⒈ Grammar In Flowers For Algernon

People must adhere to Personal Narrative: I Am David Myles Thompson special diet low in Phe for optimal brain development. View Grammar In Flowers For Algernon 6 comments. Further stage Elena Vilkas Character Analysis radio adaptations have been produced in FranceIrelandAustraliaPolandJapanGrammar In Flowers For Algernon, and Czechoslovakia Normal health Grammar In Flowers For Algernon treatment [5]. The Grammar In Flowers For Algernon washed away his writing.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Part 1

Flowers for Algernon is the title of a science fiction short story and a novel by American writer Daniel Keyes. Algernon is a laboratory mouse who has undergone surgery to increase his intelligence. The story is told by a series of progress reports written by Charlie Gordon, the first human subject for the surgery, and it touches on ethical and moral themes such as the treatment of the mentally disabled. Although the book has often been challenged for removal from libraries in the United States and Canada, sometimes successfully, it is frequently taught in schools around the world and has been adapted many times for television, theater, radio and as the Academy Award -winning film Charly.

The ideas for Flowers for Algernon developed over 14 years and were inspired by events in Keyes's life, starting in with Keyes's conflict with his parents, who were pushing him through a pre-medical education despite his desire to pursue a writing career. Keyes felt that his education was driving a wedge between himself and his parents, and this led him to wonder what would happen if it were possible to increase a person's intelligence. A pivotal moment occurred in while Keyes was teaching English to students with special needs ; one of them asked him if it would be possible to be put into an ordinary class mainstreamed if he worked hard and became smart.

Keyes said that "When he came back to school, he had lost it all. He could not read. He reverted to what he had been. It was a heart-breaker. Characters in the book were based on people in Keyes's life. The character of Algernon was inspired by a university dissection class, and the name was inspired by the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne. In , Keyes was approached by Galaxy Science Fiction magazine to write a story, at which point the elements of Flowers for Algernon fell into place. Keyes worked on the expanded novel between and [14] and first tried to sell it to Doubleday , but they also wanted to change the ending. Again, Keyes refused and gave Doubleday back their advance.

The expanded novel was first published in by Harcourt Brace with the Bantam paperback following in The short story and the novel share many similar plot points, but the novel expands significantly on Charlie's developing emotional state as well as his intelligence, his memories of childhood, and the relationship with his family. Both are presented as a series of journal entries "progress reports" written by the protagonist, Charlie Gordon. The style, grammar, spelling, and punctuation of these reports reflect changes in his mental and emotional growth. Charlie is a man with an IQ of 68 who works a menial job as a janitor and delivery person at Donnegan's Plastic Box Company.

He is selected to undergo an experimental surgical technique to increase his intelligence. The technique had already been tested on a number of animals; the great success was with Algernon, a laboratory mouse. The surgery on Charlie is also a success, and his IQ triples. He realizes his co-workers at the factory, who he thought were his friends, only liked having him around so they could tease him. His new intelligence scares his co-workers, and they start a petition to have him fired, but when Charlie learns about the petition, he quits.

As Charlie's intelligence peaks, Algernon's suddenly declines—he loses his increased intelligence and mental age, and dies afterward, buried in the back yard of Charlie's home. Charlie realizes his intelligence increase is also temporary. He begins researching to find the flaw in the experiment, which he calls the "Algernon—Gordon Effect". When he finishes his work, his intelligence regresses to its original state. Charlie is aware of, and pained by, what is happening to him as he loses his knowledge and his ability to read and write. He resumes his old job as a janitor at Donnegan's Plastic Box Company and tries to go back to how things used to be, but he cannot stand the pity from his co-workers, his landlady, and Ms.

Charlie states he plans to "go away" from New York. His last wish is for someone to put flowers on Algernon's grave. Anyone who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eye are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye. Charlie Gordon, 32 years old, demonstrates an IQ of 68 due to untreated phenylketonuria.

His uncle has arranged for him to hold a menial job at a bakery so that he will not have to live at the Warren State Home and Training School, a state institution. Two researchers at Beekman, Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss, are looking for a human test subject on whom to try a new surgical technique intended to increase intelligence. They have already performed the surgery on a mouse named Algernon, resulting in a dramatic improvement in his mental performance.

