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Flowers for Algernon: an Analysis

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Published: Jan 30, 2024

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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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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Disability Studies › Analysis of Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon

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 by Daniel Keyes Essay

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

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Discussion Questions

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

Introduction to flowers for algernon.

Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction written by Daniel Keyes, evolved from a short story of the same title the author penned in 1959. Hugo won an award for the same, encouraging him to expand it into a novel under the same title. The novel was published in 1966, proved an instant hit and won another award for the author, the Nebula Award. The story of the novel comprises the diary of Charlie Gordon who undergoes intelligence surgery in a laboratory to enhance his intelligence. The story became popular, inviting instant ban shortly after it appeared in the market. Later, the ban was removed. Cliff Robertson won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1968 for the movie CHARLY.

Summary of Flowers for Algernon

The story of the novel presents Charlie Gordon, a mentally challenged adult, nominated for experimental surgery to enhance his intelligence level. His eagerness to learn more has prompted his teacher Alice Kinnian at the Beekman College to recommend him for this experiment as directed by Dr. Strauss accompanied by his team. Both the doctor as well as the professor advise Charlie Gordon to write his experiences as a journal about the progress in his intelligence.

As far as Charlie’s career is concerned, he was working with Donner’s Bakery as a delivery boy. He also works as a janitor over there during his free time. Despite his being the center of the mockery of his colleagues, he demonstrates indifference to them, considering them his friends. The doctors decide to bring him to compete with Algernon, the mouse that has already been operated upon, they conduct a surgery upon him. Although he does not see any instant change following his operation, Alice works with him to improve his linguistic skills.

Finally, he starts reading and becoming proficient in reading books. On the other hand, he also shows improvement in his work at the bakery. Whenever he initiates some new productivity tools in the bakery, his coworkers become nervous. Now that he is intelligent he understands that his co-workers are not laughing with him but at him so keep them at bay. Once he finds that the one of the staff in the bakery was stealing and faces the moral dilemma of whether, to tell the truth to the owner Donner or not. When discussed with Alice she asks him to follow his heart so he informs the owner about the stealing, realizing that he is capable of dealing moral dilemmas on his own which he lacked in the past.

Interestingly, he feels attached to Alice more than he thinks who, despite her professionalism, stays with him. Finally, he leaves his job after the owner sees him more capable, while his relationship with Alice, too, grows, though, he sometimes feels his reflection in his old self and realizes his traumatic past. He finds that he was unable to be close with Alice because of the past with his mother who happens to beat him as a child for the slightest sensual impulses. Throughout the novel inspite of his ‘Family’ abandoning him, he still tries very hard to make them proud. When he is paraded in the Chicago demonstration along with Dr. Strauss, he feels that Professor Nemur is treating him like an animal , having gone under experiment. Charlie, outraged at this treatment, frees Algernon. He himself leaves the exhibition and hides himself in his apartment with Algernon. He soon realizes the transience of his capability and meets his neighbor, Fay Lillman, and becomes intimate with her. The foundation reaches out to Charlie mentioning that he can continue the research himself. Although he returns to his lab, he does not feel committed. He even abandons Fay.

Later, he realizes that Nemur’s hypothesis has a setback and the effect of the intelligence gain is only short term. Then it happens that Algernon becomes erratic, making Charlie fear for the evaporation of his intelligence, too. When Algernon dies, he is traumatic, fearing death coming to him sooner or later. Therefore, he thinks it necessary to visit his mother. When she sees him, she becomes overjoyed, and he feels relieved at this sudden welcome. However, he is surprised to see his mother attacking him with a knife. He, then, feels his own individuality and escapes to save his life.

Afterwards, he thinks that he has found a mistake in Professor Nemur’s idea that intelligence could evaporate as quickly as it has been instilled. He labels this as the “Algernon-Gordon Effect” and feels that he is regressing to his former disable self. Even though he maintains a brief relationship with Alice, he sends her away when he notices that his intelligence evaporating.  When this regression completes, he visits his bakery and briefly enjoys the love of his former coworkers. Meanwhile, after forgetting everything about his intelligence and the duration, he appears before Alice and after upsetting her, seeks asylum in a disabled home. He makes a final request to his readers to visit Algernon’s grave to appreciate him.

