Flowers For Algernon Setting
Flowers for Algernon was published in 1966, after a very successful short story, published in 1959. It is set in New York city in 1965 in the labs of Beekman college, where Charly Gordon studies the effects of a surgery designed to raise his I.Q. Although it was written 45 years ago, it has a modern feel as Daniel Keyes (the author) doesn't really discuss the technology available to Charly. The surgery was preformed after very promising results from a mouse named Algernon. Charly develops a close relationship with Algernon because of the connection they have from being the only two 'people' in the world to ever have the surgery with supposedly successful results.
Flowers For Charly 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.
Sites To Visit
A few websites related to Flowers For Algernon are:
1.
http://www.thematzats.com/algernon/
2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_for_Algernon
3.
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz772778db4a0.html
The first website contains a few games, such as a I.Q. test, a crossword puzzle, and a rorschach test (where you interperet random ink blots). This site is a good way to pass the time. The second website is the wikipedia page for Flowers For Algernon. It contains a LOT of information about the book and how it got started. This one's good if you're looking for information on the book. The third link is a quiz including questions like 'Who was Charly's teacher at the adult center?' and 'What is Charly's final wish?' it is a quick test of your Flowers For Algernon knowledge. These where the three best links that I found, but I am sure that there are many more good one's for the Flowers For Algernon Fanatics!
Final Assignment: Review
Flowers for Algernon could quite possibly be almost, but not nearly the worst good book that I have ever read. At the start of my reading adventure I was exited, "This book is gonna be good" I thought. But somewhere in the middle it lost its pizazz. Charly got smart, I felt dumb, and the story lost its wonder. I kept going, waiting for the book to improve, but the end of the story had come and I found myself wishing I had not wasted so much time reading and had instead done something more interesting. In the beginning I saw potential, in the middle I was bored, and at the end I was ever so relieved to be finished.
The beginning of a book is supposed to draw a reader in, and in this aspect Flowers for Algernon was successful. I was interested, exited, enthused. I was willing to read this book. I am sure that the spelling for some was a challenge to read. Charly isn't very smart, and as it is supposed to be written by him, the beginning wasn't either. Misspellings and grammar mistakes galore. Weirdly though, I enjoyed it, I thought it was fun to have to figure out each sentence piece by piece. Even though the writing was bad, the idea (of Charly getting a surgery to become smart) was extremely enthralling.
The middle of the book was a different kind of challenge to read then the beginning. No spelling mistakes, no grammar mistakes, and no fun. Charly got smart and I got beyond bored. Not to mention uncomfortable. Charly was discovering who he was, what is place was in the world, and learning things, things that I didn't necessarily want to hear about him learning. I started counting pages to the end of the book. Only 100 more pages, only 90 more pages, only 80 more pages...it was agonizing. I developed a very un-friendly attitude towards the little pile of paper and ink that was Flowers For Algernon.
The end brought relief, I was done, done finally with this painful excursion into Charly Gordon's house of horrors. The end was good, nothing extraordinary or too unexpected. I mean there's only two ways it can go right? Either he stays smart or he doesn't. Can't say I'm shocked in the way that it turned out.
Flowers for Algernon leaves me feeling confused. I didn't hate it, but I definitely didn't like it. Looking back on the book, it really wasn't too terrible. Good idea, good writing, good character development. Way to slow paced. The beginning was really cool, the view into Charly's mind was really well written and interesting. The middle was boring, as was a smarter version of Charly. I think that when his intelligence stopped increasing so rapidly my attention span decreased rapidly. The end was a relief, I don't want to reveal what happens, but I do like the way it turned out. Charly
Sites To Visit
A few websites related to Flowers For Algernon are:
1.
http://www.thematzats.com/algernon/
2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_for_Algernon
3.
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz772778db4a0.html
The first website contains a few games, such as a I.Q. test, a crossword puzzle, and a rorschach test (where you interperet random ink blots). This site is a good way to pass the time. The second website is the wikipedia page for Flowers For Algernon. It contains a LOT of information about the book and how it got started. This one's good if you're looking for information on the book. The third link is a quiz including questions like 'Who was Charly's teacher at the adult center?' and 'What is Charly's final wish?' it is a quick test of your Flowers For Algernon knowledge. These where the three best links that I found, but I am sure that there are many more good one's for the Flowers For Algernon Fanatics!
Final Assignment: Review
Flowers for Algernon could quite possibly be almost, but not nearly the worst good book that I have ever read. At the start of my reading adventure I was exited, "This book is gonna be good" I thought. But somewhere in the middle it lost its pizazz. Charly got smart, I felt dumb, and the story lost its wonder. I kept going, waiting for the book to improve, but the end of the story had come and I found myself wishing I had not wasted so much time reading and had instead done something more interesting. In the beginning I saw potential, in the middle I was bored, and at the end I was ever so relieved to be finished.
The beginning of a book is supposed to draw a reader in, and in this aspect Flowers for Algernon was successful. I was interested, exited, enthused. I was willing to read this book. I am sure that the spelling for some was a challenge to read. Charly isn't very smart, and as it is supposed to be written by him, the beginning wasn't either. Misspellings and grammar mistakes galore. Weirdly though, I enjoyed it, I thought it was fun to have to figure out each sentence piece by piece. Even though the writing was bad, the idea (of Charly getting a surgery to become smart) was extremely enthralling.
The middle of the book was a different kind of challenge to read then the beginning. No spelling mistakes, no grammar mistakes, and no fun. Charly got smart and I got beyond bored. Not to mention uncomfortable. Charly was discovering who he was, what is place was in the world, and learning things, things that I didn't necessarily want to hear about him learning. I started counting pages to the end of the book. Only 100 more pages, only 90 more pages, only 80 more pages...it was agonizing. I developed a very un-friendly attitude towards the little pile of paper and ink that was Flowers For Algernon.
The end brought relief, I was done, done finally with this painful excursion into Charly Gordon's house of horrors. The end was good, nothing extraordinary or too unexpected. I mean there's only two ways it can go right? Either he stays smart or he doesn't. Can't say I'm shocked in the way that it turned out.
Flowers for Algernon leaves me feeling confused. I didn't hate it, but I definitely didn't like it. Looking back on the book, it really wasn't too terrible. Good idea, good writing, good character development. Way to slow paced. The beginning was really cool, the view into Charly's mind was really well written and interesting. The middle was boring, as was a smarter version of Charly. I think that when his intelligence stopped increasing so rapidly my attention span decreased rapidly. The end was a relief, I don't want to reveal what happens, but I do like the way it turned out. Charly
