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Summary: Flowers For Algernon - A Sampling of Key Passages
Review: "...I got to try to be smart like other pepul. Then when I am smart they will talk to me and I can sit with them and listen...If your smart you can have lots of frends to talk to and you never get lonley by yourself all the time." (Page 15) At this point in the story, Daniel Keyes introduces Charlie Gordon as someone who is eager to please and determined to be as smart as he can possibly be. Charlie believes that only intelligent people are able to make friends. Therefore, there is a constant urge to become intelligent and to learn new things. Although, he does not fully understand the world around him, Charlie is well aware of his mental inferiority to it. He feels lonely and detached from the people around him, as if things happened ten times as fast to him than to anyone else. It's hard to understand the significance and the point made in many occasions, so most of the time, Charlie dwells in the darkness of his crippled mind. Facing the giant world with a sole, empty smile. He wants to be normal, or at least his illusion of normal, like sitting at a bakery table and talking about god and politics. And for Charlie, in order to be "normal", he needs to be smart and mentally capable of doing all the things that other people do, each and everyday of their lives. "I resent Nemur's constant references to me as a laboratory specimen...I'm a human being, a person -with parents and memories and a history- and I was before [he] ever wheeled me into that operating room!" (Pages 105 and 149) This passage demonstrates Charlie's irritation towards Nemur's conceited theory that he is a scientific god, who created Charlie Gordon, and that before the operation, it was as if he had never even existed. What angers Charlie, most of all, is the idea that his old self was a mere, insignificant laboratory specimen, and that millions of people around the world think that way about exceptional human beings. They believe that mentally challenged people, like Charlie, could be considered as dead as a critical coma patient, who breathes and lives only with the help of machines. Such opinions and beliefs are no help when it comes to respecting a retarded person. "Intelligence is one of the greatest human gifts. But all too often a search for knowledge drives out the search for love. This is something else I've discovered for myself very recently. I present it to you as a hypothesis: Intelligence without the ability to give and receive affection leads to mental and moral breakdown, to neurosis, and possibly even psychosis." (Page 230) Charlie has realized that what he thought was the answer to his problems in the first place, was actually a step down from the ladder of human affection. In his struggle to approximate people, he has regressed from his social status, instead of scaling higher on it. At first, his empty smile and clumsiness impeded him to gain respect and build friendships, but at least it amused the people around him, resulting into a not so utter loneliness. Which was more than he ever got with his intelligence superiority and rapid understanding of the world around him. Charlie was finally at the opposite side of the fence, but it meant nothing since his genius had not been tempered by human affection.
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Summary: An excellent novel with some reservations
Review: Daniel Keyes book deserves its classic status. It certainly makes one think about the nature of human intelligence and our response to those less fortunate than others. With regard to the structure of the novel it betrays its novelette origins with a feeling of padding in some places and, apart from Charlie, character development is at a premium. The most disappointing aspect of the book as far as I am concerned, however, is the rather cliched depiction of both science and scientists. How much better it would have been not to have felt the need to explain the biochemical processes leading to Charlie's transformation. Apart from the fact that they make no sense scientifically they detract fom the flow and mystery of the book. It would have been sufficient to allow the readers' minds to fill in the missing information. As for the scientists, all are quite clearly the villians of the piece. For much of the book they are referred to only by their surnames. Is this a subliminal attempt to distance the reader from these people or am I reading too much into it? Are all scientists as callous as the ones depicted here? Finally, the use of such terminology as 'moron' etc to describe Charlie is definitely not PC in todays terms. Does this reflect the terminology of the era the story was originally written in (the '50's) or is it an attempt by Mr. Keyes to further demonstrate the disregard the supposedly sane have for the mentally challenged. Despite these niggles, this is a book well worth reading. There can have been few better attempts at dealing with such a sensitive subject.
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Summary: Surprisingly Good
Review: We had to read this book for class. I didn't think I would like it too much 'cause someone said it was like "Of Mice and Men", which I didn't like, but this book is completely different. It is strikingly original, at some points sad, and very, very good. The story is about a mentally challenged adult named Charlie Gordon. He has an operation that makes him very intelligent. The rest you will have to read the book to find out. This book really makes you think of how fortunate we are and that we really shouldn't take things for granted. A must read.
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Summary: Flowers For Algernon Reviewed by Meg
Review: Flowers for Algernon was a really good book i enjoyed it alot. I rated it a four because some people might not understand it because of some of the writing and wording used it in. It started out with progress reports that Charley wrote everyday about what happens and what he thinks, these progress reports go through the whole book. Charley has problems and he acts very young and can not read, spell and has a very hard time understanding people and what they ask him to do. He goes to college and there are professors that help him. Charley has to take many different test for the professors. The professors are making a experiment and it is to help people like Charley and over time it is sopose to make them remeber and be able to do things that others can. Charley was choosen to be the student to do the experiment. They put him through many different things such as listening to music while sleeping and playing tapes. For awhile many things were getting better but at the end of the book Charley forgets everything and goes back to the way he use to be. Charley also leaves teh college because he found his family and he left to go live with them. The rest of you the book you will have to find out on your own so get the book its great.
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Summary: Flowers For Algernon
Review: Here is your review the way it will appear: flowers for algernon Reviewer: Kathleen from Usa I found this book to be very interesting. I enjoyed reading it. I liked how the doctors gave Charly the chance to be at least at a normal intellegence level. Actually, because of the operation Charly became extremely smart, even smater than the doctors. I thought that was really cool. I didn't like that Charly's co-workers would critisize him and how Charly thought they were just being friendly and showing how good of friends they were. As i said before i liked this book. Although the reason i gave it a four instead of a five is because i sometimes lost interest and it was really hard to understand because of the way Charly was writting in the diary entry form. There were a few parts that were sad such as when algernon the mouse died which meant that soon charly was going to die also. So, overall i enjoyed reading this book and i intend to read other books written by Daniel Keyes.
