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Analysis of Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 24, 2021

“Flowers for Algernon,” first published in 1959, is considered a landmark work in both science fiction and disability literature. It was expanded into a novel of the same name, which was published in 1966. Both the short story and the novel consist of a series of progress reports that track Charlie Gordon, a 37-year-old man suffering from mental retardation, through an experimental procedure designed to triple his I.Q. Charlie is the first human to receive the operation, though it has been successfully completed on a laboratory mouse, Algernon. Charlie’s early reports are riddled with spelling and grammatical errors; a month after the operation, the reports are grammatically correct. Within two months Charlie complains that the doctors in charge of the experiment cannot read Hindustani and Chinese. This rapid growth in intelligence from an I.Q. of 68 to triple that figure is accompanied by a crippling isolation from other people. A decline in his intelligence is first predicted by Algernon’s rapid regression, and Charlie soon conducts experiments into his own condition. He finds that his regression will be as rapid as his ascent to genius. The last progress reports are similar in style to those at the beginning, and Charlie closes the story by telling the doctors that he will be leaving New York, presumably to enter a state-operated home.

Experimentation is the predominant theme in “Flowers for Algernon.” At the height of his intelligence, Charlie complains that Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur, the doctors conducting the experiment, are not the mental giants he once perceived them to be. Some of his complaining can be accurately perceived as hubris—his aforementioned complaint about the professors’ knowledge of foreign languages is certainly unreasonable, considering their wide reading knowledge in Western languages. Much of Charlie’s observations about the doctors, though, can be interpreted as a nuanced critique on the medical establishment. The doctors argue at several points in the story, and the arguments reveal that they are often more interested in self-advancement than in Charlie’s development. Dr. Nemur is especially held to ridicule because he is primarily driven by his wife’s prodding. If the doctors are in a certain sense using Charlie, then the parallelism between him and Algernon takes on more significance. In the short story, Charlie is implicitly similar to Algernon because the doctors use him for advancement of their careers. The novel makes this theme more explicit through confrontations between Charlie and Dr. Nemur about the latter’s attitude toward the former. Dr. Nemur states that Charlie is a new creation of sorts, that he has achieved personhood through the experiment.

Daniel Keyes/Los Angeles Times

Charlie’s status as experimental subject comes into focus at the end of “Flowers for Algernon,” when he researches the consequences of the experiment conducted that made him a genius. The turning point in both the short story and the novel happens in a diner: A retarded young man breaks a plate and the customers, including Charlie, laugh at him. The moment defines the rest of the story because Charlie realizes how deeply he has isolated himself from other people during his ascent to genius. Although he has gained many gifts, he has also lost his meaningful relationships; thus, the connection with the retarded young man motivates Charlie to pursue research for the betterment of all who suffer from retardation. His research is set in opposition to the research of Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur because it is conducted solely to improve the lives of other people. Moreover, Charlie readily accepts his discouraging conclusion— namely, that the experiment conducted on him has no practical value because of the swift regression into retardation—and asks that the results be published. Charlie’s research can be read, therefore, as a commentary on medical experimentation and a call to consider the subjects involved—particularly those with limited abilities—as individuals.

The emphasis on experimentation in “Flowers for Algernon” can largely be explained by its roots in science fiction. Critics have observed that the experiment conducted on Charlie and his subsequent regression into mental retardation indicate that “Flowers for Algernon” properly belongs in the science fiction genre. Moreover, the short story and the novel won the most prestigious awards in science fiction (respectively, the Hugo award and the Nebula award).

“Flowers for Algernon” can also be classified as disability literature because its explorations delve into fundamental questions about the place of disabled people in modern American society. Charlie’s descriptions of other retarded people are telling—he speaks of vacant smiles and empty eyes. This perception is remarkably similar to Dr. Nemur’s assertion in the novel that Charlie did not properly exist as a person before the experiment. Disability remains an important public policy issue, which contributes to the enduring popularity of “Flowers for Algernon.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY Biklen, Douglas. “Constructing Inclusion: Lessons from Critical, Disability Narratives.” International Journal of Inclusive Education 4 (2000): 337–353. Clareson, Thomas D. Understanding Contemporary American Science Fiction: The Formative Period, 1926–1970. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1990, 231–233. Keyes, Daniel. Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer’s Journey. New York: Harvest-Harcourt, 2004. Moser, Patrick. “An Overview of Flowers for Algernon.” In Exploring Novels. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 1998. Rabkin, Eric S. “The Medical Lessons of Science Fiction.” Literature and Medicine 20 (2001): 13–25. Scholes, Robert. Structural Fabulation: An Essay on Fiction of the Future. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1975. Small, Robert, Jr. “Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.” In Censored Books: Critical Viewpoints, edited by Nicholas J. Karolides, Lee Burress, and John M. Kean, 249–255. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1993. Whittington-Walsh, Fiona. “From Freaks to Savants: Disability and Hegemony from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1933) to Sling Blade (1997).” Disability & Society 17 (2002): 695–707.