Major Themes in Flowers for Algernon

• Unethical Experiments: The novel, Flowers of Algernon, shows the major theme of unethical experimentation when performing the surgery on Charlie Gordon, a mentally challenged person. Dr. Strauss and his team have subjected him to experimentation on the line of Algernon, the experimental mouse. However, as soon as he becomes intelligent, he loses his job in the bakery where he was quite happy. Meanwhile, he comes across Alice, who, too, leaves him when he starts losing his intelligence, for she is attached to him only until the completion of the experiment to record his progress. In this case, both Algernon and Charlie have been treated as subjects of studies which is against the standard and existing ethical framework. It is because it falls under the preview of animal cruelty and violation of human rights.
• Gaining Knowledge: The novel shows the theme of gaining knowledge at the expense of others through the experiment of Dr. Strauss and Professor, who conduct brain surgery on Charlie Gordon with the promise of blessing him with intelligence. When he becomes brilliant, he also comes to know through Fanny about Adam’s knowledge acquisition and becomes sad. He thinks that he has lost happiness he used to enjoy on Mr. Donner’s bakery. That is why his knowledge does not bless him with happiness. Rather, he brings more problems for him similar to Adam and Eve after their expulsion from the paradise.
• Loss of Identity: Loss of identity is another theme reflected through Charlie Gordon and the experiment to augment his intelligence. In the beginning, he feels that his identity is that he is a worker in Mr. Donner’s bakery where he enjoys life and feels happy with his co-workers, but when he thinks that he is undergoing surgery to acquire intelligence, he thinks of his new identity. He faces this ethical dilemma when turning in Gimpy at the bakery for stealing things. Therefore, he surmises from these circumstantial transformations that identity is always changing and that he is again going to lose his identity along with his intelligence.
• Hubris : Although Charlie Gordon is not a classic hero , nor neurosurgery in the United States a Grecian context , yet his hubris is the same; his pride and ambition to undergo surgery and enhance his thinking power , or intelligence. His pride lies in his thinking of being a smart person who wants to learn about the world around him. He thinks that with the intelligence he would launch his bright career in signing and research. By the end, he faces the punishment through his fall after losing his intelligence. His contextual hubris becomes his personal flaw, making him worthy of the readers’ sympathies .
• Human Relations: The novel shows the theme of human relations through the character of Charlie Gordon. When he is a dullard and dunce person, he faces maltreatment despite having a strong ethical sense. However, as soon as he becomes intelligent, even Alice becomes intimate with him, though, her relationship with him does not solidify. His worldview is quite simplistic when he is not intelligent, but his vision widens after the surgery and he desires to revert to the same level where he has intimate and loving relationships with the people around him.
• Love and Sexuality: Although Charlie Gordon does not confuse his total transformation only with his intelligence, the major change in his life is his perspective toward love and romance in life. He is unaware of this aspect of life before the surgery due to the teaching of Rose Gordon not to touch the opposite sex. However, following surgery, he even contemplates having sex with the opposite gender that, though, could not be equated to the Oedipus Complex of Charlie. It could, however, be termed as an awakening of his love for the opposite sex, including his mother.
• Maltreatment: Keyes has beautifully presented the idea of maltreatment toward other human beings based on their weaker points. Charlie Gordon is mentally fragile as he cannot think linearly at the beginning of the novel, the reason that all others treat him in the same way, while his master at the bakery also exploits him. However, the recuperation of intelligence through surgery not only changes his perspective toward life and the world, but also this thing changes public perspective toward him as shown by his mother, Alice, and his former employer.
• Emotions: The novel shows the emotional balance in the life of Charlie Gordon whose disability impacts his emotional growth. Yet, it is interesting to note that he is emotionally tenderer and loving in the first part of his life before he gets intelligence through surgery. As soon as he becomes intellectual or intelligent, most of his energy is spent thinking about other people in a logical manner instead of giving more thought to his emotional growth and passions.
• Memory: Memory becomes another significant theme due to the role it plays in the life of Charlie Gordon. It seems that his past is always with him even when he undergoes surgery and gains intelligence. He recalls his childhood all the time. This split personality due to memory becomes significant in the last part of the novel as it keeps him puzzled and confused.
• Alienation: The novel shows the theme of alienation in Charlie Gordon who feels it intensely after having undergone surgery to enhance his intelligence. That is why he visits his former employer to recall the warmth and love of friendship that he feels despite having Alice with him.