Based on Alice's recommendation and his motivation to improve, Nemur and Strauss choose Charlie over smarter pupils to undergo the procedure. The operation is successful, and within the next three months Charlie's IQ reaches At the same time, he begins recalling his childhood and remembers that his mother, Rose, physically abused him after realizing he cannot become "normal", while his younger sister Norma resented him. As Charlie's intelligence, education, and understanding of the world increase, his relationships with people deteriorate.

His co-workers at the bakery, who used to amuse themselves at his expense, now fear and resent his increased intelligence and persuade his boss to fire him. Alice enters a relationship with Charlie but breaks up with him after she realizes she can no longer relate to him and claims his intelligence has changed his personality. Later, Charlie loses trust in Strauss and, particularly, Nemur, believing that they considered him a laboratory subject and not human before the operation. While at a scientific convention in Chicago, Charlie feels humiliated when he is treated like an experiment and, in retaliation, flees with Algernon.

After moving to Manhattan with Algernon, Charlie becomes involved in a relationship with Fay, his neighbor, to sate his loneliness. After an incident with a disabled bus boy Charlie becomes inspired to continue and improve Nemur and Strauss's experiment and applies for a grant. However, he notices Algernon is beginning to behave erratically. Throughout his research, he discovers a flaw behind Nemur and Strauss's procedure indicating that he will lose his intelligence and, possibly, regress back to a primitive state.

While still holding onto his intelligence, Charlie publishes his findings as the "Algernon—Gordon effect", as Algernon dies. As Charlie begins to regress to his former mental state, he finds closure with his family. His mother, who still lives in the family's old home in Brooklyn, has developed dementia and recognizes him only briefly; his father, who broke off contact with the family years earlier, does not recognize him at all. He is only able to reconnect with Norma, who is now caring for their mother in their newly depressed neighborhood, but refuses to stay with them.

He begins dating Alice again, but his frustration with losing intelligence eventually causes him to end his relationships with her and Dr. Unable to bear the thought of being dependent and pitied by his friends and co-workers, he decides to live at the Warren State Home and Training School, where no one knows about the operation. In a final postscript to his writings, he requests that someone put flowers on Algernon's grave in the backyard of Charlie's former residence.

Both the novel and the short story are written in an epistolary style collecting together Charlie's personal "progress reports" from a few days before the operation until his final regression. Initially, the reports are filled with spelling errors and awkwardly constructed sentences. Important themes in Flowers for Algernon include the treatment of the mentally disabled, [4] [5] [22] the impact on happiness of the conflict between intellect and emotion, [21] [23] [24] and how events in the past can influence a person later in life.

Algis Budrys of Galaxy Science Fiction praised Flowers for Algernon ' s realistic depiction of people as "rounded characters". Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. The story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life.

As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. T The story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie? Get A Copy. Paperback , pages. Published first published April More Details Original Title. Strauss , Burt Seldon Other Editions Friend Reviews.

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Flowers for Algernon , please sign up. Is there any material in this book that would make it inappropriate for a younger reader? Shannon Depends on the age of the reader and beliefs of the parents. There are no explicitly sexual scenes, but there are scenes that describe sex or sexual f …more Depends on the age of the reader and beliefs of the parents. There are no explicitly sexual scenes, but there are scenes that describe sex or sexual feelings in somewhat vague physical terms, and these focus more on the emotional experience.

The intercourse is outside of marriage. I might be okay with my teenager reading it, but it's not the best choice for a pre-teen or younger - although I can't imagine why a younger reader would be interested, honestly. There are mildly violent situations involving bullying. There is no swearing. The protagonist specifically endorses polyamory at one point. I would not have my teen read it without reading it first myself, and we would discuss the book. Is this book capable of making a person cry while reading it? Liza I dare you not to cry!

See all 35 questions about Flowers for Algernon…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of Flowers for Algernon. I am finding it hard to put into words the vast range of emotions I experienced while reading this tale of hope, perseverance, truth and humanity. When it comes to science fiction in general, I would hesitate before declaring myself a fan. The books I have enjoyed most from this genre tend to be the softer, more humanity-focused stories. Like this one. I'm a huge fan of science fiction that doesn't seem too far away; something that I could imagine being just around the corner - and that's how I I am finding it hard to put into words the vast range of emotions I experienced while reading this tale of hope, perseverance, truth and humanity.

