essay questions for flowers for algernon

Flowers for Algernon

By daniel keyes, flowers for algernon essay questions.

Flowers for Algernon is told in a first-person narration so that readers follow Charlie in a close perspective. What is the effect of this first-person narration? What does it tell that other perspectives might not tell? Why do you think the author chose to make Charlie a first-person narrator?

The first-person narration keeps readers close to Charlie, and makes Charlie both an identifiable and likeable character. When characters have disagreements with Charlie (such as Nemur saying he has become arrogant and selfish), readers are more apt to side with Charlie. Of course, this limits the amount of information that can be delivered, since what is told must be something that Charlie knows. However, the choice of using a first-person narrator in general also increases the pathos of the story, as it heightens the sense of sadness at Charlie’s eventual deterioration. It also gives insight into what Charlie is thinking, which is remarkably important in a story that is concerned with the mind.

The story is delivered in an epistolary fashion, that is, conveyed in Progress Reports styled like diary entries. What is the effect of this narrative choice? Why do you think the author chose to tell the story this way?

The epistolary fashion lends first-person credibility to Charlie as a narrator. Keyes also takes this as an opportunity to show Charlie’s physical-mental enhancement and deterioration through the way he manipulates the actual writing of these progress reports. The diction and writing style of Charlie at his intellectual peak is also different than that of when he is improving or when he is deteriorating. These reports also make sense given the plot of the story, and the necessity of documenting the experiment given the scientific method.

Interpersonal relationships are especially important in Flowers for Algernon , and for the narrator, Charlie. Choose two relationships in Charlie’s life, and explain how they change after his operation. Why is this change significant?

Students should choose individuals who see Charlie both before and after his operation. These include: Matt, Rose, Norma, Prof. Nemur, Dr. Strauss, Burt, the bakery workers, and Alice Kinnian.

When Charlie starts remembering his childhood memories, he also begins reflecting on what these memories mean in the context of his present. What does it mean for reality to be tied to the present, and memory to be tied to the past? Why is it important for Charlie to understand his present in context of what happened in his past?

Charlie realizes that a person is not just the sum of his past memories, but also what he is currently doing in the present, and what he will experience in the future. However, in order to really discover who he is, he must understand how his past shaped him, and how his family shaped him, to be the person he is now. Originally, Charlie talks about how the “present” is “reality,” and the “past” is made up of “memories,” but then he realizes that the past is just as real as the present (154). Memories construct an individual, who exists in the present.

Map the significances of the places where Charlie stays.

Charlie was born in Brooklyn, and the Beekman Lab is in New York. Like Charlie, Brooklyn is not the center stage for groundbreaking research or generally exciting activities; he has to move in to New York, near Times Square, for that. After the convention, Charlie stays in an apartment of his own near Times Square, and the excitement and hustle reflects his current state in life of being busy and enthusiastic. In order to go to the convention, however, Charlie has to fly out to Chicago to discover the truth behind the experiment/his own life to come, demonstrating that sometimes answers only come when an individual removes himself from his current activities to examine things with an outside perspective.

What significance, if any, does Charlie’s age or his current state of life/being have?

Charlie is 32 at the start of the novel, and stays this age for the rest of the story as well. The effects of the experiment only last 8 months or so. Charlie is middle-aged (albeit on the young end of the spectrum), and technically at the “prime of his life.” His intelligence increases and then fades just as quickly. The story begins “en media res” (in the middle of things happening), and just as quickly, Charlie fades out of significance, and the passage of time goes on. Keyes likely chose this age to emphasize how much of life Charlie was missing out on for someone his age, as well as to emphasize the qualities of “en media res” which permeate the novel.

Consider the two prominent women in Charlie’s romantic life: Alice Kinnian and Fay Lillman. Charlie once says “Just goes to show you can’t have everything you want in one woman. One more argument for polygamy” (162). Is Charlie joking? What does each woman have? Why does Charlie need both of them in his life?

Charlie makes the argument for polygamy with some ounce of sarcasm because he realizes that he has only ever truly been in love with Alice. Alice was Charlie’s teacher before they were lovers, and to him she still represents much of the mystery of learning, humanity, and the human capacity for profundity. Fay is wonderful in her own ways, and Fay and Alice actually like each other. Fay is open, honest, and generous. Her quirkiness, sexuality, and energy help Charlie along during a difficult time in his life. His relations with her are purely sexual, and provide for him the necessary catalyst for approaching someone with whom he is emotionally invested.