Major Characters of Flowers for Algernon

• Charlie Gordon: Charlie is not only the main narrator but also the protagonist of the novel whose diary narrates his story from being a mentally retarded young man to an intellectual. A young man of 32, he faces social discrimination on account of his mental retardation. Working as a deliveryman and janitor at the Donner’s Bakery, he wins applause for his integrity but when he joins the learning class of Alice Kinnian, he undergoes experimental surgery to enhance his intelligence level. With an enhanced IQ level, he faces emotional challenges and comes to terms with his new life with arrogance and haughtiness. However, he starts losing this streak of brilliance by the end and reverts to his disability after solving scientific puzzles. His experimental life, thus, becomes a subject of scientific study when he bids adieu to Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur.
• Alice Kinnian: A young but very intelligent and beautiful lady, Alice works as a teacher for literary classes for the disabled students where Charlie Gordon is introduced to her. She becomes the main source of his intelligent growth after she introduces him to Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur who perform brain surgery on him. Despite demonstrating her initial intimacy toward Charlie, she is fed up with his arrogant attitude . She also identifies this flaw in his character, which she thinks needs toned down to make him eligible for a good social life with somebody. She, however, abandons him she sees his intelligence fading into his former disability.
• Algernon: The significance of the character of Algernon, the mouse, lies in that he is the first victim of the obsession of Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss. In a sense, he is equated to human beings after his intelligence is increased through surgery. Charlie, therefore, is unconsciously equated to Algernon. Therefore, his presentation in the storyline is a representation of human beings to animal levels. As Algernon also experiences fading of his artificially constructed intelligence, it also signals a moment of its transience for Charlie Gordon. By the end of the novel, he dies, leaving questions about human control over life and death.
• Professor Harold Nemur: The role of Professor Nemur in the storyline is important in that he lays the foundation of neurosurgery to enhance intelligence in case of mental retardation and demonstrates this ability for the first time during his surgery on Algernon, the mouse. However, he does not stop here and continues propagating his academic achievement and prowess in surgery with Dr. Strauss after which both of them hook Charlie Gordon to become a subject of their experiment. Despite being a brilliant scientist, Nemur has no ethical fears when he operates upon Charlie. Thus, demonstrating his arrogance over his plight.
• Dr. Strauss: The character of Dr. Strauss is significant in that he works closely with his friend, Professor Nemur, in his surgical feats of transforming the intelligence level of Algernon, the mouse, as well as, Charlie Gordon, the mentally retarded young man. Despite having brilliance of mind, he has some human flaws such as jealousy and ambition. This points to the ethical side of his experiment. However, as compared to Professor Nemur, he is to some extent humble and takes care of Charlie when he undergoes surgery, and informs him how to cope with his anxiety.
• Rose Gordon: Rose, Charlie’s mother appears quite early in the novel and demonstrates her significance by showing heavy-handed and cruel treatment toward her son. First, she entirely rejects the notion that her child, Charlie Gordon, could be mentally underdeveloped, and second she sends him to his uncle to undergo further mental torture. Even though Charlie acquires intelligence, she continues pestering him, the reason that he finds it difficult to form relations with others such as with Alice.
• Fay Lillman: A neighbor of Charlie, Fany shows her casual attitude toward her neighbors including Charlie who pays attention to her in his early life but she fades into the humdrum of life with time.
• Burt Selden: Selden assists his mentors, Nemur and Strauss, during the surgery and supervises the subjects, Algernon and Charlie. He later takes Charlie to introduce him to students.
• Matt Gordon: Matt lies is Charlie’s father whose main desire lies in having his barbershop that he finally establishes. As a shy husband, he does not rise against domineering Rose to protect his son.
• Uncle Herman: Uncle Herman is the guardian of Charlie after his own mother, Rose Gordon, expels him from home.

Writing Style of Flowers for Algernon

The style of the novel, Flowers for Algernon, shows that it is quite complex as Daniel Keyes uses very simple sentence structure and easy diction for Charlie Gordon before he undergoes surgery. However, when he comes out after the surgery, his identity becomes complex not only in the usage of his sentences but also in diction. His sentence becomes complex and long from choppy and stilted ones he used earlier. The first person narrative further lends credence to this style. For literary devices , Keyes resorts to similes, metaphors and personifications.