I'm a huge fan of science fiction that doesn't seem too far away; something that I could imagine being just around the corner - and that's how I felt about Flowers for Algernon. This story is about Charlie Gordon who - with an IQ of 68 - can only hope to sweep the floors at the bakery. Well, that is until he is invited to participate in an experiment previously only tested on animals. The experiment is an operation that will gradually make him a genius and allow him to become the person he's always longed to be.

But intelligence comes with a price. Charlie learns that the people he's known for years are not what he'd always thought. Where he once associated laughter with friendship, he soon learns that it is mockery. It has been said that intelligence is mostly about having a good memory - and Charlie Gordon finds that out the hard way. Memories that had been forgotten come flooding back, bringing pain with them.

Flowers for Algernon looks at so many different things: mental disabilities, human nature, intelligence and love. It made me feel sad, angry, frustrated and hopeful. It made me shake my head at people's abhorrent behaviour, and it made me incredibly thankful for so many things-- I know how cliche that sounds but it's true. Even though Charlie's intelligence grows to beyond that of a normal human, he is emotionally still very much a child and has to learn the things other people learned long ago. He doesn't understand what is happening when his body becomes sexually responsive to a woman and he often doesn't understand why people say one thing but mean something completely different. It's a very sad story and it made me think about so many things.

The ending just about broke my heart. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube View all 49 comments. Heartbreaking and beautiful. Required reading, as far as I am concerned. View all 23 comments. All I knew about this classic when I went into was that it was about a mouse. Clearly I knew nothing. You're watching Charlie, the main character, go through an experimental procedure that increases his IQ. The whole book, written in diary entries, let us see how it affects his life and how he struggles through it.

I rarely cry while reading a book but I couldn't help myself here. It's a classic for a reason. Read it. You won't be able to put it down. View all 18 comments. Its a story about how a boy got smart. I dont remembir I should reed it again. It also had a mouse in it. I dont remembir much more I should reed it again. Progress Report 3 Its easier to understand each time. I lear progriss riport 1 I reed this book and I liked it and I should rite down what I think.

I learnt how to spell better because the book has lots of big words that sound all sciency though the book doesnt quite read like other sciency books I tried to read. Its more like a case study that questions what it is to be human in a world that demands we be smart when not all of us are but we are still people no matter how we think. Progress Report 4 I remember much more this time. This book is very clever and I like it more and more each time I read it. I should read it again and pay closer attention to the themes and how the boy failed to develop emotionally despite his intellectual growth. This book is brilliant and it has made me feel so smart. I even wrote a full paper about it that I am going to submit to a university journal. I showed it to my mother and she was amazed that I had written it.

From here, I am going to read so many books so I can analyse them properly and make full use of my transformation. Progress Report 6 I rested today then I got drunk because the book left me feeling sad and I feel sorry for Alergonon and the boy. The alcohol stops me from feeling anything and it makes my mind go slow again for a short while. I had sex with a stranger I met because she made me feel relaxed and I could forget about the book for a little while. Progress Report 7 Becoming absent minded. But is becoming harder again and I can't remember the book much or all that it taught me. I want to read the book again but I cant keep focused on it. View all 22 comments.

Jan 09, Jim Fonseca rated it it was amazing Shelves: american-authors , intellectual-disabilities , science-fiction. For many years I had been aware of this book title but never knew what it was about. The procedure worked wonders on a laboratory mouse named Algernon. She was embarrassed by him. One of the saddest parts of the story is his memories, framed by a window, of watching other kids play because she did not allow him to leave the house.

Most of the story is told through a journal that Charlie has to keep. We watch his intelligence and written language abilities develop. We see him struggle with IQ tests, mazes and Rorschach inkblots. We watch Charlie struggle with romance and sex. I note that it has a very high rating on GR 4. The book has been a frequent target of those who want to censor library acquisitions. Daniel Keyes was an English professor at Ohio University where I worked for much of my career.

