Is Flowers for Algernon Science Fiction?

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Is Flowers for Algernon Science Fiction? Science fiction is “fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component” (Merriam-Webster). Flowers for Algernon was written by Daniel Keyes. Flowers for Algernon is about a man named Charlie who underwent an experimental operation to attempt to increase his intelligence. Unfortunately, Charlie has to undergo many challenges: the loss of friends, lack of emotional advancement, discovering people are not as nice as they seem, discovery of "The Algernon-Gordon Effect", and the rapid decline of his intelligence. Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction novel; it is different from our perception of science fiction, but it is science fiction by definition, and science fiction does not have to be in the future. Our perception of science fiction is only futuristic rather than science, such as experimental medicine. For example, everybody thinks of books such as Divergent as science fiction, because they are futuristic, but not medical science fiction, like Flowers for Algernon. When people think of science fiction, quotes such as “‘We use a more advanced version of the simulation here,’ he says, ‘a different serum, no wires and electrodes for you.’” (Roth 231) from Divergent. People do not normally think of quotes such as “I told him thanks doc you wont be sorry for hiving me a 2nd chanse like Miss Kinnian says. And I meen it like I tolld them. After the operashun Im gonna try to be smart. Im gonna try awful hard.” (Keyes 11). Our perception of science fiction is very different from the true definition of science fiction. For a novel to be a science fiction novel, it... ... middle of paper ... ... to be in the future. Our perception of science fiction is dystopian and futuristic, but there is more to science fiction, than this. The definition of science fiction shows that Flowers for Algernon is science fiction due to the imagined science of the operation. Just because something is not set in the future, does not mean it is not a science fiction novel. By seeing this, it is possible to see there are many more science fiction books than could be typically thought of before. If a person enjoys science fiction novels, then this should be good news for them. Works Cited Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc., 1994. Merriam-Webster. An Encyclopedia Britannica Company. 2014. Web. 26 March 2014 Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 2011 Condie, Ally. Matched. New York: Dutton Books. 2010.

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