In my sentiment “ Flowers for Algernon ” written by Daniel Keyes is a successful short narrative because of Keyes wonderfully formed Fictional characters, his superb format used and the many different subjects he featured throughout the narrative. “ Flowers for Algernon ” is a short narrative about a adult male of low intelligence, Charlie Gordon, who is asked to take portion in a new discovery operation to better his mind. He hopes that one twenty-four hours he will go happy because he is smarter, but alternatively he becomes more stray and unhappy than he was to get down with.
The narrative could hold been named “ Flowers for Charlie ” because presumptively Charlie would hold suffered the same destiny as Algernon, but this would intend I would cognize what was to go on to Charlie and would take some of the involvement out of the text. The format in which Keyes wrote this narrative was really of import to its success. It was written in diary signifier with Charlie Gordon being the writer of the diary. I believe that it was written like this because it is a really personal signifier of authorship, it gave me, the reader, a great position of merely how rapid Charlie s advancement and arrested development was and it is about as if I was taging his advancement reports the manner Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur would hold done.
I think Keyes chose to do Charlie the storyteller because he came across as really guiltless and it is because of this artlessness that I thought I was acquiring the whole of the narrative, when truly Keyes is pull stringsing me into believing the narrative merely because I believed Charlie. e.g. Some of the narrative lines are a small farcical, like the portion when Charlie lined up the mill machines a new manner salvaging the mill 10,000 lbs a twelvemonth in labor. It is a spot far fetched that no 1 else in the mill had noticed this before, but still I believed it because it came from the manus of Charlie.
Upon reading the narrative the first clip Keyes was non evident to me, but he was at that place doing me play the portion of Judge and Jury and because I was in consequence in Charlie s head throughout the narrative, I was able to come to decisions much faster. Like the manner I condemned what Dr Strauss and Dr Nemur were making by utilizing Charlie as a guinea hog, it was non a determination I came to at the terminal of the narrative, it was an sentiment I had formed from really early on.
Keyes besides used Charlie to state the narrative because he wanted me to express joy at him so most likely feel sorry for him subsequently on, he has used wit along with poignancy so that I got an penetration into how the other people in the narrative must hold felt after mocking Charlie. For Example, when Charlie was invited to a party with Frank and Joe and they made him dance with Ellen and every clip he danced past the brace of them they would lodge out their pess in order to trip him up. “ I didn t know what to make or where to run. Everyone was looking at me and express joying and I felt bare. I wanted to conceal myself. ”
I found this incident good story at first, but so realised the earnestness of Charlie s misplaced trust. Another illustration of this jeer is when anyone in the mill does something incorrect they are told “ You truly pulled a Charlie Gordon! These are merely some of the things that made me laugh when I read this narrative and after I had finished it I had a feeling of guilt because of the manner I scoffed at Charlie despite the fact that it is a fabricated narrative.
Charlie Gordon suffers many alterations throughout the narrative. Many of his chief features alteration during his period of reform, many don t. One belongings of Charlie which remains the same is his aspiration, he is motivated and avid to the terminal. Unlike many other people with the intelligence degree of Charlie ( before his operation ).
Charlie had great motive, his desire was to go smart, trusting that it will do him happy: “ They said how semen you went to the grownup nite scool all by yourself Charlie. How did you happen it. I said I asked pepul and sumbldy told me where I shud travel to lern to read and spell good. They said why did you desire to. I told them becaus all my life I wantid to be smart and non dumb. ”
This shows me that Charlie is different from other stupid people in that he is non lazy. He put the attempt into happening the dark school and I think this is a ground as to why Charlie is picked to take part in the experiment and although he is meriting of the opportunity he was given he did non merit what happened to him as a consequence.
One thing that changes about Charlie is his exposure, prior to the operation he is a really fleeceable, waxy individual, he doesn t realise that people use him and he is unable to judge who he should be friends with. I think this comes across in the incident with the constabulary adult male: “ But I got a concern and a large ball on my caput and black and bluish all over. I think possibly I fell but Joe Carp says it was the bull they beat up rummies sometimes. I don t think so. Miss Kinnian says bulls are to assist people. ”
This incident shows Charlie s hapless justice of character and foreground his artlessness which featured so much throughout the narrative. It is of import that the writer makes a large trade of these incidents because they provide a good contrast between Charlie before and after the operation. Another contrast in Charlie s personality is his ability to love, although he was ever a considerate individual he was ne’er able to look farther than that, deep down he was really only until this point: “ I don t understand why I ne’er noticed how beautiful Miss Kinnian Really is. ” “ Now, every clip I see her she grows younger and more lovely. ”
This shows to me that Charlie was intimidated by Miss Kinnian because he saw her as some sort of mastermind. He wasn t able excessively see through the intelligence to the beauty until he became reasonably smart. It all added to the complexness of the character that Keyes created. Sadly one thing that Charlie suffered from about the whole manner through the narrative was utmost solitariness. when Charlie became smart he thought he was happy, he had discovered friendly relationship and love but it came to a point when Charlie became excessively cagey, he had gone right off of the graduated table and he found himself going more stray the cleverer he got.
Just before his arrested development he had become so smart that he was no longer able to pass on with normal people on a twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours footing on what he thought were ordinary subjects. He was get downing to go lonely once more: “ I suspect I m nearing her on the incorrect degree. No affair what I try to discourse with her, I am unable to pass on. I must reexamine Vrostadt s equations on Levels of Semantic Progression. ”
It had got to a point that Charlie had realised his dream so all that he had was snatched off from him as he started his diminution into what I assume will be decease because of what happened to Algernon.. For the decease of Charlie I am supposed to fault the scientists, they took advantage of Charlie without taking into history his feelings, it appeared to run into that they treated him like another lab rat and explained the operation to him in footings he didn t to the full understand.
Although it is besides partially the mistake of Miss Kinnian as she is really influential to Charlie she naively encouraged him to take portion and for that she felt a great trade of guilt. Although sad, it would certainly hold been better for Charlie to populate his life the manner it was non gaining how he was mocked or used by his so called friends. I have shown that although Charlie suffered many alterations in the narrative, his personality ever showed sunglassess of on one thing, solitariness.
Daniel Keyes has incorporated many different subjects into “ Flowers for Algernon ” . The chief 1s being experimentation, favoritism and isolation. These subjects both so and now are really of import and I think travel along manner to account for the narrative s success. The book featured in the narrative Robinson Crusoe was used because it has many analogues with the narrative it excessively was written in diary signifier and features many of the same jobs e.g. Isolation and Loneliness. If “ Flowers for Algernon ” had been centered around less topical topics I do non believe it would hold been as successful.
I think I have shown here that Flowers for Algernon is a successful short narrative because of the manner that Daniel Keyes manipulated me with his format, used subjects that kept the narrative popular and built a character which required my and every readers sensitiveness.