Analysis of the Literary Devices in Flowers for Algernon

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises the life of Charlie Gordon, the mentally deranged young man, who undergoes brain surgery for intelligence enhancement and then reverts to his mentally deranged state after living in that situation for some time. The rising action occurs when he begins flirting with Alice and the falling action occurs when Alice leaves him, seeing his reversion to his former self a reality.
• Allusions : The novel shows examples of allusions such as given below, i. Theories instead of about my own ideas and feelings. But it’s okay to read novels. This week I read The Great Gatsby , An American Tragedy , and Look Homeward, Angel. I never knew about men and women doing things like that. (April 15) ii. It’s exciting to hear them talking about poetry and science and philosophy-about Shakespeare and Milton; Newton and Einstein and Freud; about Plato and Hegel and Kant, and all the other names that echo like great church bells in my mind. (April 26) iii. They were arguing about whether or not Shakespeare really wrote Shakespeare’s plays. One of the boys-the fat one with the sweaty face-said that Marlowe wrote all of Shakespeare’s plays. But Lenny, the short kid with the dark glasses, didn’t believe that business about Marlowe, and he said that everyone knew that Sir Francis Bacon wrote the plays because Shakespeare had never been to college and never had the education that shows up in those plays. (April 27) iv. I spend most of my free time at the library now, reading and soaking up what I can from books. I’m not concentrating on anything in particular, just reading a lot of fiction now-Dostoevski, Flaubert, Dickens, Hemingway, Faulkner – everything I can get my hands on feeding a hunger that can’t be satisfied. (April 27) These four examples show the use of allusions such as the novels and books in the first and different writers in the other two.
• Anaphora : The novel shows the use of anaphora given in the below examples, i. In the middel of the nite I woke up and I coudnt go back to sleep because it kept saying remembir… remembir… remembir… So I think I remembird something. I dont remembir exackly but it was about Miss Kinnian and the school where I lerned about reading. And how I went their. (March 26) ii. Now that Im starting to have those dreams and remembiring Prof Nemur says I got to go to theripy sesions with Dr Strauss. He says theripy sessions is like when you feel bad you talk to make it better. I tolld him I dont feel bad and I do plenty of talking all day so why do I have to go to theripy but he got sore and says I got to go anyway. (March 27) iii. That’s all I can remember . I can see it all clearly, but I don’t know why it happened. It’s like when I used to go to the movies. (April 13) These examples show the repetitious use of “I remembird”, theripy sessions”, “I can.”
• Antagonist : It seems that Professor Nemur is the real antagonist of the novel in that he is merely interested in the advancement of his knowledge and learning and not in human life.
• Colloquialism : The below examples show the use of colloquialism such as, i. I get headakes from trying to think and remembir so much. Dr Strauss promised he was going to help me but he dont. He dont tell me what to think or when I’ll get smart. He just makes me lay down on a couch and talk. (PROGRESS REPORT 8) ii. Then Dr Strauss came over and put his hand on my sholder and said Charlie you dont know it yet but your getting smarter all the time. You wont notise it for a while like you dont notise how the hour hand on a clock moves. That’s the way it is with the changes in you. They are happining so slow you cant tell. But we can follow it from the tests and the way you act and talk and your progress reports. He said Charlie youve got to have fayth in us and in yourself. We cant be sure it will be permanint but we are confidant that soon your going to be a very intellijent young man. (March 24) These examples show the use of colloquialism in the conversation and dialogs of Charlie Gordon.
• Conflict : The novel shows both external and internal conflicts. The external conflict is going on between Charlie Gordon and the world around him, while the internal conflict is going on in his mind about his situation.
• Characters: Flowers for Algernon has both static as well as dynamic characters. The young man, Charlie Gordon, is a dynamic character as he shows a considerable transformation in his behavior and conduct by the end of the novel when reverts to his mental retardation. However, all other characters are static as they do not show or witness any transformation such as Alice Kinnian, Dr. Strauss, and Professor Nemur.
• Flashback : Below are examples of flashbacks from the novel, i. I see Charlie-eleven years old. He has a little goldcolor locket he once found in the street. There’s no chain, but he has it on a string, and he likes to twirl the locket so that it bunches up the string, and then watch it unwind, spinning around with the sun flicking into his eyes. (April 15) ii. I never remembered any of this before today, but it came back to me after I thought about the dream . It has something to do with the feeling about Miss Kinnian reading my progress reports. Anyway, I’m glad now I don’t have to ask anyone to write things for me. Now I can do it for myself. (April 17)
• Imagery : Flowers for Algernon shows the use of imagery in the following examples, i. But other things come into my head too. Sometimes I close my eyes and I see a clear picture. Like this morning just after I woke up, I was laying in bed with my eyes open. It was like a big hole opened up in the walls of my mind and I can just walk through. I think its far back… a long time ago when I first started working at Donner’s Bakery. I see the street where the bakery is. Fuzzy at first and then it gets patchy with some things so real they are right here now in front of me, and other things stay blurred, and I’m not sure…. (April 13) ii. The wall breaks down and suddenly there is a redhaired girl with her arms outstretched to me – her face is a blank mask. She takes me into her arms, kisses and caresses me, and I want to hold her tightly but I’m afraid: The more she touches me, the more frightened I become because I know I must never touch a girl. Then, as her body rubs up against mine, I feel a strange bubbling and throbbing inside me that makes me warm. But when I look up I see a bloody knife in her hands. (May 2) These two examples show images of color, sound, and feelings.
