How does the author use inkblots to demonstrate Charlie's increasing intelligence in Flowers for Algernon?
Before Charlie Gordon receives the experimental brain surgery, Burt gives him the inkblot test and encourages him to explain the images he sees in each of them. Charlie completely misinterprets the instructions and attempts to literally find pictures in the inkblots, instead of associating the shapes and patterns in an...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
abstract manner. Following the surgery, Charlie learns that the inkblots are called the Rorschach test and begins to see images in the inkblots like "A pair of bats tugging at each other" and "two men fencing with swords."
Keyes reveals Charlie's growing intelligence via the Rorschach test to illustrate his enhanced perspective and ability to utilize in-depth analysis. Before the surgery, Charlie could not examine the inkblots or correctly associate the shapes to the images they formed. The outcome of the second Rorschach test indicates that Charlie's experimental surgery was a success and that he is becoming more intelligent.
How does Charlie react to the inkblot test in Flowers for Algernon?
When Charlie takes the inkblot test, he is sure that he failed it. The inkblot/Rorschach test is supposed to allow people to project their innermost emotions onto the inkblot shapes on the cards they are shown. However, Charlie tells the examiner that he does not see anything on the inkblots. He even tries to examine them from various distances and uses his glasses. Still, he sees no pictures in them.
The examiner then uses inkblots with two colors of ink. Still, Charlie does not see any pictures. When the examiner asks him to pretend, he says that he imagines a fountain pen spilling ink all over a table cloth. Charlie is afraid in the end that he failed the test, as he has little capacity to imagine anything based on the pictures he is shown.
How does Charlie react to the inkblot test in Flowers for Algernon?
In "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon is given a series of tests to determine whether or not he will be a good candidate for a surgery that might increase his intelligence. One of the tests Charlie is given is the Rorschach Test, also called the Inkblot Test. Charlie does not understand the test, and he becomes nervous because it reminds him of when he was a child and failed tests, often spilling ink on them. When the test proctor asks Charlie what he sees, he responds that he sees an inkblot. The proctor tries to get Charlie to understand that most people look at inkblots and see pictures, but Charlie still does not get it. He wants to put his glasses on, so that he can see better. He says,
"I told him it was a very nice inkblot with little points all around the edges" (Keyes 2)
Eventually, the tester gives up, and Charlie thinks he has failed the test.