View all 56 comments. Wow I'm so glad I finally read it. I had only read passages of it before but it was totally with sitting and reading the whole thing through. I don't even know what to say I can't stop crying because of how things are for Charlie and I guess I just wish that they way he was treated wasnt so close to reality. Also it's kind of painful to have to question things like intimacy vs intelligence and self actualization which are brought up so poignantly in the book. I don't even know if anything I'm sa Wow I'm so glad I finally read it. I don't even know if anything I'm saying is making any sense but the book really got to me and now I need to be alone to cry and consolidate myself with it and the new ideas it has made me consider. Mar 03, Maggie Stiefvater rated it it was amazing Shelves: adult , recommended.

Well, that was depressing. ETA:Across social media, people are asking me how I got out of high school without reading this book — I didn't go to high school. I left after a partial year. View all 12 comments. I read this 2 years ago, before I started writing more detailed reviews. I am not planning to modify my thoughts from back then but I want to add my father's thoughts. I gifted this book to him last Christmas and he finally got to read it.

He was as deeply moved by this magnificent heart wrenching novel as I was and he felt the need to send me a message when he finished to tell how impressed he was. It was the first time he sent me an emotional message about a book so with his permission, I will I read this 2 years ago, before I started writing more detailed reviews. It was the first time he sent me an emotional message about a book so with his permission, I will paste here most of his words: "Intelligence, a gift or a course?

Yes, I finished the book and I am overwhelmed by many thoughts. Flowers for Algernon is one of those books that after you read you realize how much you would have lost if you hadn't read it. We can think of Charlie or of each of us who, as he does, we accumulate and then we loose what we got through hard work. However, as he, we need to know that it wasn't for nothing. Knowledge, accumulation, though, happiness, sadness, they all come from learning, books, from the ones around us.

Intelligence might be a gift but it still has a price which we have to pay. I love sharing my love of books with my dad and I am emotional each time he loves one of the books i recommend. Read Flowers for Algernon! It is amazing, words cannot describe it. My original review: This book is extraordinary, one of my favorites. It is a fast read but is is very powerful and heartbreaking. I read it in the plane and I felt a little embarrassed when I started to weep at the end of the book.

Even though I was expecting the ending the way it is written still broke my heart. I loved the way the book is written, as journal entries of an adult retard which is the subject of an experiment that makes him smart a lot smarter. The writing at first is very childish but as the narrator changes so does the writing. Very clever. One of the things that I found to be most powerful was the way the narrator changed his view of others after becoming more intelligent and the way others changed their attitude towards him. I believe this should be read by everybody. Highly recommended. View all 36 comments. Algernon is a laboratory mouse who has undergone surgery to increase his intelligence by artificial means.

The story is told by a series of progress reports written by Charlie Gordon, the first Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes. The story is told by a series of progress reports written by Charlie Gordon, the first human test subject for the surgery, and it touches upon many different ethical and moral themes such as the treatment of the mentally disabled. View all 4 comments. There is nothing specific in this book that dates it -- it could have been written 4 years ago instead of 40 -- except for it's obsession with a certain brand of psychology and sex with near strangers.

Books from this era just bug me in general. They are so smugly sure of their analysis of the whys and wherefores of human nature, yet they still cling to the archetypes. Charlie knows The Puffed-up Scientist and The Down-to-earth Sci There is nothing specific in this book that dates it -- it could have been written 4 years ago instead of 40 -- except for it's obsession with a certain brand of psychology and sex with near strangers.

One of the reasons this book screams the 60s is because The Angel is ok with his relationship with The Whore. In fact, she encourages it. Can we tell the author was a man and the book was written in the era of "free love"? All of this in a book that is supposed to be about a man coming to grips with new found intelligence without turning into an intellectual jerk and divining the REAL NATURE of the women in his life. Am I the only one who sees the irony of this? People were, and are, ga-ga about this book. And while I think that the premise is interesting, all the futz surrounding the premise was formulaic. View all 6 comments. Captivating and heartbreaking. Daniel Keyes novel about an intellectually disabled man who, through an experimental medical procedure, gains genius level IQ is a classic of science fiction.

With the assistance of his night school teacher, he is interviewed by scientists and is accepted into the experimental program. At the laboratory he meets Algernon, a mouse who Captivating and heartbreaking. At the laboratory he meets Algernon, a mouse who has undergone a similar treatment and who can traverse a series of mazes faster than Charlie. Once through the procedure, Charlie first becomes able to out pace Algernon in the maze game and then advances far beyond what the researchers thought possible. But intellectual advancement is not the same as emotional and social development and Charlie runs into problems as his life is turned upside down by the changes.