Why does Charlie use so much nature imagery when he describes his intellectual growth? Use specific examples.

Charlie often describes his mental growth or expansion of his intelligence as “the open sea” (96) or memories which wash up like “high-breaking waves” (112). Later, in Dr. Strauss’ office, he has a mystical experience/hallucination filled with natural imagery (216). This collection of natural imagery forms an interesting counter to the artificial origins of Charlie’s intelligence. They provide great metaphors for the endlessness that is nature, but in using such descriptions, Charlie actually reminds himself and readers that human lives are short and mortal, and that his intelligence is even shorter and bounded, like nature.

What is the importance of dreams in Flowers for Algernon ? Think about the psychological implications.

On page 37, Strauss tells Charlie that he might not understand all of his dreams and memories, but that they will all eventually come together so that he can understand more of himself. Strauss explains the conscious and the subconscious to Charlie, as two minds or two worlds which never touch. Charlie retrieves most of his memories through dreams, and it is only through parsing his subconscious through his dreams that he can understand his past, and thus understand his present and future.

Consider the title. Why might Algernon be so important to the story (even if the title is taken directly from the last line of the book)? How does Charlie understand more of himself by being with Algernon?

Algernon provides for Charlie the physical warning signs of his deterioration, but he also acts as more than just that. Before his procedure, Algernon provides an objective standard for Charlie, a physical manifestation for what he wants to be and what he can be — he wants to beat the mouse in a race. After Algernon begins to deteriorate, he shows to Charlie how small humanity can be, and how easy it is to pass away without achieving anything. This inspires Charlie to work harder and more on his research. Lastly, Algernon is also an “object” of sentimental value for Charlie, so that he even desires to put flowers on Algernon’s grave. This is an incredibly human act, and humanizes the mentally ill Charlie just as much as it attempts to personify Algernon.

Flowers for Algernon Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Flowers for Algernon is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

after hearing the story of charlie's last night at home, what is ironic about the shave he receives at the barbers shop?

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A movie theater is offering a special summer pass. Passholders pay $8 per movie for the first 5 movies and watch additional movies for free, up to a maximum of 15 movies. The function C gives the total cost, in dollars, for a passholder to watch N movies

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Flowers for algernon

Charlie dislikes being pitied. He was once "smart" and now he is no longer. He does not want to be around people's condescending judgments of him any longer. Sad and disillusioned, Charlie feels that he needs normal, familiar surroundings, so he...

Study Guide for Flowers for Algernon

Flowers for Algernon study guide contains a biography of Daniel Keyes, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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Essays for Flowers for Algernon

Flowers for Algernon essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

• Language, Shame, and Charlie Gordon
• Freedom of Choice in Human Engineering: Charlie's Lack of Autonomy in 'Flowers for Algernon'
• The Use of Point of View to Promote Estrangement in “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang and “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes

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Flowers For Algernon: Essay Q&A

