Mental Illness In Flowers For Algernon

Flowers for Algernon

Mental illnesses affect one in four people. Two-thirds of them do not seek help. Charlie Gordon, Flowers for Algernon main character, has this problem. Charlie has not seeked professional help, but one of his friends helps him get the help he would need. Miss Kinnian takes Charlie to a testing service that gives him a series of tests to see if he is eligible for a surgery to help him gain intelligence. In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys uses realistic research to explain Charlie Gordon’s “stupidity”.

Daniel Keys uses a real situation that goes on around you everyday. This helps him explain Charlie Gordon’s differences from normal people. Charlie Gordon has a small and difficult vocabulary. Some examples are, “Rite”,

They crashed to the floor, shattering and sending bits of white china under the tables. The boy stood there, dazed and frightened, holding the empty tray in his hand. The whistles and catcalls from the customers (the cries of "hey, there go the profits!" ... "Mazeltov!" ... and "well, he didn't work here very long ..." which invariably seems to follow the breaking of glass or dishware in a public restaurant) all seemed to confuse him..' When the owner carne to see what the excitement was about, the boy cowered as if he expected to be struck and threw up his hands as if to ward off the blow. "All right! All right, you dope," shouted the owner, "don't just stand there! Get the broom and sweep that mess up. A broom. , . a broom, you idiot! It's in the kitchen. Sweep up all the pieces." The boy saw that he was not going to be punished. His frightened expression disappeared and he smiled and hummed as he came back with the broom and amusing themselves at his expense. "Here, sonny, over here there's a nice piece behind you ..." "C'mon, do it again .. ," "He's not so dumb. It's easier to break 'em than to wash 'em ..." he slowly mirrored their smiles and finally broke into an uncertain grin at the joke which he obviously did not understand. I felt sick inside as I looked at his dull, vacuous smile, the wide,

It is not only important to the story but important to everyone in the world. Without confidence Charlie let himself believe that he would never be smart. He always assumed that he failed a test. "I had a test today. I think I faled it. and I think that maybe now they wont use me". Confidence may be a key to being smart. It may not be a proven fact yet but when it is, you’ll find out that the confidence is your key to success. When Charlie became smart he wanted to finish the research that his doctors had started, I personally think that some confidence could have helped Charlie stay smart. I would tell you what Charlie discovered but that would be a spoiler alert and I refuse to do