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Flowers For Algernon

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What are the ethical implications of the experimental procedure Algernon and Charlie undergo? Compare the experiment’s objectives to Charlie’s intentions in light of Charlie’s wellbeing.

The experimental procedure is a major turning point in Charlie’s life. However, Charlie stresses that he was fully human before and after the operation. What aspects of Charlie’s character and environment connect his past and present? Why are they important to his sense of humanity?

Why do you think Charlie does not reveal his identity when he visits his father’s barbershop? Why do you think he later chooses to reunite with his mother but does not return to see his father again?

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Flowers for Algernon

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Ignorance, Intelligence, and Happiness

After Charlie Gordon has his surgery and begins to progress from mental disability to brilliance, he has an argument with one of his coworkers, Fanny Birden . Fanny tells Charlie that it was a sin for Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, because in doing so, they traded eternal happiness for knowledge. The apparent tradeoff between happiness and intelligence is one of the most important themes in Flowers for Algernon …

Intelligence vs. Wisdom and Morality

In Flowers for Algernon , Keyes establishes a tradeoff between intelligence and happiness, and at the same time makes a different point about the relationship between intelligence and wisdom. By the novel’s midpoint Charlie Gordon is a genius: his brain holds a staggering amount of information about the world. And yet in spite of Charlie’s vast knowledge and voracious reading, he finds himself incapable of handling the most basic “real-world” situations. The distinction between intelligence…

Pride, Hubris, and the Tragic Hero

From the very beginning, the readers of Flowers for Algernon are meant to identify with Charlie Gordon in one important respect: his pride and ambition. Charlie’s pride—his desire for respect, intelligence, and prestige—is at the center of his character: without pride Professor Nemur would never have chosen him to undergo the operation that makes him a genius. And yet Charlie’s pride is his greatest weakness as well as his greatest strength. Through pride, Charlie takes…

Cruelty and Bullying

Flowers for Algernon studies the relationship between intelligent and unintelligent people, or more generally, between the powerful and the weak. Because Charlie Gordon travels between these two worlds—moving from mental disability to brilliance, and then back to mental disability again—he comes to see the ways in which people mock and bully their intellectual inferiors, partly out of cruelty, and partly out of insecurity.

People of average intelligence bully the mentally disabled, Keyes suggests, because they…

Love and Sexuality

Arguably the biggest change that Charlie Gordon undergoes in Flowers for Algernon —even bigger than his rise from mental disability to genius—is the change in his romantic life. At the beginning of the novel, Charlie is completely ignorant of the opposite sex (he’s assumed to be straight). He’s never even kissed a girl, and from an early age his mother, Rose Gordon , has impressed upon him that he mustn’t touch women. As he ages…

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Flowers for Algernon: an Analysis

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Table of contents

Introduction, background information, analysis of character development, exploration of ethical dilemmas, examination of themes, literary devices and writing style, impact and relevance of the novel.

• Shapiro, J. P & Keyes, D. (2005) "Flowers for Algernon: A Study Guide." NY: Westport Spring.
• Pryse, M. (2019). "The ethical implications of scientific advances explored in fiction and film." TEDx Talk, forthcoming publication.
• Keyes, D. (2004). Flowers for Algernon. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
• Černý, M. (2010). The Stigmatization of Disability in Literature, Film, Television and New Media. Journal of Literary Theory. 4(1), 101-117.
• Hollinger, (1997). Science Fiction, Aging, and the Future. The Journal of Aging and Identity, 2(2), 99-109.