1. What is the significance of the window in the novel? The window is an important symbol in Flowers for Algernon On a literal level, a window is an object that allows the penetration of light By admitting light, it facilitates illumination or understanding A window allows someone on the inside to look out, and someone on the outside to look in On the outermost level, the novel itself operates as a window Charlie has been asked to produce the progress reports for Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur so that they can gain insight into his mind At the same time, the reader uses the novel to gain insight into Charlie's mind, as well as the minds of the other characters The reader actually sees how Charlie's mental functions improve as his writing becomes more sophisticated And through Charlie's comments, the reader gains insight into the other characters' personalities and motivations In a sense, a window restricts our view of the world; it puts limits on what we can and cannot see It may also affect the way we see the world Thus, we might view Charlie's operation as providing a larger window, or perhaps drawing the blinds covering his window and letting in more light For as he becomes smarter, he begins to understand more and more of the world around him On more than one occasion Charlie finds himself looking through a window It is as if he cannot directly connect with much of the world, but instead must experience it from behind a pane of glass, operating as a passive viewer rather than an active participant In some ways this results in a voyeuristic approach to life, such as when Charlie spies on a woman in another building emerging from her bath When Charlie's intellect grows, an odd shift occurs; he finds himself on the opposite side of the window We see that he becomes a much more active participant in the world around him He even begins to play an important role in the very experiment where he is the subject Finally, we might see the window as a protective device A window allows illumination but at the same time it filters out harmful effects of the sun and other elements of nature Initially, Charlie's window on the world protects him Though we know better, he thinks of his coworkers at the bakery as friends The nasty comments and harsh treatment he receives from them are filtered out by his intellectual window Of course, as his window to the world opens, the ensuing insight causes him much emotional pain And as his window is fully opened, even Charlie begins to treat others in a less civil manner 2. What role does religion play in the novel? While we might think of Charlie as a spiritual being, he is not what we would consider a religious person We learn that in his early years he had some exposure to religion His mother told him that he should pray to God, and late in the story Charlie asks God to at least leave him the ability to read When Charlie eventually reconnects with his mother, she thanks God that her prayers were finally answered Yet there is a hollow ring to her words For Charlie, God is not a deity to be worshiped; he is a rather innocuous figure This attitude remains much the same even as Charlie's intellect expands, for rarely do we see him contemplating God or thinking religious thoughts For a time, when Charlie begins hanging out in the places university students frequent, he becomes interested in a number of philosophical discussions, some of which pertain to the existence of God But this line of thought does not play a major role in his mental life The novel, however, does ask an important religious question, namely what should the relationship between God and man be? More specifically, can man, through science, overstep his bounds and play God? Hilda, Charlie's first nurse after his operation, suggests that perhaps the operation shouldn't have been performed because if God had intended for Charlie to be smart, he would have made him that way in the first place Thus, the novel raises the notion of God as the sole creator However, Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur's experiment has, in essence, re-created God's work Through Hilda we are prompted to ask whether it is an act of hubris to alter what God has created And even if man can redo God's work, should he? We notice that Hilda is immediately replaced, presumably after Strauss and Nemur read of her remark in Charlie's report We could interpret this as a purely pragmatic act: the scientists removed Hilda because they were afraid her comments would somehow taint the experiment However, we might also view it in a larger context, that science always does its best to remove religion from the equation Put another way, religion has no place in science 3. What is the significance of the maze in the novel? The maze is a literal and symbolic element in Flowers for Algernon. Both Algernon and Charlie must complete mazes as part of the experiment To the experimenters, the maze is a test or marker of intelligence, and successful completion of the maze is viewed as evidence of learning Metaphorically, the maze is a symbol for life As with a paper maze, life is an ever-changing affair and there are various pathways, dead ends, and even rewards associated with it Several times in the novel Charlie encounters maze-like structures, such as in a dream when he remembers being separated from his mother in a department store or when he runs in the darkness through the maze-like paths of the park to elude would-be captors One might suggest that prior to his operation Charlie was hopelessly lost in the maze of life Of course, if Charlie wasn't aware that life is difficult, perhaps this is an unfair assessment As the experiment progresses, both Charlie