Overview
Flowers for Algernon is told as a series of “Progress Reports” written by Charlie Gordon, a 32-year-old man with an IQ of 68. As Keyes’s […]
Month: November 2008
Themes and Characters
Relating the story of a mentally impaired man whose intelligence is increased through surgery and then lost, Flowers for Algernon touches on a number of […]
Literary Qualities
Keyes’s remarkable use of first-person (“I”) point of view is perhaps the most important source of Flowers for Algernon’s narrative power. Charlie’s journey from an […]
Social Sensitivity
Written during the height of the civil rights movement in the United States, Flowers for Algernon shows a profound concern with the rights of individuals […]
Topics for Discussion
1. Research Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychology and discuss how Charlie Gordon’s emotional problems (not his low IQ) can be explained in terms of Freudian […]
Ideas for Reports and Papers
1. Research the history of public attitudes towards mental retardation in the United States and discuss the problems Charlie Gordon faces in the novel in […]
Related Titles and Adaptations
The Minds of Billy Milligan is Daniel Keyes’s 1981 nonfiction study of the case of Billy Milligan. When Milligan was arrested and charged with rape […]
About the Author
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809, the second son of David Poe, an actor, and his actress wife, Elizabeth […]