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• Flowers for Algernon

Daniel Keyes

• Literature Notes
• Book Summary
• About Flowers for Algernon
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• PROGRIS RIPORT 1 MARTCH 3-PROGRIS RIPORT 6TH MAR 8
• PROGRESS REPORT 7 MARCH 11
• PROGRESS REPORT 8
• PROGRESS REPORT 9-PROGRESS REPORT 10
• PROGRESS REPORT 11-PROGRESS REPORT 12
• PROGRESS REPORT 13
• PROGRESS REPORT 14
• PROGRESS REPORT 15
• PROGRESS REPORT 16
• PROGRESS REPORT 17
• Character Analysis
• Charlie Gordon
• Alice Kinnian
• Mr. Donner, Frank, and Gimpy
• Matt Gordon
• Rose Gordon
• Norma Gordon
• Daniel Keyes Biography
• Critical Essays
• Themes in Flowers for Algernon
• Ethical Issues in Flowers for Algernon
• Full Glossary for Flowers for Algernon
• Essay Questions
• Cite this Literature Note

Flowers for Algernon is a character study of one man, Charlie Gordon. Charlie is a 32-year-old developmentally disabled man who has the opportunity to undergo a surgical procedure that will dramatically increase his mental capabilities. This procedure had already been performed on a laboratory mouse, Algernon, with remarkable results. Charlie will be the first human subject.

In a series of progress reports, Charlie documents everything that happens to him. As Charlie's intelligence increases to a genius level, the reader not only reads about the changes from Charlie's viewpoint, but also sees the change evidenced in Charlie's writing ability. This jump in intelligence is not necessarily a good thing, however. Charlie is now able to recall past events that shaped his life and analyze past friendships for what they were, or weren't. He also has difficulty making new friendships and establishing new relationships due to a lack of social intelligence that the surgery could neither correct nor anticipate. And, finally, because of his increased intelligence, Charlie is able to discover the experiment's "fatal flaw" and is reduced to watching the end for both Algernon and himself, hoping to salvage something for the future from his brief bout with genius.

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Flowers for Algernon

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Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Essay

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The novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is devoted to serious social and ethical topics – disabled people and the ethics of medical experiments. The author presents the story of a mentally disabled man who wants to become similar to others and agrees to undergo an innovative procedure. He obtains superior intellect but does not become happy. The book covers the problems of friendship, human relationships, and the ethics of experiments. This paper will provide a summary of the novel and an analysis of its main characters and themes. In the end, the author’s opinion on this book will be provided.

The novel is in the name of Charlie Gordon. He is 32 years old, and he is mentally disabled. Charlie works as a floor sweeper and performs other easy tasks. He obtains an opportunity to be rid of his mental problems through surgery. Charlie agrees to participate in the experiment because he sees remarkable results for a laboratory mouse, Algernon, who had a similar procedure (Keyes 286). He writes progress reports regularly to describe the fundamental changes and everything that is done to him by scientists (Gale 1). Charlie hopes to become a genius and to improve his life. However, the reality is different, and he is not happy. Charlie is selected just for the experience, similarly to that mouse, but not to make him a happier person.

Charlie understands the past issues with his family members and friends, which he was not able to study before because of mental disability. Charlie wants to improve his mind to read, write, and to communicate with others. However, in reality, he is similar to a laboratory mouse, and the scientists use him to test a new invention. The operation turns to be unsuccessful, and gradually, Charlie loses his intellect, and his state becomes even worse than it was before the operation. He decides to spend the remaining years of his life in a house for mentally disabled people and asks to put flowers on Algernon’s grave.

The main character is Charlie, and the whole story is connected with his transformations, feelings, and thoughts. At the beginning of the story, he is portrayed as a disabled man who is not happy with his life and wants to become smarter. He looks like a child, but actually, he is ambitious and optimistic. Charlie is much focused on his dreams of a better future, which motivates this character to agree to participate in a risky experiment. By passing this surgical procedure, he hopes to become smarter and happier in his life. However, the reality seems different to him. The author also shows Charlie as a person who wants to love and to be loved, as he lacks those feelings in his current life. His love for Alice makes him happier, but not for an extended period. Charlie’s life story is a tragedy that makes sense of the whole novel, and all other characters are related to Charlie.

