Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

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Recommended: A essay about science fiction

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a classic science fiction set in southeastern New York, New York City. The fictitious prose traces a man's inner psychological journey within from a world of retardation to a world of great intelligence. Narrated through a series of empirical "Progress Reports", Flowers for Algernon follows the intellectual and emotional rise and fall of Charlie Gordon, a young man born with an unusually low Intelligence Quotient (IQ), as he becomes the first human pilot-study for an ambitious brain experiment. Charlie Gordon lives a life of comical, despondent and derisive experiences as he surfaces from mental darkness, through various phases of perceiving and understanding levels of knowledge into the light of complex perception of himself, the people around him and the world. The matter that lies in the heart of Flowers for Algernon is the individual turmoil of Charlie Gordon as he struggles to be recognized and treated as a human being and the psychological discord within. Narrator and focal character Charlie Gordon, is a memorable portrait of isolation of an individual who is at odds with society and who strive to have satisfactory relationships with others. Until the age of thirty-two, Charlie has lived in somewhat of a mental twilight. Impressed by Charlie's motivation to learn, psychiatrist and neurosurgeon, Dr. Strauss and his partner Professor Nemur performs an experimental surgical procedure which triples his Intelligence Quotient of 68. Another main character of Flowers for Algernon, Alice Kinnian, a teacher at the Beekman College Center for Retarded Adults teaches Charlie to read and write which slowly develops into affection. However as it becomes apparent the experiment is flawed and menta... ... middle of paper ... ..., it is reflected in his writing. Although it is difficult to have a handle on what Charlie tries to express in the first few progress reports, the reports are great means for facilitating the story. Filled with the angst of personal discovery and growth Flowers for Algernon is a sentimental story with a tear jerk ending, where Charlie Gordon's plight keeps readers turning the pages. Various symbols are illustrated in book that portrays alienation and acceptance that alludes to ignorance being a form of bliss. Flowers for Algernon touch upon characteristics of man such as ambition, pride, and emotional development that use the accouterments of the basis of science fiction to put across the notions of perception and awareness that most people take for granted.