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Summary: Absolutely Amazing
Review: This is absolutely the most important book I ever read in my life. "Travels" by Michael Crichton comes close in some ways, but basically this story is one of the most gripping I've ever encountered. It has been a short story, a novel, a movie, a Broadway play, and (I think) forms the basis for the 70s song "What's it all about... Char-liiieeeeeee..." Daniel Keyes drew upon Plato's cave allegory for a lot of the basic structure of the tale. .. Keep a box of kleenex beside you as you read this. Charlie Gordon is a retarded man in his 30s, who is selected to be the subject of a new, highly experimental technique which will triple his "intelligence". What he does with the intelligence, and how he deals with it, are up to him, and he certainly runs into a lot of problems. I think in some ways, Keyes is not only writing about the relationship of the individual to capital-K "knowledge", but also about how we can get along with each other when we are all at different levels. Charlie's newfound, firey compassion for others in his old position, e.g. a retarded boy working in a restaurant who gets mocked, is compelling. You will want to meet Charlie Gordon, you can't help but respect hm as he grapples with major human issues... I first read this as a child, I would guess I was 9 or 10, and at that age I was most impressed with the "coolness" of the idea -- you can watch Charlie's intelligence climb steadily as he improves his spelling with each successive "progris riport" he writes. As an adult, I appreciate the different models of Mind that Keyes was playing with here, and how Charlie comes face to face with one human problem after another. The story also has a lot to say about the basic human drive to understand the universe and his place in it. I think this book could be quite inspiring to people with learning disabilities -- the image of Charlie totally flunking out of school, but then years later sitting still in a library, flipping pages of books at one page/second as he reads about the etymology of ancient languages, Hindu history, calculus, etc... It's just so inspiring. Good things happen to him because of his will to keep pushing himself, but also because he is naturally thoughtful, even when retarded, and likes to be reflective.... The ending will make you cry, I guarantee it. I was sort of reminded of the servant that Caesar used to take through the streets with him, when on parade, whose job it was to keep whispering in Caesar's ear "remember that you are mortal". Charlie is mortal too, and as his newfound brilliance wanes, and breaks down in the end, the reader is left feeling bewildered at the magnitude of the loss, and confused as to what to do with all the energy this book stirs up. I'm not sure what Keyes wanted us to do with that energy -- maybe turn it inwards, maybe use it to reach out to others... probably a little of each. Please read this story, and just mull it over a little. You won't regret it.
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Summary: An emotional tale of mice and men
Review: There is probably no one reading 'Flowers for Algernon' nowadays who doesn't know its story. Yet, unlike with many other SF novels, this does detract from the enjoyment in actually reading it, mainly because of its strong emotional impact. In my opinion, Charlie is not the real protagonist of this novel, even if he tells the story. He is a tragic hero, and his tragedy is palpably clear from his writings. Algernon, however, suffers a similar fate without being able to tell anyone about his fear and frustration. In a way, therefore, Charlie tells Algernon's story; his own is finished by the time the mouse's detoriation is clear. So I would celebrate this sorely underestimated mouse, who could teach more famous fellow-mice a thing or two about emotions.
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Summary: The most touching story I have ever read...
Review: I can't say enough about how good this book is. It will touch your heart, and you will never forget it. It is written entirely in the first person, and the character is what I would call a real hero. This is easily the most compelling book I have ever read. It will entirely change your perspective on people living with retardation of any kind.
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Summary: Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover!!!
Review: When I first got this book from the library, I was not excited at all about reading. By looking at the cover, it looked like a boring and dull book. After starting it, I felt the complete opposite. I had to read this book as a reading assignment over the summer for my 10th grade English class. When I started to read the book, I got hooked right away. It is a very interesting from the point of view of Charlie and his progress reports. At times, this book seemed too long, and boring. Those times occured in the middle of the book and near the end, when Charlie is at the zenith of his intelligence. When Charlie was very intelligent, sometimes it was hard for me (and most likely other readers) to fully understand his vocabulary and the points he was trying to get across. I was thinking that this may be one of Daniel Keyes techniques, because in making it difficult for the reader to understand, it shows just how smart Charlie really became. I really enjoyed this book a lot, and I think it is a book for all ages; from junior high age to adult. It was very interesting, and I would definately pick it up for a second reading.
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Summary: Tremendous
Review: I had to read this story in my 8th grade English class 35 years ago. Later, the novelette and the book Charlie, based on the movie, came out. I read and enjoyed those too, but I will never forget the impression the original short story had on me. I thought the movie, which starred Cliff Robertson as Charlie, was pretty decent also with Robertson doing a commendable job in the lead role. The story is so well known I won't say much more here, except to say that this tale of a retarded man's rise to, and fall from, genius, is one of the most poignant and moving stories of all time. I'm glad Keyes wrote this remarkable story. I only know of one other like it, Thomas Disch's Camp Concentration, where people are given an experimental drug that multiplies their IQ's several times--greatly amplifying their minds--while the progessively lethal side effects of the drug are killing their bodies at the same time, an interesting concept. If you liked Flowers for Algernon, you might also like Disch's novel. One word of warning--keep a dictionary ready for the end of the book. You'll need it. Flowers for Algernon would be my tie pick for the greatest Sci-Fi short story of all time, the other one being Isaac Asimov's Nightfall.
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