Alice Kinnian is a teacher in the school for Retarded Adults where Charlie studies. She wants her students to participate in the experiment because she notices his desire and high level of motivation to become smart and to read and write correctly. She is responsible for Charlie and wants everything to be well during the experiment. For this reason, she remains with Charlie after the operation and assists him at different moments. Alice is sympathetic to her student, and she feels the need to be close to him. Their friendship transforms into love. When Charlie returns to his old mental state, Alice decides to terminate their relationship because it is excruciating for her to see disappointed Charlie.

Matt is Charlie’s father, and he seems to be one of the most loyal members of his family. He tries to protect his son from the abuse of his mother. However, his treatment for Charlie is rather neutral, and he does not want to improve Charlie’s life. After transformation, Matt is not interested in changing relationships with his son. Rose is Charlie’s mother, and her treatment is mostly abusive. She refuses to accept her son and calls him normal. Norma is a younger sister of Charlie, and her treatment of him is similar to her mother’s. Generally, family members of Charlie are indifferent to him and do not provide any assistance. All other main characters, such as Dr. Jayson Strauss, Dr. Guarino, and Mr. Winslow, are specialists working with Charlie during and after the experiment. Initially, they seem to be interested in his improvement and making his life better. Charlie trusts them and does everything they want, but then he understands that they are interested in him only as in a laboratory animal, not a person. Scientists are pragmatic and not humanistic.

The novel covers the theme of ethics in human relationships and science, including the ethics of experimentation on humans. The author shows that scientists use Charlie not to help him or make him happier, but to conduct an experiment. According to Ghoshal and Wilkinson, the changes in Charlie’s mental and emotional state were not considered by scientists, and “were a source of significant distress for him throughout the book” (194). The scientists treat Charlie as an animal or a robot, as Ryder states, “Charlie Gordon also oscillates between the human and the machine, or rather, the robot” (55). In general, the novel focuses on a serious social topic and is timely as well, because scientists may perform similar experiments with disabled people.

The novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes should be studied to understand the problems of scientific ethics, human relationships, and treatment of disabled people. The story of Charlie is an example of how the ambitions of scientists and their desire to invent something new can make others unhappy. For them, Charlie was not an individual, but a ‘laboratory mouse’ for their experiment. This story shows that all people should be treated with humanism, and their interests should be more important than a desire to become famous or to make an invention.

To sum up, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes covers essential themes. It discusses the attitudes towards the disabled, the issue of ethics in science, as well as various relationships between people. By presenting Charlie’s story, the author shows that the happiness of a person should be more important than the goals of science. The interests of those who participate in experiments should be considered as more valuable than the desire to become famous or to make an invention.

Works Cited

Ghoshal, Nishan, and Paul O. Wilkinson. “Flowers for Algernon: The Ethics of Human Experimentation on the Intellectually Disabled.” Psychiatria Danubina, vol. 29, no. 3, 2017, pp. 194-195.

Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007.

Ryder, Mike. “Microfascism and the Double Exclusion in Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon.” Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, vol. 132, 2019, pp. 54-65.

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• Flowers For Algernon: Summary: Progress Report 1
• Flowers For Algernon: Novel Summary: Progress Report 1
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• Flowers For Algernon: Novel Summary: Progress Report 14
• Flowers For Algernon: Novel Summary: Progress Report 15
• Flowers For Algernon: Novel Summary: Progress Report 16
• Flowers For Algernon: Novel Summary: Progress Report 17
• Flowers For Algernon: Character Profiles
• Flowers For Algernon: Metaphor Analysis
• Flowers For Algernon: Theme Analysis
• Flowers For Algernon: Top Ten Quotes
• Flowers For Algernon: Biography: Daniel Keyes