and Algernon are required to complete increasingly complex mazes Thus, the novel asserts that the more intelligent one becomes, the more difficult it is to navigate the maze of life A maze is a type of puzzle whose completion offers some reward Initially, Algernon receives food as a reward for completing the maze However, as the mouse's intelligence becomes stronger, he no longer desires the food As Charlie observes, Algernon seems to want to complete the mazes purely for the sake of trying This is also true of Charlie, for whom, initially at least, the maze is simply a game with no perceived consequences or rewards However, as his intelligence grows, so too does his desire to complete the maze His first motivation is simply to beat Algernon; he recognizes that it is embarrassing to be beaten, particularly by an animal As his mind continues to grow, completion of the maze becomes a way of proving to himself and the rest of the world that he is intelligent Near the end of the novel, Charlie's quest to uncover the flaw in the experiment can be likened to completing his final maze This time, however, the maze is completely within his mind, and the reward is literally the life or death of the new Charlie 4. Besides becoming smarter, how does Charlie's intellect change as the experiment unfolds? As the experiment unfolds, Charlie's intellect blossoms in several ways The first change involves a more developed ego Prior to the operation, Charlie loses a maze race with Algernon but is not overly concerned that the mouse has beaten him In essence, he doesn't have a strong self-image The next time Charlie races Algernon, following the operation, he becomes angry that the mouse has beaten him Here we see that a sense of self-image has developed It is, of course, further developed as Charlie's intelligence increases to the point where he can easily beat the mouse With Algernon's defeat, Charlie takes a certain pride in himself As his intellect is further magnified, Charlie develops a heightened sense of self-importance; he sees himself as playing an important role in the lives of others, and at one point he even fantasizes that he might be able to help all mentally challenged individuals by coming up with a solution to the experiment's flaw Another significant change involves Charlie's imagination Prior to the operation Charlie seems to exists mainly in the physical world Like an animal, he reacts to the various stimuli confronting him, in an almost reflexive manner He does not appear to fantasize or to have much of an imagination This is why he initially has so much trouble with the Rorschach inkblot test Following the operation, the creative side of his mind flourishes His dreams become more vivid and more complex, and he actively fantasizes He also demonstrates creativity, gaining an appreciation of art and by taking up the piano and creating music A third changes involves Charlie's sexuality Prior to the operation Charlie exhibits no awareness of his own sexuality This, however, changes following the operation The first indication that Charlie is developing sexual feelings occurs when his co-workers from the bakery take him to a bar and force him to dance with a woman The activity stirs some odd and unfamiliar feelings within him Not long after his dance, Charlie has a "wet dream" involving the woman The next step in his sexual development is seen in his crush on his teacher, Alice Kinnian Charlie's relationship with Fay, the painter across the hall, constitutes a much more complex, adult type of sexual relationship Finally, when Charlie eventually reconnects with Alice, we sense that he has developed the full capacity for love 5. The entire story takes place over nine months. Why might the author have chosen this span of time? The author may have chosen a nine-month span to depict Charlie's mental rise and decline because that is the time it takes for a normal human conception and birth In many ways, prior to the operation Charlie is child-like Though he is thirty-two years old, his world is rather womb-like: it is small, comfortable, and generally protective For Charlie, the operation is like a rebirth It gives him a new intellect, personality, expanded range of emotions, and new ways of interacting with the world He is suddenly born into the world at large, a world of wonders, delights, and, unfortunately, pain It is a world that he never knew existed The nine-month timeframe also prompts the reader to consider in what other ways Charlie was "created." It is clear that Professor Nemur feels he and his team have created Charlie At one point, Nemur asserts that they have made Charlie what he is today, and he resents that Charlie is not more appreciative of what they have done for him Charlie deeply rejects Nemur's stance, insisting that he was as much of a person prior to the operation as following it While the novel does not raise any direct comparisons to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it clearly echoes Victor Frankenstein's creation of his monster and the monster's eventual rebellion against his creator Another force that has created Charlie is his mother The story makes it clear that Rose Gordon had a significant role in shaping her son's life Her initial attempts to "cure" him resulted in Charlie's life-long desire to become smarter Of course, as her attitude toward her son darkened, resulting in Charlie's institutionalization and the complete severing of connections with his family, Charlie became subconsciously traumatized Many of his nightmares and his problems dealing with women can be traced back to his mother's actions Throughout much of the novel, Charlie struggles to deal with the impact his mother had on him