The Destructive Nature of Man Depicted in Keyes' Flowers for Algernon
822 Words | 2 Pages
In the end, Charlie is returned to his previous mental state proving that scientific experimentation leads to a destructive nature of man. In Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes shows the reader a destructive nature of man through stereotypes, absence of family, and the various IQ levels needed to mature. Therefore, science experiments should be left for chemicals and labs not humans and animals.
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In her story, “Greenleaf”, the author Flannery O’Conner shows us that people can sometimes blind their factual vision of the world through a mask of dreams, so that they would not be able to make a distinction between reality and their dreams of reality. O’Conner unveils this through the use of point of view , character, irony, and
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Ignorance Is Bliss In Daniel Keyes Flowers For Algernon
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“Ignorance is bliss,” is an old saying used throughout time and can be applied to the tragic yet inspiring (5) story know as Flowers for Algernon. Author Daniel Keyes creates a mentally challenged character, Charlie Gordon, who has went through his life completely unaware of his disability is given an opportunity to change everything. As the story progress Charlie is faced with a constant battle between intellect and emotion or happiness, which leads to some dire situations and choices he may not be ready to make.
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Flowers For Algernon
649 Words | 2 Pages
Algernon is a mouse. He's a special mouse, Charlie Gordon is told, and it must be true, because whenever Charlie and Algernon run a race (Algernon is in a real maze; Charlie has a pencil-and-paper version), Algernon wins. How did that mouse get to be so special, Charlie wonders? The answer is that Algernon's IQ has been tripled by an experimental surgical procedure.
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This book is told from the diary of the main character, Sam Gribley. Sam is a boy full of determination. He didn’t give up and go home like everyone thought he would. He is strong of mind. After the first night in the freezing rain, with no fire and no food, he still went on. He is a born survivor. He lasted the winter, through storms, hunger, and loneliness, and came out on top even when everyone expected him to fail. “The land is no place for a Gribley” p. 9
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Movie Review: Charly
967 Words | 2 Pages
The film, Charly, directed and produced by Ralph Nelson, was released in September of 1968. It is an American science fiction drama film based on the book “Flowers for Algernon” written by Daniel Keyes. The film tells the audience the story of Charly, a 30-year-old and intellectually disable man who is struggling to survive the “normal” society. He has been taught by Alice Kinnian how to read and write for 2 years and he has a strong desire to learn, however his attempts to learn prove to be difficult. He qualified to be part of an experiment to increase his intelligence. This experiment has only been tried on laboratory mice, however helps Charly to rise his very low IQ to be a genius. This film can be related to three themes: the struggle
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Charlie Gordon
487 Words | 1 Pages
Charlie Gordon is the main character of Flowers for Algernon. Charlie is a mentally retarded, 33 year old adult. He desperately wants to be smart, especially after a very troubled childhood in a family who had a hard time adapting to his illness. Charlie has a great attitude about changing his life, and was willing to do whatever it took to accomplish the task of becoming smart. Charlie partakes in a surgery to boost his intelligence that has only been tested on rats, specifically one named Algernon. After the surgery Charlie learned that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and that many of his old friends wouldn’t see the same person in him. Charlie suddenly had to experience drastic changes in his lifestyle and the story revolves around these complications.
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Flowers For Algernon - Comparing And Contrasting
1049 Words | 3 Pages
The plot of both the novel and film version of Flowers for Algernon share common similarities. They both feature a retarded middle-aged man, Charlie Gordon, who receives an operation to heighten his intelligence. Charlie’s IQ eventually surpasses human normalcy to reveal that the experiment did prove successful. In both the film and novel, Charlie became even more intelligent than the professors who worked with him. In the film, Dr. Strauss was embarrassed to reveal that Charlie was smarter than him. That played a milestone event in Charlie’s identification of himself. Slowly his intelligence began to decrease and he eventually returned to his original state of mind. Throughout the story, Charlie encountered many different emotions that he had never experienced before because he didn’t have the common knowledge to understand them. The episode when he was at the nightclub with his co-workers gave him the opportunity to experience betrayal and anger. “I never knew before that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have me around just to make fun of me” (Keyes 30). The plot for both versions also carefully depicted Charlie’s psychological traumas that he suffered after his operation. These outbursts were often caused by romantic anxiety and the painful memories he would recall. Whenever Charlie got intimate with Alice he would tend to get extremely nervous or have a hallucination, causing him to ruin the moment. “I dropped a fork, and when I tried to retrieve it, I knocked over a glass of water and spilled it on her dress” (56). One of Charlie’s most painful memories was the one about the locket incident. Both versions did a great job of emphasizing this particular moment. “His clothes are torn, his nose is bleeding and one of his teeth is broken” (38). These flashbacks occurred many times in the novel yet the f...
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Flowers For Algernon
566 Words | 2 Pages
“Flowers for Algernon” is about a man named Charlie Gordon who is mentally retarded. Charlie signs up for an experiment that is supposed to make him smarter. He wants to be like every one else. To do the experiment he has to keep a journal showing his progress. Charlie starts out spelling almost every word wrong. Charlie’s family and friends have all made fun of him; his parents gave him to his uncle when he was ten.
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Charlie Gordon In Flowers For Algernon
479 Words | 1 Pages
Charlie Gordon is the main character in "Flowers for Algernon." He under goes an operation to enhance his level of intelligence preformed by two doctors, Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss. Since Charlie has an IQ that is below average and is the first patient to agree to commit to this surgery, his side affects could include loss of memory, unable to complete certain tasks, poor grammar and spelling, and even fatality. Charlie wants to proceed with the operation since he believes that he should as intelligent as normal human beings and he is sick of others making fun of him because of his disabilities. The experimental surgery that Charlie underwent to triple his intelligence had three major effects on his life.
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Relationships In Daniel Keyes's 'Flowers For Algernon'
1352 Words | 3 Pages
Relationships between people are important to maintain. During one’s lifetime, these relationships will change for the better or worse. In the novel, Flowers for Algernon, the author, Daniel Keyes, presents a change in the main character’s relationship with many people. Charlie Gordon, a 32 years old man who is mentally disabled takes the risk of undergoing a surgery that will make him intelligent. As Charlie’s intelligence increases, he finds out a lot about himself and becomes a different person. He learns the meaning of love, and experiences this newfound feeling with Alice Kinnian. Charlie’s teacher at Beekman College for Retarded Adults, Miss Kinnian, is one of the only people who is concerned and genuinely cares about him. When they part
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Science Fiction Essay
2010 Words | 5 Pages
“Flowers for Algernon,” by Daniel Keyes, is an epistolary story that focuses on the use of artificial intelligence. Themes presented in this work include love, individuality and community, and power. The protagonist, Charlie Gordon, is a mentally retarded man who attends night school at a college for retarded adults. Charlie is the subject of the scie...
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The cold tone of this story starts out right in the beginning and her mother and father are quite distraught because of the daughter’s illness and the fact that they must trust the doctors; they seem to not trust anyone. They even told their own family that Deborah is at convalescent school, not a mental institution. Of course the time period of the book is much earlier than now so it is more understandable why they were upset. Hopefully parents now are less ignorant and would try and be proud of their child to willingly get help. It would be too harsh however to say that Deborah’s parents did not do the best that they could, they just did not even realize that their daughter was mentally sick. They didn’t even know that her peeing herself was the result of a tumor. I can say that the way that they treated her for that was wrong. At least they feel bad or that it is their fault. I think that much more of the blame needs to be placed on the parents, contrary of what Dr. Fried stated. It is the responsibility of the parents to protect and nurture their children, not to physically punish what it not right.
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Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

The Destructive Nature of Man Depicted in Keyes' Flowers for Algernon

Greenleaf by Flannery O'Connor

Mother Any Distance by Simon Armitage

Ignorance Is Bliss In Daniel Keyes Flowers For Algernon