Flowers For Algernon: Essay Q&A

1. What is the significance of the window in the novel? The window is an important symbol in Flowers for Algernon On a literal level, a window is an object that allows the penetration of light By admitting light, it facilitates illumination or understanding A window allows someone on the inside to look out, and someone on the outside to look in On the outermost level, the novel itself operates as a window Charlie has been asked to produce the progress reports for Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur so that they can gain insight into his mind At the same time, the reader uses the novel to gain insight into Charlie's mind, as well as the minds of the other characters The reader actually sees how Charlie's mental functions improve as his writing becomes more sophisticated And through Charlie's comments, the reader gains insight into the other characters' personalities and motivations In a sense, a window restricts our view of the world; it puts limits on what we can and cannot see It may also affect the way we see the world Thus, we might view Charlie's operation as providing a larger window, or perhaps drawing the blinds covering his window and letting in more light For as he becomes smarter, he begins to understand more and more of the world around him On more than one occasion Charlie finds himself looking through a window It is as if he cannot directly connect with much of the world, but instead must experience it from behind a pane of glass, operating as a passive viewer rather than an active participant In some ways this results in a voyeuristic approach to life, such as when Charlie spies on a woman in another building emerging from her bath When Charlie's intellect grows, an odd shift occurs; he finds himself on the opposite side of the window We see that he becomes a much more active participant in the world around him He even begins to play an important role in the very experiment where he is the subject Finally, we might see the window as a protective device A window allows illumination but at the same time it filters out harmful effects of the sun and other elements of nature Initially, Charlie's window on the world protects him Though we know better, he thinks of his coworkers at the bakery as friends The nasty comments and harsh treatment he receives from them are filtered out by his intellectual window Of course, as his window to the world opens, the ensuing insight causes him much emotional pain And as his window is fully opened, even Charlie begins to treat others in a less civil manner 2. What role does religion play in the novel? While we might think of Charlie as a spiritual being, he is not what we would consider a religious person We learn that in his early years he had some exposure to religion His mother told him that he should pray to God, and late in the story Charlie asks God to at least leave him the ability to read When Charlie eventually reconnects with his mother, she thanks God that her prayers were finally answered Yet there is a hollow ring to her words For Charlie, God is not a deity to be worshiped; he is a rather innocuous figure This attitude remains much the same even as Charlie's intellect expands, for rarely do we see him contemplating God or thinking religious thoughts For a time, when Charlie begins hanging out in the places university students frequent, he becomes interested in a number of philosophical discussions, some of which pertain to the existence of God But this line of thought does not play a major role in his mental life The novel, however, does ask an important religious question, namely what should the relationship between God and man be? More specifically, can man, through science, overstep his bounds and play God? Hilda, Charlie's first nurse after his operation, suggests that perhaps the operation shouldn't have been performed because if God had intended for Charlie to be smart, he would have made him that way in the first place Thus, the novel raises the notion of God as the sole creator However, Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur's experiment has, in essence, re-created God's work Through Hilda we are prompted to ask whether it is an act of hubris to alter what God has created And even if man can redo God's work, should he? We notice that Hilda is immediately replaced, presumably after Strauss and Nemur read of her remark in Charlie's report We could interpret this as a purely pragmatic act: the scientists removed Hilda because they were afraid her comments would somehow taint the experiment However, we might also view it in a larger context, that science always does its best to remove religion from the equation Put another way, religion has no place in science 3. What is the significance of the maze in the novel? The maze is a literal and symbolic element in Flowers for Algernon. Both Algernon and Charlie must complete mazes as part of the experiment To the experimenters, the maze is a test or marker of intelligence, and successful completion of the maze is viewed as evidence of learning Metaphorically, the maze is a symbol for life As with a paper maze, life is an ever-changing affair and there are various pathways, dead ends, and even rewards associated with it Several times in the novel Charlie encounters maze-like structures, such as in a dream when he remembers being separated from his mother in a department store or when he runs in the darkness through the maze-like paths of the park to elude would-be captors One might suggest that prior to his operation Charlie was hopelessly lost in the maze of life Of course, if Charlie wasn't aware that life is difficult, perhaps this is an unfair assessment As the experiment