Flowers for Algernon

Grade Levels

Excerpt

Parents: Why won’t they shut up?

• Published in 1966, Flowers for Algernon has generated more than its share of controversy.

• Most of the controversy centered around Charlie’s struggle to understand his sexual desires as his intelligence grows.

• Occasionally banned from libraries on the grounds of immorality and explicit behavior

• Another aspect to receive criticism is the treatment Charlie receives before he gains intelligence.

• Most challenges to Flowers for Algernon prove to be unsuccessful.

Ignorance = Bliss?

• These are the themes explored in Flowers for Algernon.

• How should you treat someone who doesn’t understand how you treat them?

• Does knowledge of unhappiness make us unhappy?

• Does intelligence control emotion?

Algernon

• Algernon and the treatment he receives is a metaphor for the way people treat Charlie.

• People use Algernon to advance their own agendas and make themselves look better, while nobody really cares about Algernon.

Charlie Gordon

• Charlie is a stranger, representing the “Other.”

• Before the surgery, nobody wants anything to do with Charlie.

• After the surgery, everyone wants nothing to do with Charlie.

• Looking for acceptance? None of that here!

Alice Kinnian

• Alice represents an impotent attempt by society to understand and help others.

• Does she see something in Charlie that the others don’t? Is that why she suggests Charlie for the procedure?

Rose Gordon

• Rose Gordon is what passes as Charlie’s Mother.

• Rose represents society’s desire to ignore its own differences rather than embrace or even understanding them.

• Rose protected Charlie until she gave birth to Norma.

Norma Gordon

• Charlie’s sister is tormented by the other kids because of her brother’s condition.

• Norma is a spoiled child who blames her brother for her own issues and represents society’s inability to accept anything different from the majority.

• However, she is a victim of her own prejudices when her mother falls ill, & she spends the rest of her life caring for her

Dr. Jay Strauss & Professor Harold Nemur

• To these two guys Charlie is just another test subject, no more important than Algernon.

• Professor Nemur can’t understand Charlie’s unhappiness as Charlie’s IQ grows. He cares only for his own career and proving his own facts. He feels that Charlie owes him something for the incredible gifts he gave.

• Dr.Strauss is a Psychiatrist and cares more about what is going on in Charlie’s head. He tries to analyze Charlie’s progress.

Science is SO COOL!

• Dr.Strauss and Dr.Nemur represent science as the main means of progress.

• Dr.Strauss uses various tests to determine how Charlie is advancing. Using Rorschach tests to objectively determine something highly subjective (Imagination and creativity)

• In the end of the story, how has Charlie progressed, has anyone really helped him at all? Or is he worse off than before?

About

I developed this powerpoint when I was acting dramaturg for our high school's theatre company. Its analysis of characters works equally well for an English class reading the novel, or a theatre class studying the play.