His family and social interactions undergo significant transformations. Charlie is not the same person as he was before. Told with empathy and compassion, Keyes explores what it means to be human and what is most important. A book that everyone should read. View all 25 comments. I first read this book in 8th grade, in my english class. I remembered enjoying it, being fascinated in how the author painted the picture that I really was reading Charlie's journal by use of spelling, grammar and punctuation related to the level Charlie was at when writing the entries.

What I didn't know at the time was the people who created the text book I used felt it was okay to chop whole chapters out of the middle of the book. They felt pulling out whole sections was okay in the name of I first read this book in 8th grade, in my english class. They felt pulling out whole sections was okay in the name of protecting children from "bad" concepts like sex, alcohol, and violence. They didn't consider that perhaps leaving the story intact and waiting for the children to mature before handing them this story was a better route. I discovered this injustice when I was in a used bookstore, and remembered this story I read in class I enjoyed, so I dug up a copy and bought it.

When I got home, I jumped right in and started to reread it, only to get a shock in the middle of the book where suddenly there were whole chapters about this neighbor Charlie gets involved with that I didn't remember. When I reread the book more recently, there were more things that I realized would have been chopped out of a version intended for 8th grade students to read, and I just hadn't noticed as much the first time reading the complete copy because they were tucked in with the more mundane things towards the beginning of Charlies developments.

All ranting aside, I find this book to be a fascinating look at human nature, personality and development. It's well written, and does a good job placing you into Charlie's head as he goes up and down through this experiment. If you read it in school like I first did, do yourself a favor and buy or borrow a complete copy of the book to read. The lessons learned by all characters in the book certainly give you lots of think about your own behavior and that of others. EDIT: There have been a few comments pointing out that the story was a short story first, likely the version I read in my school textbook, that was later expanded into the novel.

I only wanted to add this note to my review, as it seems some people comment without reading the other comments left, so I'm seeing both comments informing me of this fact and comments of outrage that the book was censored. View all 27 comments. When Charlie Gordon, a mentally disabled man, undergoes an experiment to increase his intelligence, his life changes in ways he never imagined. But will the intelligence increase be permanent. I first became aware of Flowers for Algernon when it was mentioned in an episode of Newsradio. I forgot about it until that episode of The Simpsons inspired by it, when it was discovered Homer had a crayon lodged in his brain.

I'd mostly forgotten about it again until it popped up for ninety-nine cents in o When Charlie Gordon, a mentally disabled man, undergoes an experiment to increase his intelligence, his life changes in ways he never imagined. I'd mostly forgotten about it again until it popped up for ninety-nine cents in one of my BookGorilla emails. Flowers for Algernon is one of those stories I wish I would have read years earlier. It's simply marvelous. It's about the nature of intelligence and how intelligence can be divisive. It's a very emotional book. Personally, this was a very powerful book for me. For a lot of my time in school, I was way ahead of the curve and didn't really click with other kids. As Charlie's intelligence grew, eventually surpassing even the scientists that experimented on him, his feelings of isolation increased and I felt a lot of kinship toward Charlie.

His difficulties fitting in were the cherry on top of the loneliness sundae. As Charlie's intelligence grew and he comprehended things from his past, it was hard not to feel sorry for him. Once he starts sliding backward, the book keeps getting more and more sad. Keyes doesn't mind kicking you in the emotional junk, that's for sure. I love the way the book is written in periodic progress reports from Charlie. It's perfect vehicle to show his increase in intelligence and eventual decline. There were man-tears shed over the course of the book. I had to set the book down a few times to keep from sobbing in my cube. Flowers for Algernon is one of those rare science fiction novels that transcends the genre.

Five out of five stars. View all 41 comments. Aug 14, Dana Ilie rated it really liked it Shelves: bookclub. While this is clearly speculative fiction, the point of Flowers for Algernon isn't the technology that lets Charlie become more intelligent but rather how people react to him, both before and afterwards, as his perceptions of the world change. This is, in part, a sharp rebuke of the way that the mentally retarded are treated, but there are also interesting explorations of identity, friendship, and the results of revisiting one's past.

