Mr.Hodge’s Homework

Transitions English

Impact Boom pages 36 and 37 numbers 5-7

Enrichment/General English

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Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne

1. Who is Dr. Heidegger?
   Dr. Heidegger is an eccentric, elderly scientist who invites four elderly friends to participate in an experiment in his study.
2. What does Dr. Heidegger ask his friends to participate in?
   He asks them to drink water from a magical fountain of youth to observe its effects.
3. What does the mirror in Dr. Heidegger’s study symbolize?
   The mirror symbolizes the passage of time and the truth about human nature. It reflects the mistakes and follies of the past.
4. What is the outcome of Dr. Heidegger’s experiment?
   The friends briefly regain their youth but soon revert to their old ways, showing they haven’t learned from their past mistakes.
5. What does Dr. Heidegger’s rose represent?
   The rose represents lost youth, fleeting beauty, and the inevitability of aging.
6. Which theme is central to Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment?
   The central theme is the inability of people to learn from their past mistakes and the futility of trying to reclaim lost youth.
7. How do Dr. Heidegger’s guests react to becoming “young” again?
   They act foolishly and recklessly, repeating the same behaviors that caused their downfall in their youth.
8. What does Dr. Heidegger conclude at the end of the experiment?
   He decides not to pursue the fountain of youth, as he values the wisdom gained from aging over temporary physical rejuvenation.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

1. At what time does The Raven begin?
   The poem begins at midnight on a dreary December evening.
2. Who does the narrator of The Raven mourn?
   He mourns his lost love, Lenore.
3. What is the significance of the raven in the poem?
   The raven symbolizes death, despair, and the permanence of loss.
4. What word does the raven repeatedly say?
   “Nevermore.”
5. How does the narrator’s mood change throughout The Raven?
   He becomes increasingly agitated, descending into despair and madness.
6. What is the narrator doing when the raven arrives?
   He is reading to distract himself from his sorrow over Lenore’s death.
7. What does the raven’s shadow symbolize at the end of the poem?
   It symbolizes the narrator’s inescapable grief and descent into madness.
8. Which theme is central to The Raven?
   The central theme is the torment of loss and the inevitability of death.

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

1. Where does the story take place?
   It takes place in the fictional town of Jefferson, Mississippi, in Yoknapatawpha County.
2. What unusual event occurs after Emily’s father dies?
   Emily refuses to acknowledge her father’s death for three days and keeps his body in the house.
3. Who is Homer Barron?
   He is a Northern laborer who has a romantic relationship with Emily but is ultimately found to have been poisoned by her.
4. What does Emily purchase that causes gossip in town?
   She purchases arsenic, which raises suspicions among the townspeople.
5. What is discovered in Emily’s house after her death?
   Homer Barron’s decayed corpse is found in a sealed upstairs room, along with a gray hair on the pillow next to him.
6. What theme does A Rose for Emily explore?
   The story explores themes of isolation, resistance to change, and the passage of time.
7. How do the townspeople feel about Emily?
   They are a mix of curious, judgmental, and pitying.
8. What does the gray hair found on the pillow symbolize?
   It symbolizes Emily’s clinging to the past and her inability to let go of lost love.

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

1. Who is the narrator visiting in The Fall of the House of Usher?
   The narrator is visiting his childhood friend, Roderick Usher.
2. What is unusual about Roderick’s sister, Madeline?
   She suffers from a mysterious illness and is presumed dead but later returns, having been buried alive.
3. How does the narrator describe the House of Usher?
   He describes it as gloomy, decaying, and having an unsettling atmosphere.
4. What seems to happen to Madeline after her “death”?
   She is mistakenly buried alive and later emerges from her tomb.
5. How does Roderick react to Madeline’s “return”?
   He is terrified and dies from shock upon seeing her.
6. What happens to the House of Usher at the end of the story?
   The house collapses and sinks into the tarn, symbolizing the end of the Usher family line.
7. What theme does The Fall of the House of Usher explore?
   Themes of decay, madness, and the inescapable grip of the past are central.
8. What literary device is used heavily throughout The Fall of the House of Usher?
   Poe uses symbolism and foreshadowing extensively.
9. Why does the narrator visit Roderick Usher?
   He comes at Roderick’s request to help alleviate his friend’s mental distress.
10. How does the narrator feel about the house?
    He feels an overwhelming sense of dread and unease.
11. What does the house symbolize in the story?
    It symbolizes the Usher family’s deterioration and the interconnectedness of their fate.
12. What mood is created in The Fall of the House of Usher?
    A mood of gothic suspense, dread, and foreboding.

Additional General Questions

1. Which common theme is found in all four stories?
   The theme of the inevitability of death and the passage of time.
2. Which story uses a supernatural element most explicitly?
   The Fall of the House of Usher.
3. Which story emphasizes the concept of regret and the desire to change the past?
   Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.
4. What do The Raven and The Fall of the House of Usher have in common thematically?
   Both explore themes of madness, loss, and the destructive power of grief.

MS A

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