Flowers For Algernon Symbols

There are two very important symbols in Flowers For Algernon. The first is Algernon the mouse, Charly's companion and the first successful patient of the intelligence boosting surgery, and the second is the window that Charly looked out of as a child.

Charly studies Algernon as he gets smarter and smarter, investigating the effects of the surgery and trying to predict his intellectual future. Algernon is the ultimate symbol of Charly, as whatever happens to the mouse is thought to happen to the man. Algernon is also a symbol of progress and hope, at least, until things start going downhill.

The second symbol, the window, gives the reader a glimpse of what Charly's childhood was like. After the surgery he starts remembering his youth, taking note of the perspective of all his memory's. Young Charly is always looking out the window, at the children in his neighborhood playing games without him. It is a sign of neglect and loneliness.