Main Themes In Flowers For Algernon

Flowers for Algernon is about a middle-aged man suffering from mental retardation. The man is Charlie Gordon. The exposition of this novel is rather intricate. Flowers for Algernon takes place in the nineteen-fifties. Charlie is chosen to participate in an experiment that will supposedly raise his IQ. But it turns out that they turn him into a genius, and it is only temporary. Along the way he falls in love with his teacher, Miss Kinnian. But he grows so intelligent that they grew farther apart as Charlie gets smarter. There are also two doctors in the novel, Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur.

Flowers for Algernon is about a man named Charlie who is mentally slow and not smart. Charlie had an operation to make him smart. What the doctors did was unethical.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things”, -Henry Miller. When one reads this quote, it may have a different meaning to them than to others. To Charlie Gordon, it practically defines his life journey. In the shorty story “Flowers for Algernon”, Charlie Gordon is a main who obtains an IQ of 68, and desires to be smart. Charlie finally gets his dream one day by partaking in an intelligence enhancing operation. His perspective of life is much different before and after the surgery. Although Charlie seems happy before the surgery, Charlie is able to apprehend reality through a “pair of new eyes”, regarding the operation. Three arguments why Charlie’s emotions are happier following the surgery are: He learns about lies he had in life, Charlie had a positive learning experience, and Charlie discerns his full potential.

Throughout the novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, many symbols are introduced and developed. Two of these symbols, which are portraits found in Alice's apartment, focus on the separation between Charlie's life before surgery and his life after surgery. The first portrait is a reproduction of Picasso's "Mother and Child", while the second is a simple painting of a Renaissance courtier holding a sword protecting a maiden. The first portrait symbolizes Charlie being caressed by his own mother, while the second portrait represents Charlie protecting Alice. Each of these portraits illustrate a different aspect of Charlie's life while also expressing the contrast between the two.

The novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is an excellent written novel that has deep meaning to it. The novel is about a 32 year old man named Charlie Gordon who is mentally disabled, and he goes through a medical procedure which enhances his knowledge. Throughout the novel, all Charlie wants to be is normal. Charlie just wants to fit in, have friends, and make his parents proud. Charlie is the first person ever to go through this surgery so he is going through a journey that only he has experienced. In the novel, Charlie's operation is based off of a similar operation that was performed on a mouse called Algernon and the things that happen to Algernon usually end up happening to Charlie. As Charlie's intelligence increases he goes through struggles that affect his relationships and his views on life. Charlie experiences and remembers things that have happened previously in his life and his ultimate goal is to learn his past. At the end of the novel Charlie starts to lose his intelligence which results in his ultimate demise. Depending on the situation, ignorance is bliss, however, there are other scenarios where knowing the whole truth regardless of the consequences is also beneficial.

William Golding, a novelist, playwright, and poet, once said “My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder.” This quote acknowledges that the past can have a powerful influence on a person later in life. Both Golding's quote and the theme chosen reflect on the meaning hidden inside Flowers for Algernon. People in Charlie's life, such as his coworkers and family, treat him differently than the average human being. The treatment that Charlie receives from these people in his life is negative for the most part, this means Charlie is often made fun of or looked down upon due to his intelligence. Throughout his life, Charlie has always had a difficult time developing emotional connections with women due to being punished as child for thinking about girls in general. Charlie also struggles in reconnecting with his family during his childhood as well as during his adult life because he fears that his family will not be accepting of him. In the book Flowers for Algernon, Charley learns that the past can negatively affect the future.

In the text “Flowers for Algernon”, Charlie Gordon is better off after having the surgery.If not for the surgery he wouldn’t have figured out why Algernon’s brain was regressing back to it’s original state. He became so smart he knew that he was going to regress back to being mentally retarded so sent the information to the doctors and kept logs about how his days were going.He kept writing no matter how painful it felt until he decided to leave.