progresses, both Charlie and Algernon are required to complete increasingly complex mazes Thus, the novel asserts that the more intelligent one becomes, the more difficult it is to navigate the maze of life A maze is a type of puzzle whose completion offers some reward Initially, Algernon receives food as a reward for completing the maze However, as the mouse's intelligence becomes stronger, he no longer desires the food As Charlie observes, Algernon seems to want to complete the mazes purely for the sake of trying This is also true of Charlie, for whom, initially at least, the maze is simply a game with no perceived consequences or rewards However, as his intelligence grows, so too does his desire to complete the maze His first motivation is simply to beat Algernon; he recognizes that it is embarrassing to be beaten, particularly by an animal As his mind continues to grow, completion of the maze becomes a way of proving to himself and the rest of the world that he is intelligent Near the end of the novel, Charlie's quest to uncover the flaw in the experiment can be likened to completing his final maze This time, however, the maze is completely within his mind, and the reward is literally the life or death of the new Charlie 4. Besides becoming smarter, how does Charlie's intellect change as the experiment unfolds? As the experiment unfolds, Charlie's intellect blossoms in several ways The first change involves a more developed ego Prior to the operation, Charlie loses a maze race with Algernon but is not overly concerned that the mouse has beaten him In essence, he doesn't have a strong self-image The next time Charlie races Algernon, following the operation, he becomes angry that the mouse has beaten him Here we see that a sense of self-image has developed It is, of course, further developed as Charlie's intelligence increases to the point where he can easily beat the mouse With Algernon's defeat, Charlie takes a certain pride in himself As his intellect is further magnified, Charlie develops a heightened sense of self-importance; he sees himself as playing an important role in the lives of others, and at one point he even fantasizes that he might be able to help all mentally challenged individuals by coming up with a solution to the experiment's flaw Another significant change involves Charlie's imagination Prior to the operation Charlie seems to exists mainly in the physical world Like an animal, he reacts to the various stimuli confronting him, in an almost reflexive manner He does not appear to fantasize or to have much of an imagination This is why he initially has so much trouble with the Rorschach inkblot test Following the operation, the creative side of his mind flourishes His dreams become more vivid and more complex, and he actively fantasizes He also demonstrates creativity, gaining an appreciation of art and by taking up the piano and creating music A third changes involves Charlie's sexuality Prior to the operation Charlie exhibits no awareness of his own sexuality This, however, changes following the operation The first indication that Charlie is developing sexual feelings occurs when his co-workers from the bakery take him to a bar and force him to dance with a woman The activity stirs some odd and unfamiliar feelings within him Not long after his dance, Charlie has a "wet dream" involving the woman The next step in his sexual development is seen in his crush on his teacher, Alice Kinnian Charlie's relationship with Fay, the painter across the hall, constitutes a much more complex, adult type of sexual relationship Finally, when Charlie eventually reconnects with Alice, we sense that he has developed the full capacity for love 5. The entire story takes place over nine months. Why might the author have chosen this span of time? The author may have chosen a nine-month span to depict Charlie's mental rise and decline because that is the time it takes for a normal human conception and birth In many ways, prior to the operation Charlie is child-like Though he is thirty-two years old, his world is rather womb-like: it is small, comfortable, and generally protective For Charlie, the operation is like a rebirth It gives him a new intellect, personality, expanded range of emotions, and new ways of interacting with the world He is suddenly born into the world at large, a world of wonders, delights, and, unfortunately, pain It is a world that he never knew existed The nine-month timeframe also prompts the reader to consider in what other ways Charlie was "created." It is clear that Professor Nemur feels he and his team have created Charlie At one point, Nemur asserts that they have made Charlie what he is today, and he resents that Charlie is not more appreciative of what they have done for him Charlie deeply rejects Nemur's stance, insisting that he was as much of a person prior to the operation as following it While the novel does not raise any direct comparisons to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it clearly echoes Victor Frankenstein's creation of his monster and the monster's eventual rebellion against his creator Another force that has created Charlie is his mother The story makes it clear that Rose Gordon had a significant role in shaping her son's life Her initial attempts to "cure" him resulted in Charlie's life-long desire to become smarter Of course, as her attitude toward her son darkened, resulting in Charlie's institutionalization and the complete severing of connections with his family, Charlie became subconsciously traumatized Many of his nightmares and his problems dealing with women can be traced back to his mother's actions Throughout much of the novel, Charlie struggles to deal with the impact his mother had on him