• Metaphor : Flowers for Algernon has the following examples of metaphors, i. A look passed between them. I felt the blood rush to my face again. They were laughing at me. (April 17) ii. Thousand confusing ideas burst into his mind at the same time and he stands there smiling. He wants to do it, to make Frank and Gimpy happy and have them like him, and to get the bright good-luck piece that Gimpy has promised him. (Progress Report 10) . iii. As soon as the fuzziness passes away he’ll remember. Just another few seconds and he’ll have it. He wants to hold on to what he’s learned-for a little while. He wants it so much. (Progress Report 10) iv. The fuzzy cloud comes and goes, and now he looks forward to the pleasure of the brightly colored pictures in the comic book that he has gone through thirty, forty times. (Progress Report 10) v. The principal in my dream had a long beard, and was floating around the room and pointing at me. (April 27) These examples show that several things have been compared directly in the novel such as look with something, ideas with explosives, fuzziness with the flood, and the principal with some boat.
• Mood : The novel shows a very confusing mind in the beginning, then becomes happy when Charlie acquires intelligence but again falls into a tragic mood after he reverts to his situation.
• Motif : Most important motifs of the novel are language, flashbacks, and memories.
• Narrator : The novel is narrated from the first person point of view as well as third person Point of view by the narrator at some places.
• Parallelism : Below are the examples of parallelism in the novel, i. I was a blundering adolescent in her eyes, and she was trying to let me down easy. (April 28) ii. I moved closer and reached for her shoulders, but she was too quick for me. She stopped me and took my hand in hers. (April 28) These examples show the parallel structure used in these sentences.
• Paradox : Two examples of paradox from the novel are given below, i. He laughed and then he got up from his chair and went to the window. “The more intelligent you become the more problems you’ll have, Charlie. Your intellectual growth is going to outstrip your emotional growth. (April 14) ii. I still don’t know how the conscious and unconscious mind works, but Dr Strauss says not to worry yet. (April 15) Both of these examples show that the writer has put paradoxical ideas or things together.
• Personification : Examples of personifications from the book are given below, i. March 25 – That crazy TV kept me up all nite. How can I sleep with something yelling crazy things all night in my ears. (March 25)) ii. The fuzzy cloud comes and goes, and now he looks forward to the pleasure of the brightly colored pictures in the comic book that he has gone through thirty, forty times. (Progress Report 10) iii. “The argument went on that way with Strauss saying that Nemur had his eye on the Chair of Psychology at Hallston, and Nemur saying that Strauss was riding on the coattails of his psychological research. (April 25) iv. The terror that waits in that cold tile room overwhelms him. He is afraid to go there alone . (April 28) These examples show as if craziness, fuzziness, argument, and terror have life and emotions of their own.
• Protagonist : Charlie Gordon is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his entrance into the story, his journey through his challenges and final resolution .
• Rhetorical Question : The examples of rhetorical questions from the book are given below, i. I was furious at her, myself, and the world, but by the time I got home, I realized she was right. Now, I don’t know whether she cares for me or if she was just being kind. What could she possibly see in me? What makes it so awkward is that I’ve never experienced anything like this before. How does a person go about learning how to act toward another person? How does a man learn how to behave toward a woman? (May 2) ii. She must have sensed the urgency because she agreed to meet me. I hung up and stared at the phone. Why was it so important for me to know what she thought, how she felt? (May 8) These rhetorical questions show that Charlie Gordon questions his own thoughts.
• Repetition : A few examples of repetition from the novel are given below, i. The said make beleeve but I tolld her thats lies. I never tell lies any more because when I was a kid I made lies and I always got hit. (Progris riport 4) ii. I think it’s a good thing about finding out how everybody laughs at me. I thought about it a lot. It’s because I’m so dumb and I don’t even know when I’m doing something dumb. People think it’s funny when a dumb person can’t do things the same way they can. (April 13) These examples show the use of repetition such as “lies” and “dumb.”
• Setting : The setting of the novel, Flowers for Algernon, is the city of New York where the bakery and laboratory was located during the 1950s.
• Simile : The below are the examples of similes from the book, i. If the operashun werks good I’ll show that mouse I can be as smart as he is even smarter. (Progris Riport 6 th Mar 8.) ii. Anyway, that is my memory of the time, clearer and more complete than anything I have ever experienced before. Like looking out of the kitchen window early when the morning light is still gray. (Progress Report 10) These two similes show comparisons ; the first shows this between the mouse and Charlie and the second shows this between his memory and something else.