There are several wonderfully memorable characters, particula While this is clearly speculative fiction, the point of Flowers for Algernon isn't the technology that lets Charlie become more intelligent but rather how people react to him, both before and afterwards, as his perceptions of the world change. There are several wonderfully memorable characters, particularly the free-living artist living next door. The journal technique is quite effective in bringing the reader into the story and conveying Charlie's intelligence level, using spelling and grammar as superficial clues and the sophistication of Charlie's observations as a deeper clue to his current intelligence level.

Over the course of the book, the writing slowly becomes more sophisticated, in tune with the underlying thoughts. I liked the balance between first-person immediacy and thoughtful retrospective that the format of a journal entry at the end of each day or two provides. The reader's growing ability to understand Charlie and Charlie's attempts to understand himself touch on the exploration of alienness and human reactions to it that underpin so many great science fiction stories. View all 14 comments. Who do you think you are? He lives in the here and now, with very few memories. Then he is selected as the first h Who do you think you are?

Then he is selected as the first human subject in an experiment to rapidly increase intelligence. It worked on Algernon, the mouse. His knowledge increases exponentially, his understanding and emotional growth lag a little, and he gradually regains distressing memories of his childhood. The sci-fi aspect is the single surgical procedure, coupled with some enzymes. Also, that emotional intelligence and empathy are vital for happiness - both individual and societal.

You can enjoy and be moved by this novel for the story alone. However, it constantly, quietly raises ethical questions on a range of themes, without preaching, trivialising, or spoon-feeding answers. Consent view spoiler [A topic that's a larger part of public discourse than when the book was published. When is it valid for one person to consent on behalf of another, especially if the intervention is experimental? What about sexual encounters between people of hugely different levels of comprehension, whether that be intelligence or because at least one party is drunk? Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. Even if you endorse a drastic intervention that might benefit an individual, the societal consequences may be different.

And yet, as his intelligence grows, he re gains memories. Two women in the story are total opposites in how they see Charlie and thus how he feels about and behaves with them. However, I felt both were rather caricatured, and not always as believable as the other characters. That's a shame, because it's an important theme of the book, and one that may especially speak to YA readers. And then, when they had a normal child actually called Norma! For most of the book, in dreams, free-association, and hallucinations, Charlie sees his younger self and refers to him in the third person: a dissociation that reflects two very different versions of himself. Sometimes, that other Charlie is so real, he seems to intervene.

It has won numerous awards, mainly as sci-fi. It may be YA, but it has enough depth and breadth that is a worthwhile and moving read for adults. However, if you have a teen at home, it would be even more fruitful to read and discuss alongside them. View all 54 comments. Greenwich Village is like that too. Not just being close - because I don't feel it in a crowded elevator or on the subway during the rush - but on a hot night when everyone is out walking, or sitting in the theater, there is a rustling, and for a moment I brush against someone and sense the connection between the branch and trunk and the deep root.

At such moments my flesh is thin and tight, and the unbear "The walls between people are thin here, and if I listen quietly, I hear what is going on. At such moments my flesh is thin and tight, and the unbearable hunger to be part of it drives me out to search in the dark corners and blind alleys of the night. I've had it on my list to read for quite some time, not because I thought it would be fantastic, but because I thought to myself that here is a book almost everyone has read and somehow I have not.

Well, having finished this masterpiece, I have to say wow! So thought-provoking and almost emotionally overwhelming, I really felt this novel speaking to me about love, humanity, and our purpose and place in the world. Categorized as "young adult" and "science fiction", Flowers for Algernon is most certainly not just for the young adult and is not a science fiction novel in the typical sense no space travel or otherworldly beings in these pages , but is instead a novel that goes just outside the box of realistic fiction.

It goes just beyond the boundaries of what we have accomplished in science and medicine. Charlie Gordon is a young man with an I. He works in a bakery doing custodial work while taking classes to learn to read and write. He is a happy person, feels he has many friends, and is also driven to please people and to make himself smarter. Having been cast aside by his family, most notably his mother, much of Charlie's thoughts and actions throughout the book are a result of how he was treated and rebuked as a child and his desire to be viewed as a "normal" individual.