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Flowers for Algernon, Essay Example

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Q: 1 – How has Charlie changed at the end of the novel?

“Gimpy hollers at me all the time when I do something wrong, but he really likes me because he is my friend. Boy if I get smart won’t he be surprised.” (p. 5)

Charlie wrote that down in his report of progress and proved that he wanted to be smart and please everyone. He attempted to share his feelings as a transformed person and went along to work hard and out of time so that he could gain as much as possible. By the time Charlie’s IQ started to grow, his capability to know the cruelty of the world also grew and he got to know how the world around him actually was. With the growth in Charlie’s, his attitude also changed in line with those who were present around him. Charlie firstly lost his job, then his friends, then happiness, and in the last even his will to learn or care. However, contrary to this, Charlie had also learnt and experienced a lot from the experiment conducted over him. He experienced freedom, love, and his ability to write and read. Also, the ability to recall about the happenings with him during all the previous year’s greatly changed him. The experience also took him through what all humans experience while living their lives. Charlie quoted in one of his progress reports:

“Now I understand one of the important reasons for going to college and getting an education is to learn that all the things you’ve believed in all your life aren’t true, and that nothing is what it appears to be.” (p. 71)

Q: 2 – Is he different from the person he is at the beginning of the novel, and if so, how?

The experiment changed Charlie and transformed him from being a caring and hard working person to a confused and lonely person. Upon reaching the end of the novel, Charlie had realized that he was happy that the operation went all along with him easily. He put his progress report into writing and is quoted as follows:

“I’m glad I got a second chance in life like you said to be smart because I learned a lot of things that I never even new were in this world and I am grateful I saw it all even for a little bit. And I am glad I found out all about my family and me. It was like I never had a family till I remembered about them and saw them and now I know I had a family and I was a person just like everyone.” (p. 310)

A dramatically change happened with Charlie in this book. He went from being an ignorant to the worldly affairs to a downright genius. Charlie was that type of person who tried desperately to be smart by working hardly daily but when operation was carried over him, he became overly confident and smart and therefore it lead to his bitterness of being consumed like an experimental genie pig. He started to frighten his buddies and the people who loved him because of his intelligence started to avoid him in a matter of short time. Charlie even began to scare Alice, who he loved, because he had become a different person. She is quoted to have stated:

“Already you’ve gone beyond my intellectual reach. In a few months or even weeks you’ll be a different person. When you mature intellectually, we may not be able to communicate. When you mature emotionally, you may not even want me.” (p. 92-93)

Q: 3 – Do you consider the novel’s ending to be tragic or inspiring?

The novel ended with an inspiration for the readers. This piece of writing opened my eyes and showed me how does an individual with psychological retardation acted, thought, wrote and felt. The writer has put the reader in place of Charlie and he has illustrated expertly what has gone through Charlie in his lifetime. He was thrown in the dirt, teased, hurt at and laughed just because he happened to be different from others. The novel made me believe as if I had started to want to become a nice person by not abusing persons names cease to take my things for granted. While I was reading this novel, I realized that my life is made for a purpose and I should avoid wasting it and try again and again to give my best. The story changed all the aspects of my life.

Flowers for Algernon, was the most emotional and inspiring novel that I ever came to me for reading. The writer makes the reader’s mind wander off.

Q: 4 – “Does the novel Flowers for Algernon make a definitive statement about the role of intelligence in human life, or does it simply explore this idea as an open-ended question?”

If one briefly thinks about it, the answer to this question is not very tricky. I think that the answer should be that Flowers for Algernon has really made a definitive statement about the role played by intelligence in life of human beings because. To prove this further, one needs to have a look at several key points

A person’s mental age is the intellectual level at which he or she is living and utilizing. After reading Flowers for Algernon, it becomes obvious that Charlie should not have behaved the way he did and also because that he thought it was normal for someone who was of his age. Charlie was 32 years old, and he wrote with the ability of a fifth or sixth grader, rather than that of a graduate.

It is can now be said obviously that Flowers for Algernon had made a very definitive statement regarding the role of intelligence played in life of human. It can be proved by the fact that Charlie’s life transformed dramatically.

Works Cited

Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon . New York: Bantam, 1984. Print.

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Flowers for Algernon

By daniel keyes, flowers for algernon metaphors and similes, hour hand (simile).

“You wont notise it for a while like you dont notise how the hour hand on the clock moves.” (20)

Dr. Strauss describes the effects of the experiment to Charlie, who is impatient that he cannot see the effects yet. Strauss alludes to time, which is a central thematic element in the story.

Born Blind (Simile)

“I’m like a man born blind who has been given a chance to see light.” (82)

Following the arc of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” Charlie sees himself as someone who has been in darkness for the whole of his life, and imagines intelligence as something positive and enlightening. He has idolized intelligence for a very long time before he understands its nuanced effects.