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Flowers for Algernon

Daniel keyes, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The novel is made up of a series of progress reports written by a man named Charlie Gordon . As the novel begins, Charlie Gordon is mentally disabled, with an IQ of 68. He works at a bakery and attends classes at night to learn how to read and write. Because of Charlie’s motivation, his teacher, Alice Kinnian , recommends him for a cutting-edge experimental surgery designed by Professor Harold Nemur and Doctor Strauss . Strauss and Nemur believe that they can greatly increase intelligence through this operation. They’ve already performed their surgery on a mouse named Algernon , who has become super-intelligent. Charlie competes with Algernon in mazes and other intelligence tests, and loses every time.

Charlie undergoes the surgery, and is told that soon he’ll have an IQ of 185. At first, Charlie doesn’t feel intelligent at all. He continues working at the bakery, where his coworkers tease him and bully him for his clumsiness. In the evenings, Charlie continues meeting with Alice, who tells him to remain patient. Charlie begins to have vague flashbacks to his childhood—a period of time that he barely remembers.

At work, Charlie slowly shows signs of increased intelligence. He becomes adept at mixing dough, and gets a raise for his efforts. He has wet dreams, which Dr. Strauss—who acts as his therapist—explains to him. Charlie also beats Algernon in intelligence tests. At the same time, he begins to have more frequent flashbacks: he remembers that his mother, Rose Gordon , would spank him for being bad, and that she vehemently denied that he was mentally challenged. He also had a sister named Norma Gordon , who hated Charlie for getting too much attention from their parents.

Alice teaches Charlie grammar and encourages him to read, and Charlie quickly becomes more and more intelligent. He begins to alienate his coworkers, who resent him for being smarter than they are. Charlie also notices that Alice is very pretty, and he tries to pluck up the courage to ask her out.

Charlie confronts an ethical dilemma when he discovers that his coworker Gimpy , who’s always been gruff but kind to him, is stealing from the bakery. Charlie asks Professor Nemur for advice, but Nemur says that it’s an unimportant issue. Alice urges Charlie to resolve the dilemma by exploring his own values and beliefs, and Charlie is able to convince Gimpy to stop stealing anymore.

Encouraged by his discussions with Alice, Charlie asks Alice on a date. The date goes well, and Charlie decides that he’s in love. Alice tells Charlie that he’s being too hasty, however: although he’s very intelligent now, he still has the emotional intelligence of a child. Alice and Charlie go on other dates, and Charlie slowly realizes that he’s vastly more intelligent than Alice.

Charlie is fired from his job at the bakery—his coworkers, furious with his new intelligence, sign a petition asking for his immediate dismissal. Charlie is hurt. The only coworker who doesn’t sign the petition, Fanny Birden , says goodbye to Charlie, and warns him that it was a sin for Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Angry and upset, Charlie goes to Alice’s apartment, where he tries and fails to be physically intimate with her.

Charlie continues to work closely with Professor Nemur. He flies out to Chicago for a medical conference, where Nemur’s discovery is supposed to be one of the highlights. At the conference, Charlie begins to resent Nemur’s condescending attitude—although Charlie is now far more intelligent than Nemur, Nemur continues to regard him as a “guinea pig.” Charlie embarrasses Nemur in front of his colleagues, and frees Algernon from his cage. Together, Charlie and Algernon leave Chicago, with Charlie resolving to live life on his own terms from now on.

Back in New York, Charlie finds an apartment for himself. He meets women late at night and attempts to have sex with them, but he frightens them away. His fortunes improve after he meets his apartment neighbor, a strong, energetic woman named Fay Lillman . Fay is uninhibited, and tells Charlie that she’d like to have sex with him. Meanwhile, Charlie remembers an episode from his childhood in which his sister Norma became furious with him. Norma wanted to have a dog, but their father, Matt Gordon , refused to give her one unless she let Charlie play with it. Charlie has another vivid flashback of his mother spanking him after he accidentally embarrassed a girl at his school. Charlie visits his father, who now works in a barbershop in the Bronx. Matt doesn’t recognize Charlie, and Charlie is unable to force himself to reveal his identity.

