Flowers for Algernon By Daniel Keyes

Story Background Revolves around the main character, Charlie Gordon (who is the narrator) – a thirty-two-year-old man with a mental disability – is chosen by a team of scientists to undergo an experimental surgery designed to boost his intelligence

Story Background Alice Kinnian, Charlie’s teacher at the Beekman College Center for Retarded Adults, has recommended Charlie for the experiment because of his exceptional eagerness to learn The directors of the experiment, Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur, ask Charlie to keep a journal The entire narrative of Flowers for Algernon is composed of the “progress reports” that Charlie writes (a narrative)

Themes Mistreatment of People with Mental Disabilities The fictional idea of artificially augmenting or diminishing intelligence enables Keyes to offer a telling portrayal of society’s mistreatment of people with mental disabilities As Charlie grows more intelligent after his operation, effectively transforming into a genius, he realizes that people have always based their attitudes toward him on feelings of superiority.

Themes Mistreatment of People with Mental Disabilities, cont. For the most part, other people have treated Charlie not only as an intellectual inferior but also as less of a human being than they are

Themes Intellect vs. Emotion The fact that Charlie’s mental disabilities affect both his intellectual and emotional development illustrates the difficulty—but not the impossibility—of developing both aspects simultaneously and without conflict. Charlie is initially warm-hearted and trusting, but as his intelligence increases he grows cold, arrogant, and disagreeable.

Intelligence?? How do we view intelligence in our society? What’s the difference between “book smarts” and “street smarts”? – Are they both legitimate forms of intelligence?

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