"Flowers For Algernon"

Plot and Conflict

100

What is the climax of the story "Flowers for Algernon"?

When Algernon deteriorates and eventually passes away.

200

What is the narrative hook in "Flowers For Algernon"?

When Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur begin testing Charlie/when Charlie agrees to go through with the surgery. This sets the plot in motion.

300

Which parts of the plot diagram include conflict? Identify two examples of conflict from "Flowers For Algernon", and be sure to identify them as character v. self, character v. society, character v. nature, or character v. character.

Rising Action, Climax, and Falling Action (can be narrative hook too). Charlie v. doctors Charlie v. "his friends" Charlie v. intelligence Charlie v. society Charlie v. himself Charlie v. his past

400

Do you feel Charlie is better off after the effects (increased intelligence) of the surgery wear off?

Answers will vary.

500

Explain the significance of Algernon in the story.

Algernon, is not so much a symbol, as a parallel, an "alter-ego" of Charlie. Initially, he hates Algernon for beating him at every maze. Then he grows fond of him and is comforted to know he is "smart" because of a similar operation. Ultimately, he buries Algernon in the back garden, and puts flowers on his grave. His last thought in the book is that his friends place flowers on the grave of Algernon. The treatment of the white mouse, as in the case of any other laboratory animal, is exploitative and uncaring. Charlie, being considered sub-human is treated very much the same, hence he considers the mouse as an extension of himself.

Irony

100

In “Flowers for Algernon” Charlie writes about Frank Reilly and Joe Carp, “They’re really my friends and they like me.” This is an example of what type of irony?

Dramatic Irony

200

"A man who is a traffic officer gets his license suspended for unpaid parking tickets," is an example of what type of irony?

Situational Irony

300

Identify and explain all three types of irony.

Verbal irony is when a speaker or writer says one thing but actually means the opposite. Situational irony is when the outcome of a situation is inconsistent with what we expect would logically or normally occur. It is the reverse of what we expect will be or happen. Dramatic irony is when the audience or the reader is aware of something that a character does not know.

400

In “Flowers For Algernon” Charlie writes, “They’ve driven me out of the Factory. Now I’m more alone than ever before.” Explain what is ironic about this.

Charlie thought that having the surgery would help him make friends and relate to others; however, the exact opposite happens. After the surgery, Charlie feels more isolated than ever before.

500

You work all afternoon cooking a fancy dinner for your boyfriend. When he takes his first bite, he spits it out into his napkin without you seeing and says to you, "Oh Sweetie, this is wonderful!" This is an example of what type of irony?

Verbal Irony

POV

100

What point of view is "Flowers for Algernon" written in? How do you know?

First person point of view. The author uses "I" in the passage, and the text is written with progress reports.

200

What does the first person point of view add to the story, "Flowers For Algernon"?

This point of view is effective in giving the reader a sense of closeness to the Charlie. It is easier for the reader to sympathize with him when the reader is seeing everything through that character's eyes.

300

Is Charlie a reliable narrator OR an unreliable narrator?

The novel is told in the form of first-person “progress reports” Charlie keeps throughout the course of the experiment. Everything is filtered through Charlie’s mind, the capacities of which change drastically over the course of the novel, as Charlie’s IQ increases. Although there are instances in the story where Charlie can be considered a reliable narrator, the majority of the story he is considered an unreliable narrator.

400

What is third-person limited?

A narrator whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major or minor, has a limited point of view.

500

What is third person omniscient point of view?

A narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, omniscient.

Digging Deeper

100

What does Charlie mean when he says “I felt naked”? This line in the text is surrounded by the following lines: “I wanted to hide myself, and I ran out into the street and I threw-up,” and “Charlie is blushing.”

The “nakedness” is an allusion (reference) to the Garden of Eden and the casting out of Adam and Eve from Paradise after they have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge.

200

Charlie says that the ink blots look like a “pair of bats tugging at something” and “two men fencing with swords." What do you think this symbolizes?

Possible answers include the two doctors arguing, Charlie’s subconscious and conscious desires conflicting, Charlie’s old life versus new life, Charlie’s emotional versus intellectual . Consider the conflict in the story.

300

What do we learn about Charlie through his own analysis of Robinson Crusoe?

Based upon the quotes, “He’s all alone and has no friends,” “marooned on a desert island,” and “I hope he gets a friend and not be lonely,” Charlie is coming to understand what loneliness is. Also, Charlie's ability to think about someone else and their place in the world shows an increased emotional intelligence.

400

An anecdote is a short and amusing story about a real incident or person. What does the anecdote of the dishwasher boy reveal about Charlie?

He says, “I felt sick inside as I looked at his dull, vacuous smile…I felt ashamed for both of us.” Charlie has realized that he was once ridiculed like the dishwasher boy and he, too, misunderstood the taunting as acceptance. He had the same vacuous, unaware existence. He says, “It infuriated me to think that not so long ago I, like this boy, had foolishly played the clown. And I had almost forgotten.” (Keyes may have used the plate as a symbol for Charlie’s brokenness)

500

How does the following allusion, “it was evil when Eve listened to the snake and ate from the tree of knowledge,” compare to Charlie and his experience?

Charlie’s operation is equivalent to Eve eating from the tree of knowledge. His increased intelligence has shown him a darker side of human nature-- the experiment on Charlie, his awareness of Frank and Joe making fun of him, or the experimentation on animals and human subjects.

Miscellanious

100

Make a prediction about what will happen to Charlie when he moves to New York.

He will move to New York, continue to lose his intelligence until he eventually dies.

200

What do you think the author hoped to accomplish in writing this story? In other words, what things does he hope that the reader considers and thinks about during and after reading this story?

Raise awareness of the mistreatment of the mentally disabled, draw attention to human testing, etc.

300

Referring to the incident with the dishwasher boy, Charlie writes, “A child may not know how to feed itself, or what to eat, but it knows of hunger.” Explain what Charlie is trying to communicate here.

Charlie always believed that his biggest ordeal in life was intelligence, but as his character develops, he realizes that acceptance was his true dilemma.

400

What does the "Progress Report" structure add to the story?

Charlie’s initial leaps forward in mental ability are conveyed less by WHAT he writes and more by HOW he writes. Keyes signals Charlie’s changing mental state through the level of accuracy or inaccuracy of the grammar, spelling, and punctuation in Charlie’s progress reports. This structure also enables the reader to emphasize with Charlie through the first person point of view.

500

When writing to the doctors, Charlie states, “I am sorry, however, that my own contribution to the field must rest upon the ashes of the work of the two men I regard so highly.” Identify what Charlie is apologizing for and explain what Charlie means by “rest on the ashes”.

Charlie is apologizing that the experiment did not turn out the way they had intended. Charlie uses the phrase, "rest on ashes" to show that although they learned from the experiment, the result was failure.