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Flowers For Algernon

64 pages • 2 hours read

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Flowers for Algernon is a famous 1966 novel by Daniel Keyes. It began as a short story, which Keyes later expanded into a full novel. Flowers for Algernon tells the story of a mentally challenged man, Charlie Gordon, who undergoes a surgical procedure that dramatically increases his IQ. It's the same procedure that's already been performed successfully on a mouse named Algernon.

At first, Charlie's life is improved by his expanded mental capacity, but he comes to realize people he thought were his friends were mocking him. He falls in love with his former teacher, Miss Kinnian, but soon surpasses her intellectually, leaving him feeling isolated. When Algernon's intelligence begins to decline and he dies, Charlie sees the fate that awaits him, and soon he begins to regress as well. In his final letter, Charlie asks that someone leave flowers on Algernon's grave, which is in Charlie's backyard.

Questions About Flowers for Algernon

• What is important about the title? Is there a reference in the novel that explains the title?
• What statement does the novel make, directly or indirectly, about the treatment of the mentally challenged?
• Flowers for Algernon was published in the mid-1960s. Are Keyes' views on mental disability and intelligence dated? Does he use terms to describe Charlie that are no longer considered appropriate?
• What passages could have been grounds for banning Flowers for Algernon (as it was several times)?
• Flowers for Algernon is what's known as an epistolary novel, told in letters and correspondence. Is this an effective technique for showing Charlie's rise and decline? Why or why not? To whom do you think the letters and notes Charlie writes are written?
• Is Charlie consistent in his actions? What is unique about his situation?
• Consider the location and time period of the novel. Would changing one or both have changed the story significantly?
• How are women portrayed in Flowers for Algernon ? What would have been different about the story if Charlie had been a woman who underwent such a controversial surgery?
• Are the doctors who operate on Charlie acting in his best interests? Do you think Charlie would have gone through with the operation if he knew what the ultimate outcome would be?
• Several publishers rejected Flowers for Algernon , demanding Keyes rewrite it with a happier ending, with at least one suggesting Charlie should marry Alice Killian. Do you think that would have been a satisfying conclusion to the story? How would it have affected the integrity of the story's central theme?
• What is the central message of the novel? Is there more than one moral to the story of Charlie's treatment?
• What does the novel suggest about the connection between intelligence and happiness?
• What genre do you think this novel belongs to: ​Science fiction or horror? Explain your answer.
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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Disability Studies › Analysis of Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon

Analysis of Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 24, 2021

“Flowers for Algernon,” first published in 1959, is considered a landmark work in both science fiction and disability literature. It was expanded into a novel of the same name, which was published in 1966. Both the short story and the novel consist of a series of progress reports that track Charlie Gordon, a 37-year-old man suffering from mental retardation, through an experimental procedure designed to triple his I.Q. Charlie is the first human to receive the operation, though it has been successfully completed on a laboratory mouse, Algernon. Charlie’s early reports are riddled with spelling and grammatical errors; a month after the operation, the reports are grammatically correct. Within two months Charlie complains that the doctors in charge of the experiment cannot read Hindustani and Chinese. This rapid growth in intelligence from an I.Q. of 68 to triple that figure is accompanied by a crippling isolation from other people. A decline in his intelligence is first predicted by Algernon’s rapid regression, and Charlie soon conducts experiments into his own condition. He finds that his regression will be as rapid as his ascent to genius. The last progress reports are similar in style to those at the beginning, and Charlie closes the story by telling the doctors that he will be leaving New York, presumably to enter a state-operated home.

Experimentation is the predominant theme in “Flowers for Algernon.” At the height of his intelligence, Charlie complains that Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur, the doctors conducting the experiment, are not the mental giants he once perceived them to be. Some of his complaining can be accurately perceived as hubris—his aforementioned complaint about the professors’ knowledge of foreign languages is certainly unreasonable, considering their wide reading knowledge in Western languages. Much of Charlie’s observations about the doctors, though, can be interpreted as a nuanced critique on the medical establishment. The doctors argue at several points in the story, and the arguments reveal that they are often more interested in self-advancement than in Charlie’s development. Dr. Nemur is especially held to ridicule because he is primarily driven by his wife’s prodding. If the doctors are in a certain sense using Charlie, then the parallelism between him and Algernon takes on more significance. In the short story, Charlie is implicitly similar to Algernon because the doctors use him for advancement of their careers. The novel makes this theme more explicit through confrontations between Charlie and Dr. Nemur about the latter’s attitude toward the former. Dr. Nemur states that Charlie is a new creation of sorts, that he has achieved personhood through the experiment.

Daniel Keyes/Los Angeles Times

Charlie’s status as experimental subject comes into focus at the end of “Flowers for Algernon,” when he researches the consequences of the experiment conducted that made him a genius. The turning point in both the short story and the novel happens in a diner: A retarded young man breaks a plate and the customers, including Charlie, laugh at him. The moment defines the rest of the story because Charlie realizes how deeply he has isolated himself from other people during his ascent to genius. Although he has gained many gifts, he has also lost his meaningful relationships; thus, the connection with the retarded young man motivates Charlie to pursue research for the betterment of all who suffer from retardation. His research is set in opposition to the research of Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur because it is conducted solely to improve the lives of other people. Moreover, Charlie readily accepts his discouraging conclusion— namely, that the experiment conducted on him has no practical value because of the swift regression into retardation—and asks that the results be published. Charlie’s research can be read, therefore, as a commentary on medical experimentation and a call to consider the subjects involved—particularly those with limited abilities—as individuals.

