Media & Resources
Daniel Keyes Webpage: www.danielkeyesauthor.com/
GoodReads Quotes Page: www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3337594-flowers-for-algernon
Movie Based On The Book, Charly: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxwja4BH5hk
In the beginning, Charlie is a 32 year old man living in a child’s brain. He struggles to read and write but holds a steady job at a bakery. Charlie believes that his “friends” are his rude and nasty coworkers. But in reality his only true friend is his teacher, Alice Kinnian. She finds at a university a study happening on mice to increase their intelligence, and their looking for human volunteers to conclude the study with. Charlie happily signs up to undergo the surgery. During this process he meets a mouse who already went through the surgery and is showing high signs of intelligence. His name is Algernon. Over time, Charlie studies hard and focuses on learning and soon sees his intelligence growing. While at the same time notices how beautiful his teacher Alice really is. WIth everything going smoothly and Charlie learning more everyday, it is a huge bump in the road when Algernon suddenly dies. Panic sets in to see what will happen to Charlie. Alice continues to help Charlie better his situation while Charlie prepares for the worse. Charlie's I.Q. has grown dramatically and understands his situation. Desperate to live Charlie joins the study at the university to help come up with a solution. To find out what happens READ THE BOOK.
This book was hard to choose a theme for. There can be so many. But overall, I would say the theme is Life isn't always what you want it to be. Throughout the book, you are filled with hope, and happiness but every other page it seems you get hit with something and you lose that hope. In pages 303 to 311 you see the slow decrease in Charlie’s intelligence level. And when you see those words you feel this sense of draining and defeat. You wonder why does it have to end like this? Just as you think life is perfect something comes around and ruins it. “There’s nothing to look forward to. I don’t dare let myself think ahead- only back.”(Pg. 292-293) Even Charlie in his last few days of clarity knows the future is not what he wants. Algernon is the symbol to represent this theme. You look at him at this lucky mouse whose life is changed and can and will do amazing things. But like Charlie, he doesn't get what he wants and life lets him down. I wish this book was happier and I could give you a better theme. But this book makes you face reality
This book was hard to choose a theme for. There can be so many. But overall, I would say the theme is Life isn't always what you want it to be. Throughout the book, you are filled with hope, and happiness but every other page it seems you get hit with something and you lose that hope. In pages 303 to 311 you see the slow decrease in Charlie’s intelligence level. And when you see those words you feel this sense of draining and defeat. You wonder why does it have to end like this? Just as you think life is perfect something comes around and ruins it. “There’s nothing to look forward to. I don’t dare let myself think ahead- only back.”(Pg. 292-293) Even Charlie in his last few days of clarity knows the future is not what he wants. Algernon is the symbol to represent this theme. You look at him at this lucky mouse whose life is changed and can and will do amazing things. But like Charlie, he doesn't get what he wants and life lets him down. I wish this book was happier and I could give you a better theme. But this book makes you face reality