In fact, much of this book causes the reader to think that each and every one of us has the right to be regarded with dignity and respect no matter what our deficiencies or differences. When given the opportunity to increase his intelligence by a procedure previously tried only in animals, Charlie jumps at this rare chance. Feeling confident in their positive results with a mouse named Algernon, the experts are prepared to make the first step with this experimental surgery in humans and agree that Charlie is an ideal candidate.

Strauss said I had something that was very good. He said I had a good motor-vation. I never even knowed I had that. I felt good when he said not everbody with an eye-Q of 68 had that thing like I had it. I dont know what it is or where I got it but he said Algernon had it too. Boy woud they be serprised to see me smart just like them and my sister. But, with intelligence Charlie is confronted with hidden and often painful memories, an awareness of true human behavior and a struggle with the desire to rid himself of a feeling of loneliness. But all too often a search for knowledge drives out the search for love. He is tormented by emotional and sexual immaturity despite his genius I. As the novel is written in diary format, the reader is privy to Charlie's innermost thoughts throughout his journey and I was completely consumed by Charlie's emotions.

I felt hopeful, joyful, enlightened, angry, confused and heartbroken right along with Charlie… I cried. Charlie begins to understand something very vital about human nature: "I could see how important physical love was The universe was exploding, each particle away from the next, hurtling us into dark and lonely space, eternally tearing us away from each other - child out of the womb, friend away from friend, moving from each other, each through his own pathway toward the goal-box of solitary death. But this was the counterweight, the act of binding and holding. As when men to keep from being swept overboard in the storm clutch at each other's hands to resist being torn apart, so our bodies fused a link in the human chain that kept us from being swept into nothing.

Professor Nemur termed his prior existence as being "nature's mistake" and went further to say that "Charlie Gordon did not really exist before this experiment. Is artificially-induced intelligence a permanent state? What can Charlie contribute to this field and does he have time? Flowers for Algernon is a beautiful and poignant story. Daniel Keyes effectively teaches us about the issue of living with a disability as well as parenting a child with a disability, love, respect, and the essential need for human connection and affection. If you have not yet read this book, I highly recommend that you take a moment and move this one up to the top of your list!

I first came across Flowers For Algernon as a short story in a science fiction anthology many years ago. It seemed an enjoyably poignant and perceptive slight tale. By the author Daniel Keyes had developed his story into this full length novel, the joint winner of the year's Nebula award for the best Science Fiction novel. As well as nonfiction he has written several other science fiction books which explore the workings of the mind. But the c I first came across Flowers For Algernon as a short story in a science fiction anthology many years ago. But the classic Flowers for Algernon has sold more than five million copies, and has never been out of print since its original publication.

Daniel Keyes's science fiction stories were intermittently published during the s, before he became a fiction editor at Marvel Science Fiction. He also worked as a high school teacher for developmentally disabled adults. These two experiences resulted in the masterpiece, Flowers for Algernon. Daniel Keyes said that the idea for the story struck him while he waited for an elevated train to take him from Brooklyn to New York University in In his memoir, he wrote, "I thought: My education is driving a wedge between me and the people I love. And then I wondered: 'What would happen if it were possible to increase a person's intelligence? It has no need for alien worlds, galactic swashbucklers, bug-eyed monsters or complicated spaceship technology.

This is not the world of hard Sci Fi, focusing on science and the inhuman aspects of other worlds. Like all classic science fiction, it seems to transcend the limitations of the genre. It explores universal human themes such as the nature of intelligence, the nature of emotion, and how the two interact with each other. Even the intelligence-enhancing surgery is not detailed, except for brief mentions of the workings of the brain, and the rare genetic condition phenylketonuria, to add authenticity to the enhanced intellectual capabilities of the narrator. The story is told from the point of view of a thirty-two-year-old man, who has been assessed as having an IQ of He writes that he, "reely wantd to lern I wantid it more even then pepul who are smarter even then me … all my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb".

His teacher Alice Kinnian, who works at the "Beekman College Centre for Retarded Adults", recognises his strong motivation and desire to learn. She has put him forward as a potential candidate to undergo experimental surgery designed to boost his intelligence. A team of University researchers have already performed the experiment successfully on the lab mouse Algernon. Charlie has a number of tests, including a comparison with Algernon to indicate how quickly he can solve a maze.