Big Hole in Wall (Simile)

“It was like a big hole opened up in the walls of my mind and I can just walk through.” (34)

Charlie’s description of the way he is retrieving his memories is also reminiscent of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” in which a prisoner is suddenly freed to walk out of the walled cave. All of a sudden, the mental block that was in Charlie’s mind has been removed, and he can walk freely back to his memories to find himself.

Visiting Warren (Simile)

“I could see he was upset about the idea of my visiting Warren. As if I were ordering my coffin to sit in before I died.” (169)

Charlie knows that he has to visit the Warren Home, even if it upsets Nemur. However, Charlie is coming to terms with the inevitable end of all human lives — of all human “maze” races — and so he makes preparations for his eventual settling place, as morbid as it is.

Leaf through Air (Simile)

“Upward, moving, like a leaf in an upcurrent of warm air.” (216)

During Charlie’s mystical experience/hallucination in Dr. Strauss’ office, he almost completely uses images of nature to describe his visionary ascent into the ether. Like a leaf, Charlie has since realized how small and insignificant humans can really be, and he is simply moving through the passage of time like a leaf through air.

Language as Barrier (Metaphor)

“He reminds me that language is sometimes a barrier instead of a pathway.” (88)

After Charlie becomes intelligent, he realizes that he has crossed over onto the other side of his original intellectual barrier. His use of complex language trips people up, just as his inability to use language correctly tripped people up before his procedure.

Docile Pup (Metaphor)

“Did you think I’d remain a docile pup, wagging my tail and licking the foot that kicks me?” (94)

Charlie speaks angrily to Alice when his intelligence increases at an exponential rate and he becomes cynical and suspicious. He no doubt has in mind the way his mother treated him, even saying that she would treat him like an animal and put him in a cage once.

Storms (Metaphor)

“[Rose] was two people to me… my sister knew the storm warnings, and she would always be out of range whenever my mother’s temper flared – but it always caught me unawares.” (129)

Charlie uses another nature metaphor when approaching the tenuous relationship with his mother. The “storms” which frequently happened between himself, his mother, and his sister Norma need to be (and are) resolved during the story in order for Charlie to love women healthily.

Cathedral (Metaphor)

“And other times there would be tenderness and holding-close like a warm bath, and hands stroking my hair and brow, and the words carved above the cathedral of my childhood.” (129)

Charlie talks about his mother’s uneven treatment of him as a child. He uses the metaphor of a “cathedral” because of its religious implications, and how his mother was the only religious one in the family. At the same time, the imposing nature of the cathedral and its function as an institution imply being trapped as well as being sheltered.

Expanding Universe (Metaphor)

“I am an expanding universe swimming upward in a silent sea.” (216)

During his mystical experience/hallucination in Dr. Strauss’ office, Charlie describes his own mind as an expanding universe as he imagines himself going upwards in the universe. He has realized that, in a way, the human mind is its own universe, containing worlds of knowledge and emotion. It exists in another world of nature and ever-expanding mystery.

Flowers for Algernon Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Flowers for Algernon is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

after hearing the story of charlie's last night at home, what is ironic about the shave he receives at the barbers shop?

Section please?

A movie theater is offering a special summer pass. Passholders pay $8 per movie for the first 5 movies and watch additional movies for free, up to a maximum of 15 movies. The function C gives the total cost, in dollars, for a passholder to watch N movies

Sorry, this is a literature space.

Flowers for algernon

Charlie dislikes being pitied. He was once "smart" and now he is no longer. He does not want to be around people's condescending judgments of him any longer. Sad and disillusioned, Charlie feels that he needs normal, familiar surroundings, so he...

Study Guide for Flowers for Algernon

Flowers for Algernon study guide contains a biography of Daniel Keyes, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Flowers for Algernon
• Flowers for Algernon Summary
• Flowers for Algernon Video
• Character List

Essays for Flowers for Algernon

Flowers for Algernon essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

• Language, Shame, and Charlie Gordon
• Freedom of Choice in Human Engineering: Charlie's Lack of Autonomy in 'Flowers for Algernon'
• The Use of Point of View to Promote Estrangement in “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang and “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes

Lesson Plan for Flowers for Algernon

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Flowers for Algernon
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Flowers for Algernon Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Flowers for Algernon

• Introduction

Essay Service Examples Literature Flowers For Algernon

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