Charlie decides to devote himself to studying neuroscience—in this way, he believes, he can help other mentally disabled people. At the same time, he launches a turbulent relationship with Fay. At first, Charlie can’t have sex with Fay without experiencing traumatizing hallucinations in which he sees a younger version of himself—the “ old Charlie .” Over time, however, Charlie learns to be confortable around Fay.

Charlie is then horrified to discover that Algernon’s intelligence is vanishing—suggesting that the same might happen to him soon. Charlie reunites with Professor Nemur and begs for funding to research the issue. Nemur arranges for Charlie to pursue this research. In the meantime, Charlie visits the Warren State Home for the mentally ill—the home where Charlie might have to live if his hypothesis is proven correct and he loses his intelligence. Warren State is surprisingly pleasant, although Charlie is still terrified at returning to a state of mental disability.

Charlie gets drunk and confronts Nemur and Strauss. Charlie tells them they’re condescending and conceited, but comes to realize that he’s become just as bad. Shortly after this confrontation, Charlie makes a breakthrough in his research: he concludes that Nemur’s brain surgery will always be impermanent. In the long run, Charlie’s own intelligence will disappear, and he’ll become mentally disabled again. Algernon dies and Charlie buries his body and decorates the grave with flowers.

Charlie tries to tie up loose ends before he loses his intelligence. He goes to visit his sister Norma, who still cares for their mother. Charlie’s mother now suffers from dementia—while she recognizes Charlie, she seems to forget who he is from time to time. Norma, on the other hand, is a kind, bright woman, who’s happy to reunite with Charlie. She tells Charlie that she’s hated herself for years because of the way she treated him. Charlie is so moved by his conversation with Norma that he has to leave. He decides to forgive his mother for her cruelty—there’s simply no point in hating her.

Charlie’s intelligence fades quickly. He becomes irritable, and Fay breaks off all ties with him. Alice continues to visit Charlie, although she’s upset by his moodiness. One night, Charlie and Alice have sex, and Charlie feels that he’s experiencing “something different”—a love few people find in a whole lifetime.

Charlie loses all his intelligence and enters a state of mental disability once again. He returns to the bakery, and succeeds in getting his old job back. His coworkers, who formerly bullied him, now treat him with more respect. Nevertheless, Charlie decides that he can no longer be around his coworkers or Alice—he can’t stand to talk to people who remember a time when he was a genius. He decides to go to the Warren State Home. In his final progress report, Charlie says goodbye to Alice, Professor Nemur, Doctor Strauss, and everyone else he’s met since the experiment. In a postscript, he asks “someone” to put more flowers on Algernon’s grave.

Flowers for Algernon

By daniel keyes, flowers for algernon summary and analysis of progress report 16.

Charlie visits Warren State Home. He is given a tour with the head psychologist Mr. Winslow. He is explained that Warren is not a prison. Thelma, a house-supervisor for some of the young boys at Warren, appears during this tour, as well as the principal of the school connected with Warren State Home. Charlie’s visit ends badly, with Mr. Winslow expressing how there are not many people willing to do the hard work that the psychiatric facility requires, thinking that Charlie does not understand how it feels to have to take care of severely mentally impaired people. Charlie realizes that Warren is a place of waiting, and cannot stand it. Algernon , also, has given up on running the maze and lost general motivation. Charlie realizes he needs to cut down on going out with Fay and drinking.

Alice visits Charlie, and she and Fay end up meeting. The encounter goes well, despite Charlie’s initial fears. Charlie tells Alice that he is involved with Fay but does not love her, and that Alice is the only woman he has ever loved. Alice tells him to cut down on the drinking. Charlie is working faster and more prolifically now. He has a cot moved into the lab, realizing that spending time with Fay wastes his time now. Fay gets a new boyfriend. Algernon makes mistakes running in the maze, and when he does, he eventually gives up and reacts violently. Charlie wants to work to figure out the reason for this regression.

Charlie feels at the peak of his physical and mental state during these days and he works furiously to explain the mental regression of Algernon (and soon of himself). On August 11, he takes a break and goes to Mrs. Nemur’s cocktail party, thrown in honor of two men on the Welberg Foundation board. Charlie goes with the intention of being friendly, but soon gets into an argument with the sharp-tongued Mrs. Nemur, and then with board member Mr. Raynor. Nemur comes over and argues with Charlie. Nemur says that Charlie has become an arrogant and selfish young man, while Charlie protests against Nemur’s treatment of him as a guinea pig for his experiment. Charlie gets drunk and speaks to his “old self” in the mirror.