This part of the book sets the tone for the gentle humour which is to follow. Charlie reports the tests with perfect childlike clarity and literal incomprehension. He has no imagination; no ability to invent. The directors of the experiment, Dr. Charlie is excited and optimistic, despite the scientists' caution, "You know Charlie we are not shure how this experamint will werk on pepul because we only tried it up to now on animils.

It is a brilliantly inspired device on the part of Daniel Keyes. Charlie's teacher Alice continues to help him improve his spelling and grammar, and he determinedly reads adult books, filling his brain with knowledge from a wide range of academic fields. His progress is slow at first, but his comprehension accelerates as he devours his reading, delighting in his new-found knowledge and understanding, "This is beauty, love, and truth all rolled into one.

This is joy. It becomes clear that the owner of the bakery is being kind to Charlie in keeping him in work, and that it has really been an act of charity. His co-workers however frequently make fun of and mock him. Charlie, on the other hand, has always viewed them as his true friends. The realisation that what he thought of as shared jokes are taunts, and that he is a laughing stock, is very hurtful to him.

We feel his pain through his faithful record, "I never knew before that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have me around just to make fun of me. Now I know what they mean when they say 'to pull a Charlie Gordon'. I'm ashamed. Strauss's observation, "The more intelligent you get the more problems you'll have Charlie. But the surgery on him is a secret. And because his emotional development cannot keep pace with his astonishing mental feats, he does not realise that he is now alienated from the other workers, Frank and Joe, and Gimpy, the head baker, who has a club foot.

They cannot understand the changes and are disturbed by the sudden change in him. They begin to fear him. Charlie on the other hand is learning all the time and pleased at his new challenges in interacting with other people. One event produces a moral dilemma, which he attempts to solve, but which eventually leads to him losing his job. Alice recognises that he needs to develop and experience moral quandries for himself, and tells him to trust his heart. This is an everyday moral dilemma, but one which has no easy or right answer.

Ironic that all my intelligence doesn't help me solve a problem like this. As he develops, his personality changes. Thrilled at first to learn, he begins to be alternately angry and embarrassed when he remembers what he sees as his earlier foolish self. He also begins to remember his early childhood, and we learn all about his parents, Rose and Matt Gordon. His mother's overriding concern was to "Be smart" and keep up appearances. As Charlie and the reader learns more, we begin to realise that Charlie's childhood was not the happy dream that he had envisaged. As his brain becomes more incisive, Charlie learns sarcasm, suspicion, and resentment. His faith in the people around him begins to crumble, "Now I understand that one of the reasons for going to college and getting an education is to learn that the things you've believed in all your life aren't true, and that nothing is what it appears to be.

I don't know what I know any more. Distracted, he panics and his mind dissociates. Charlie is confused about the origin of this, but the reader understands that it is a deep-seated memory of Rose punishing and beating him for any slight sexual impulses, resulting in the shame he still feels. In this and other ways, the past persists in the present. For instance, he remembers long ago watching through a window in his apartment, as other children played. Later, with his enhanced intelligence, he feels as if the old Charlie is watching him through a window.

The window seems to represent an emotional distance: a barrier to normal society, which the mentally disabled Charlie cannot cross. Later, he is just as distanced from his former self as the children he used to watch playing had been. Once he sees the other Charlie face-to-face in a mirror, a glimpse of his other self: a very frightening experience. Delighted with Charlie's progress, Dr. But Charlie has reservations, "How different they seem now. And how foolish I was ever to have thought that professors were intellectual giants. They're people - and afraid the rest of the world will find out. I'm a person I was a person before the operation. In case you forgot.

Strauss has always been concerned with his psychological health, but Charlie feels that Nemur treats him like just another lab animal. He catches Algernon and flees back to New York with Algernon, intent on getting his own apartment, where the scientists cannot find him. He feels a kinship with Aldernon, and realises that Algernon is a good predictor of his own future.

Grammar In Flowers For Algernon, Richard. This I remembered this as 3 stars. This book is very clever and I like it Grammar In Flowers For Algernon and more each time Grammar In Flowers For Algernon read it. It was recently suggested that Bill Bowerman Research Paper may resemble Grammar In Flowers For Algernon diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, due Grammar In Flowers For Algernon the formation of toxic amyloid-like assemblies of phenylalanine. They keep you from bothering Grammar In Flowers For Algernon and others Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes bothering you.