Charlie Gordon is a thirty three year old mentally retarded man who is chosen by a team of neurologist scientist to undergo an operation. The operation is designed to enhance Charlie’s intelligence although it has only been tested on a mouse by the name of Algernon, and has yet to be proven successful. He is recomended this operation by his teacher Alice Kennan who teaches mentally disabled adults at Beekman College For Retarded Adults. Throughout the story, the reader sees Charlie’s mental process beginning to develop through the progress reports Dr Stratus and Professor Nemur has provided Charlie to write. As Charlie begins to become aware of his intelligence increasing , he gradually starts to notice the different treatment he begins to receive from long time “friends”. Charlie Gordon’s conflict with how he must contend with some aspects of his past teaches the reader the importance of learning about oneself through Charle changing his lifestyle and identity in a diminutive amount of time.

Flowers for Algernon is a story about a man named Charlie Gordon. Charlie isn't an everyday person. He is 37 years old and has an IQ of 68. It has always been Charlie's dream to me smart, to be like everyone else. One day he gets presented with this opportunity. Charlie is told that the doctors would do an operation to make him smarter. This is the best news Charlie could hear. While Charlie is going through the process of becoming smarter, he meets a mouse going through the same tests. His name is Algernon. Within the first couple day of meeting him, Charlie is already fascinated with Algernon. Ethics are a big thing to consider when doing a surgery like the one Charlie is getting.

Helen Keller once said, “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” Keller explained that being able to lean on someone in a time of fear is superior to acting alone in a time of joy. Flowers for Algernon—a novel written by Daniel Keyes—showcases the journey of a mentally challenged man by the name of Charlie Gordon; he is experimented on through a surgery to artificially increase his intelligence. Throughout the story, Charlie Gordon is surrounded by people that he considers his friends. The actions of his “friends” transform how he acts, feels, and thinks.

Flowers for Algernon the two main characters a mouse named Algernon and a young man named Charlie Gordon a thirty-two year old who has a very low I.Q. of sixty-eight from any other thirty-two year old man. Charlie Gordon works at Donner’s Bakery Charlie isn’t just any oh employer Charlie has very poor Intelligence Quotient. And he knows that he is different from everybody else, that’s why he has being seeing Dr.Strauss about is condition. What can he do to make his I.Q the same as everyone else? Charlie’s intelligence is an important role of Dr.Strauss and Prof.Nemur to, be able to perform this important surgery on him. He writes seventeen progress reports. Charlie Gordon is not just a thirty-two year old man that works at Donner’s bakery.

Flowers for Algernon was a very intriguing novel about Charlie Gordon, a mentally challenged adult. Throughout the novel, there are numerous references to Carlie’s past with his family. His past intelligence is what primarily causes him to undergo his treatment. However, his past relationship with his family, prominently his mother, alter his abilities to develop emotional connections. His newfound intelligence also complicates his abilities to reconnect with his family and friends from before. Therefore, Charlie’s past had a very powerful influence on Charlie during and after the experiment.

Flowers for Algernon “all my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb.” In the book Flowers for Algernon a 32-year-old developmentally disabled man named Charlie Gordon has the opportunity to undergo a surgical procedure that will dramatically increase his mental capabilities. After the operation, he had difficulty making new friendships and establishing new relationships due to a lack of social intelligence that the surgery could neither correct nor anticipate. And in the end, Charlie went back to being mentally disabled. In the story “Flowers for Algernon”, the author Daniel Keyes portrays the theme that a person should be careful what they wish for because it could cause consequences in the long run.

The climax of Daniel Keyes’s science fiction novel, Flowers for Algernon is Charlie’s assertion of his autonomy by fleeing the convention in Chicago with Algernon and making a temporary life of his own in New York. This paranoid fantasy of being the main attraction of a freak shown or circus is the climax of Charlie’s tolerance of his objectification. Many times I find the assertion of independence from a protagonist the most exciting part of a novel, but in Flowers for Algernon, the main cause for the climax enthralled me the most. For most of Charlie’s life he has been seen as a freak, a moron, and even a mistake of nature, it took being helped by those very people to help him realize that his “friends” were actually antagonizers who viewed

In Daniel Keyes’ compelling novel, Flowers for Algernon, the main character undergoes both important emotional and physical changes. The book has an interesting twist, as it is described in the characters “progress reports”. This book has a science fiction undertone, and takes place in exciting New York City. As the novel begins, the main character, Charlie Jordan is thirty-two years old, but cannot remember anything from his childhood.