The answer to the problem comes to Charlie, and he writes a letter to Professor Nemur, the Welberg Board, and Dr. Strauss . He explains what he calls the Algernon-Gordon Effect, which hypothesizes, “Artificially induced intelligence deteriorates at a rate of time directly proportional to the quantity of the increase” (195). He prepares for his inevitable regression, and finds himself becoming generally more absent-minded. Algernon dies on September 15. Charlie visits Rose and Norma on September 24. He sees his mother wiping the glass outside the house, and finds himself unable to approach her with the eloquence he had planned. Instead, he scares her back in the house, and has to break in and tell her he is not going to hurt her. When he gets in the house, he finds that she shows signs of dementia. Furthermore, she is still in shock and disbelief that Charlie has become who he has. Norma comes home and she and Charlie talk about their memories. Norma says that living with Rose has been terrible, and they really need someone to help support them. She is apologetic and ashamed of the way she used to treat Charlie as a child. Charlie says that he cannot stay and help them, but will send them money. Rose, out of her mind, sees Charlie and Norma close together, and thinks Charlie is threatening Norma. Rose picks up the kitchen knife and points it at Charlie, just like she did the night he was sent out of the house.

This entry takes place from July 14-September 27. Charlie describes his visit to Warren State Home as somewhat like seeing his coffin before he will be put in it, but he still wants to know about the feel of the place and the people who work there. In dramatic irony, Mr. Winslow is just short of accusing Charlie of not understanding how to work with mentally impaired people, when Charlie not only knows all about it on an intellectual level, but also on a personal level.

Charlie works around the clock to discover the answer to the questions about his and Algernon’s regression. He says, “Time assumes another dimension now… The only real things are the cages and the mice the lab equipment here on the fourth floor of the main building” (182). Again, time seems to have a quality of either making things real or eliminating them from reality. The subjective view of the individual works together with the passage of time to determine what is real and what is not. This has been the same phenomenon with Charlie’s memories. Charlie’s work is fueled by the knowledge that he can help others in the future. Indirectly, he makes a Christ reference concerning himself when he says, “Whatever happens to me, I will have lived a thousand normal lives by what I might add to others not yet born” (184).

During the party, Charlie delivers another statement which acts as a thesis of the story: “Here in your university, intelligence, education, knowledge have all become great idols. But I know now there’s one thing you’ve all overlooked: intelligence and education that hasn’t been tempered by human affection isn’t worth a damn” (191). This is a conclusion that all of Charlie’s personal life has been working towards until this point. It also again returns to the question of who holds authority, and what role does a God, or multiple gods, play in the role of a human life. Charlie recognizes that people can hold false idols, and suggests that human affection is one of the true gods. He further expounds this point: “Intelligence without the ability to give and receive affection leads to mental and moral breakdown, to neurosis, and possibly even psychosis. And I say that the mind absorbed in and involved in itself as a self-centered end, to the exclusion of human relationships, can only lead to violence and pain” (191). While he presents this as a hypothesis, it reads rather like a conclusion. Charlie has experienced much of this himself, and thus he has empirical evidence, to some degree, to back up these statements.

With emotion now playing such an important role, and emotion as something that is not quantifiable or as directly measurable as IQ, Charlie now recognizes the importance of relativism. “Who’s to say that my light is better than your darkness? Who’s to say that death is better than your darkness?” (193), he asks. This is another (first oblique, and then explicit) reference to Plato’s "Allegory of the Cave" with its distinct levels of darkness/light and advancement.

Charlie’s visit to his mother and his sister results in him crying afterwards, but also resolves his personal issues involving his sexuality. It liberates him from his panic attacks when he wants to make love to someone he truly does love. There is something incredibly Oedipal about how a son visiting his mother solves sexual problems, and yet Charlie’s mental-sexual issues also involve his sister, and how his mother was always afraid Charlie would harm Norma sexually. The window through which Charlie always sees young Charlie watching from becomes a thing of the past. Instead of being someone who only watches, Charlie now participates in life. At the same time, the clearness and directness of the window reminds Charlie that the past is always there, and one look brings back all of the memories it holds.

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.

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...

Emotional is to rational as physical is to?

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