Character
This 32-year-old bakery worker with an IQ of 68 writes “progris riports” to help doctors see if an operation can make him smarter.
Who is Charlie Gordon?
This New York City bakery is where Charlie sweeps floors, runs errands, and proudly enjoys free bread and cake.
What is Mr. Donner's Bakery?
The entire story is written in this first-person format, letting readers see events only through Charlie’s written reports.
What is 1st person?
When readers see that people are cruel to Charlie even though he thinks they are his friends, the story is using this kind of irony.
What is dramatic irony
Charlie's simple, honest voice in the early reports primarily appeals to this rhetorical mode, stirring readers’ feelings of sympathy.
What is pathos?
This night-school teacher at Beekman College recommends Charlie for the experiment because of his strong motivation and kindness.
Who is Miss Kinnian?
This adult education program at Beekman College is where Charlie attends reading and writing classes three nights a week.
What is The Beekman College Center for R* Adults?
Charlie’s early entries are marked by this kind of spelling, in which words like “progress report” appear as “progris riport.”
What are misspellings?
Keyes often compares Charlie’s mental changes to non-human things using “like” or “as,” which is an example of this device.
The scientific language of the doctors and references to tests, charts, and experiments are meant to appeal to this logical mode of persuasion.
These two scientists design the intelligence-raising experiment and argue over how and when to present their findings.
Who are Dr. Strauss and Prof. Nemur?
This kind of medical facility, connected to Beekman, is where Charlie goes to take tests and eventually have the operation.
What is Beekman College? (Hospital/ Medical Facility)
As Charlie’s intelligence increases, his sentences become longer and more complex, showing a shift in this element of style.
What is syntax (sentence structure)?
Describing the maze races so vividly that readers can picture Algernon scurrying and Charlie struggling is an example of this sensory device.
By showing Charlie’s determination to learn and his promise to “try real hard,” the author uses this appeal to convince us of his character and reliability.
What is ethos?
This mouse, who beats Charlie in maze races before surgery, is the only previous success of the experiment.
Who is Algernon?
This specific place in the lab is where Charlie battles Algernon by trying to solve a maze as fast as the mouse.
What is Beekman University Lab?
Keyes’s choice to have the writing style change as Charlie changes is an example of using this aspect of form to mirror character growth.
What is form/ structure?
When Charlie’s progress reports hint that the experiment may not be as safe or permanent as the doctors claim, it is an example of this device that hints at future events.
What is foreshadowing?
Charlie’s repeated statement that he wants to be “smart like other pepul” appeals to this shared human desire and draws readers into his dream.
What is repetition or pathos?
These bakery coworkers laugh at Charlie and use the phrase “pulling a Charlie” to describe doing something foolish.
Who are Frank Reilly and Joe Carp?
In Progress Reports 1–7, this span of time passes between Charlie’s first “progris riport” and his early entries after surgery.
What are several weeks?
Because we only see what Charlie notices and understands, the novel uses this limited point of view that can leave other characters’ motives “cloudy.”
What is first‑person limited point of view?
Giving Algernon almost human importance in the story—even in the early reports—is an example of this device, where non-human characters seem humanlike
What is personification?
The progress reports invite readers to judge the experiment and the doctors for themselves, using this rhetorical technique that encourages questioning and reflection.
What is rhetorical question?