Discussion of Flowers for Algernon
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Flowers for Algernon symbolism
The change of season is something that I dearly love in my area of the country, and is something I look for and identify with in reading. Keyes has Charlie's surgery performed in early March, just before the emergence of spring. Through the spring and summer, his intellect flourished and he grows mentally and emotionally. By the end of summer, Charlie (per Erikson's developmental stages) has achieved "maturity" - understanding that "love and work" are necessary. As the days shorten and grow colder and more dreary, Charlie checks himself into Warren to spend his remaining days in the cold isolation of his own mind's "winter."
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- moongoddess13
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I think the reader is drawn in to the emotional side of the characters, not only Charlie, but the others who interact with him as well. I think as human beings, we have all experienced or at the very least, witnessed some of the things that are addressed in this book. I think it would be a good addition to high school reading classes or freshman college classes, not only for the academic literature part of it, but also for the compassion for humanity it teaches.
- jamespoet
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This was one of three stories in 8th grade which inspired me to be a writer (The other two being HARRISON BERGERON and A SOUND OF THUNDER). It was so powerful and I am not ashamed to say it made me cry. One man's qust for understanding and learning giving him more than he could hope for, and in the process more than he could chew, made me want so badly for Charly to find his peace.
From wht I understand, people are constantly trying to ban this book in school and in libraries, due to mild sexual themes in the book version. That is sick to me. Do not ban or censor this beautiful story.
- stoppoppingtheP
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What got me was the fact that the powerful/clever people in the world will use people like Charlie in their experiments just like labrats (or mice) in order to learn more. Is it worth it?
“there have been so many times
i have seen a man wanting to weep
but
instead
beat his heart until it was unconscious.
-masculine”
― Nayyirah Waheed
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That's right, I have a muse. It is spelled MusE. My writing is influenced by the interactions of people I meet - us and ME.
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- dhaller
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What got to me most of all was the writing - how it got smarter and smarter, and then dumber and dumber. It really encapsulated Charlie's condition for me.
Also, I think that this book was a tragedy, in a way that most traditional tragedies aren't. Losing someone you love is tragic, and not being able to be with someone you love is also tragic, but they're also pretty cliched by now.
Knowing that your mind is being destroyed, and watching it happen to yourself in real time...
My grandmother died recently of Alzheimer's, and that's what I think dementia must be like.
Scary.
- David Bowman
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The simple tale of a man named Charlie trying to become smarter through this experiment intrigued me back then, and now that I'm older the story certainly reveals the complexities of the human mind as well as the way people treated others when taking their intelligence as a factor to their personality. When reading it in school, my textbook had accompanied stills from the film adaptation "Charly," and I'm wondering about watching it... Overall, it's a great story and I would enjoy reading the novel version (if it's any different from the novella).