lurched sideways

successive

consecutive

• setting of the rules of the game

• point of view

• tutor at the park

• San Francisco/ different food smells

• first

• Lau po

rules of the game family

• mother: taught waverly the Art of the Invisible Strength, wants her to go along with the wind

• waverly: mei mei “little sister”

• vincent: chess set given to him

• winston

judicious

cautious; wise

appreciable

measurable

veritable

genuine; true

acute

keen; sharp

laborious

difficult; involving much hard work

reveling

taking pleasure

fastidious

difficult to please; critical

preposterous

ridiculous

gaudy

showy but lacking in good taste

poignant

emotionally moving

order of the things

• stockings

• shoes

• gloves

• two expensive magazines

• a fancy meal

• theater ticket

bountiful

generous

haggard

gaunt; worn out

virile

manly; masculine

destitute

poverty- stricken

frivolity

silliness

mortified

humiliated; deeply embarrassed

gaffs

poles used on a boat to support a sail

sea charms

magic charms worn to protect the wearer from dangers at sea

scapular

pair of small cloth squares showing images of saints, joined by a string and worn under clothing by some Roman Catholics as a symbol of religious devotion

macaw

large, brightly colored parrot

sirens

in Greek mythology, the sirens are sea maidens whose seductive singing lures men to wreck their boats on coastal rocks

astrolabe

instrument used to find a star’s altitude and to help navigators determine their position at sea

magic realism

literary style that combines incredible vents with realistic details and relates them all in a matter-of-fact tone

stream of consciousness

style of writing that conveys the inner and sometimes chaotic workings of a character’s mind

tactful

skilled in saying the right thing

• considerate

• judicious

clammy

cold and damp

• moist

• sweaty

plague

annoy

• infestation

• afflict

vanity

excessive pride

• conceit

• arrogance

jilted

rejected (as a lover)

• leave

• desert

disputed

contested

• debate

• discuss

nimbus

aura; halo

• atmosphere

• air

dwindle

diminish

• decrease

• reduce

hypodermic

injection of medicine

• needle

• syringe

amethyst

purple or violet quartz gemstone, used in jewelry

• lavender

• lilac

dyspepsia

indigestion

• nausea

• irritable

melancholy

sad; sorrowful

placid

peaceful; quiet

discourse

written or spoken communication

surcease

end

morrow

the following day