Respect And Dignity In Flowers For Algernon And Sunday In The Park

In many situations, people aren't treated with respect and dignity. In Sunday in the Park by Bel Kaufman, the wife, Morton, and their son Larry are disrespected by the big man and his son Joe. In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, the main character Charlie is treated poorly by everybody around him because he is not of the same intellect as they are, and he doesn't know it when they are toying with him or making fun of him. Both authors use mood and inner thinking to indicate that just because someone is different than you doesn't mean they should be treated differently.

In Sunday in the Park by Bel Kaufman, inner thinking is used to represent the theme of always treating each other with respect and dignity, “The man on the bench moved his mouth as if to spit again, but instead he spoke. He did not look at her, but at the boy only. “You go right on ahead Joe. Throw all

you want. This here is a public sandbox.” (35) This evidence supports the theme because the big man doesn't tell his kid to stop throwing the sand, so Larry can't peacefully play in the sandbox. There is also inner thinking in Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes when Charlie’s “friends” talk about him, “Sometimes somebody will say hey look at Joe or Frank or George he really pulled a Charlie Gordon. I don't know why they say that but they always laft.” (6) This evidence also supports the theme because Charlie's supposed friends say that they pulled a Charlie Gordon, which to them means they did something that didn't make sense, or was unintelligent.
Both Sunday in the Park and Flowers for Algernon also build a mood. The mood of sympathy in Flowers for Algernon is shown, “Shut up! Leave him alone! It’s not his fault he can't understand! He can't help what he is! Bud for God’s sake… He’s still a human being!” (18) The mood of sympathy relates to the common theme because Charlie remembers when he was in the same situation as the boy in the restaurant. In Sunday in the Park the family is disrespected by the big man and his son, making the reader feel frustrated or angry toward a character, “My kid’s got just as good right here as yours, and if he feels like throwing sand, he'll throw it, and if you don't like it, you can take your kid… out of here.”(35) The mood of anger connects with the theme of being disrespected because Joe and his dad purposefully frustrate Larry, Morton, and the wife continually to try to get them to leave.
In both Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes and Sunday in the Park by Bel Kaufman, similar techniques are used to represent the common theme that people should be treated with respect and dignity.

However, they use diverse techniques as well. Description is used to show the theme by Bel Kaufman, “The other boy suddenly stood up and with a quick, deliberate swing of his chubby arm threw a spadeful of sand at Larry.” (34) This piece of text gives insight for later parts of the story; Joe and his father do not want Morton, his wife, and Larry to be at the park. This text links to the common theme because of that. On the other hand, Daniel Keyes lets the reader know more than the character to portray the common theme, “Everybody laffed and we had a good time and they gave me lots of drinks and Joe said Charlie is a card when he's potted. I don't know what that means but everybody likes me and we have fun.” (8) The reader knows more than the character in this situation because they know that Joe and Frank are not really Charlie's friends, but just like to be around him to laugh at

him.
From start to finish of each story, Bel Kaufman and Daniel Keyes use literary techniques such as mood and inner thinking to illustrate the theme. Both authors imply that others should be treated with dignity and respect. In both of these short stories, someone is treated poorly by others. Daniel Keyes writes of a man with a mental disorder in a large city, and Bel Kaufman writes of a family at the park who encounters an antagonist family who wants to remove them. Both of these stories suggest that if everyone was more respectful the world could become a more prosperous and pleasant place.