The emphasis on experimentation in “Flowers for Algernon” can largely be explained by its roots in science fiction. Critics have observed that the experiment conducted on Charlie and his subsequent regression into mental retardation indicate that “Flowers for Algernon” properly belongs in the science fiction genre. Moreover, the short story and the novel won the most prestigious awards in science fiction (respectively, the Hugo award and the Nebula award).

“Flowers for Algernon” can also be classified as disability literature because its explorations delve into fundamental questions about the place of disabled people in modern American society. Charlie’s descriptions of other retarded people are telling—he speaks of vacant smiles and empty eyes. This perception is remarkably similar to Dr. Nemur’s assertion in the novel that Charlie did not properly exist as a person before the experiment. Disability remains an important public policy issue, which contributes to the enduring popularity of “Flowers for Algernon.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY Biklen, Douglas. “Constructing Inclusion: Lessons from Critical, Disability Narratives.” International Journal of Inclusive Education 4 (2000): 337–353. Clareson, Thomas D. Understanding Contemporary American Science Fiction: The Formative Period, 1926–1970. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1990, 231–233. Keyes, Daniel. Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer’s Journey. New York: Harvest-Harcourt, 2004. Moser, Patrick. “An Overview of Flowers for Algernon.” In Exploring Novels. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 1998. Rabkin, Eric S. “The Medical Lessons of Science Fiction.” Literature and Medicine 20 (2001): 13–25. Scholes, Robert. Structural Fabulation: An Essay on Fiction of the Future. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1975. Small, Robert, Jr. “Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.” In Censored Books: Critical Viewpoints, edited by Nicholas J. Karolides, Lee Burress, and John M. Kean, 249–255. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1993. Whittington-Walsh, Fiona. “From Freaks to Savants: Disability and Hegemony from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1933) to Sling Blade (1997).” Disability & Society 17 (2002): 695–707.

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Flowers for Algernon

Daniel keyes, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Ignorance, Intelligence, and Happiness

After Charlie Gordon has his surgery and begins to progress from mental disability to brilliance, he has an argument with one of his coworkers, Fanny Birden . Fanny tells Charlie that it was a sin for Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, because in doing so, they traded eternal happiness for knowledge. The apparent tradeoff between happiness and intelligence is one of the most important themes in Flowers for Algernon …

Intelligence vs. Wisdom and Morality

In Flowers for Algernon , Keyes establishes a tradeoff between intelligence and happiness, and at the same time makes a different point about the relationship between intelligence and wisdom. By the novel’s midpoint Charlie Gordon is a genius: his brain holds a staggering amount of information about the world. And yet in spite of Charlie’s vast knowledge and voracious reading, he finds himself incapable of handling the most basic “real-world” situations. The distinction between intelligence…

Pride, Hubris, and the Tragic Hero

From the very beginning, the readers of Flowers for Algernon are meant to identify with Charlie Gordon in one important respect: his pride and ambition. Charlie’s pride—his desire for respect, intelligence, and prestige—is at the center of his character: without pride Professor Nemur would never have chosen him to undergo the operation that makes him a genius. And yet Charlie’s pride is his greatest weakness as well as his greatest strength. Through pride, Charlie takes…

Cruelty and Bullying

Flowers for Algernon studies the relationship between intelligent and unintelligent people, or more generally, between the powerful and the weak. Because Charlie Gordon travels between these two worlds—moving from mental disability to brilliance, and then back to mental disability again—he comes to see the ways in which people mock and bully their intellectual inferiors, partly out of cruelty, and partly out of insecurity.

People of average intelligence bully the mentally disabled, Keyes suggests, because they…

Love and Sexuality

Arguably the biggest change that Charlie Gordon undergoes in Flowers for Algernon —even bigger than his rise from mental disability to genius—is the change in his romantic life. At the beginning of the novel, Charlie is completely ignorant of the opposite sex (he’s assumed to be straight). He’s never even kissed a girl, and from an early age his mother, Rose Gordon , has impressed upon him that he mustn’t touch women. As he ages…

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Flowers For Algernon — The Power of Intelligence in “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes

The Power of Intelligence in "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

• Categories: Flowers For Algernon

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Words: 597 |

Published: Mar 6, 2024

Words: 597 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

The desire for intelligence, the transformation of charlie gordon, the ethical dilemma, the role of intelligence in society.

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