Flowers+to+Algernon



//"It was rejected by five publishers over the period of a year. I was suffering because I wanted the book published! But finally it appeared, and **Flowers for Algernon** has not gone out of print since..." -Daniel Keyes //

Flowers for Algernon

Daniel Keyes was born in New York City during the year of 1927, and he now lives in Florida. Growing up Keyes was a very smart boy, and he continued to prove himself through his college years and in his writing. Keyes went to college to become an english teacher, but even before that he joined the U.S. Maritime Service. After finishing his service time he got a degree in english and a job teaching, he also began to write stories on the weekends. //Flowers for Algernon// was his fifth short story, but his first novel that was actually published, and it was also award winning. This extremely well known book is now taught and studied in colleges and schools around America, but also around the rest of the globe as well.

Synopsis

//Flowers for Algernon// is a touching story of a man named Charly Gordon who struggles from a mental disability that has left him with an IQ of 68. He works in a factory surrounded by men who are constantly making fun of him and cracking jokes about him. A new study is also being done at this time that is trying to find the cure to mental disabilities ([|for more on mental disabilities click here]). The goal of the study is to end up with a product that will fully cure mentail illness. Allowing mentally ill patients to think, act, and live like people without any form of mental illnesses do. After a little while a few scientists come up with what they believe to be is the cure, and their first subject to test this on is a mouse named Algernon. The mouse goes through the procedure and then is studied for a few weeks to see how it reacts. Charly is currently taking classes for the mentally retarded, and the teacher is a lady named Miss Kinnian to help improve his english. The doctors who are testing Algernon find out about Charly, and he is then selected as a test for the procedure. All Charly wants is to be smarter and accepted, so he agrees. Before, during, and after the procedure take place, the doctors tell Charly that he has to write down everything that happens during his day along with how he feels. Charly goes through with the surgery and it ends up being successful. A few days later Charly's intelligence is improving and he is starting to fit in. He is making friends and excelling at everything he does. Charly gets promoted at work and he starts to develop strong feelings toward his old teacher Miss Kinnian. Everyone is very impressed with Charly and all of the success the surgery was. However, after Charlie's IQ starts to get higher and higher (eventually reaching three times as much as it first was), people begin to pull away from Charly. His friends at work become scared and intimidated by him, and he can no longer relate to Miss Kinnian. As Charly begins to reach the tip of his intelligence, Algernon's (who is now Charly's one and only friend) intelligence begins to decline. Charly is stuck, not knowing what is going to happen to Algernon, or himself anymore. The stores plot beingsto wind down, but Keyes takes the reader for an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Why is it so wonderful?

This book is good for a few different reasons. Because of the fact that Daniel Keyes wrote the book not only from Charly's perspective, but also that the book appears to written directly by Charly, it makes the story so much more relateable, and real feeling. Keyes is able to give the reader a sense that Char;y is actually a real person. This ability that Keyes has not only opens the reader up to Charly, but also to the rest of the world around them. It helps the reader notice how people with disabilities are being treated and how they might feel about themselves and their lives. It's a heart-wrenching tale that desperately needed to be told, and it was told in a very successful way.

Recommended...?

I would definitely recommend this book. It is a story that is heart-warming and also detailed. Daniel Keyes does a wonderful job of explaining what it would be like to be put in Charly's position. The story is realistic, but at the same time it is also a little far-fetched, which is nice because it provides a different type of reality than most are used to.

Bibliography

"Daniel Keyes Bio". Daniel Keyes Author. 06/09/2010 [] "Daniel Keyes". Wikipedia. 06/09/2010 [] Keyes, Daniel. //Flowers for Algernon//. New York: Harvest Books, 2005 "Daniel Keyes: 40 Years of Algernon". LOCUS Online. 06/09/2010 []