A review by ndkumaragama
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
5.0
A beautiful and emotionally profound story. One I will never forget.
Key themes/ ideas:
- An analogy for the rise and fall of life, to truly value when our minds are able to learn and experience reality. There will be a time when our minds will not have the same capabilities. "A flower is more beautiful because it doesn't last."
- The value of emotional intelligence as opposed to IQ
- Having empathy for those who struggle to grasp concepts, extending to the broader picture of discrimination: persecution of different race/ sex/ class. Learning to understand from their perspective, life's experiences and genetic makeup. "You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him".
- The dramatic irony that one experiences when Charlie is being bullied by his friends, achieved by a first person writing style
- The beauty (unconditional love) and tragedy in how Alice still takes care of Charlie when he regresses and how Charlie refuses to let her see him this way. Akin to how a partner looks after their significant other who has dementia
- To be a miserable Socrates or a happy pig? Charlie would argue the former, when he was looking in the bathroom mirror at his old self, because he would be serving a greater purpose of helping more people.
- The influence of his past on the present, dealing with past trauma (sexual shame instilled from mother)
- "please if you get a chanse put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard" - What we remember on the death bed/ later stages of life
Key themes/ ideas:
- An analogy for the rise and fall of life, to truly value when our minds are able to learn and experience reality. There will be a time when our minds will not have the same capabilities. "A flower is more beautiful because it doesn't last."
- The value of emotional intelligence as opposed to IQ
- Having empathy for those who struggle to grasp concepts, extending to the broader picture of discrimination: persecution of different race/ sex/ class. Learning to understand from their perspective, life's experiences and genetic makeup. "You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him".
- The dramatic irony that one experiences when Charlie is being bullied by his friends, achieved by a first person writing style
- The beauty (unconditional love) and tragedy in how Alice still takes care of Charlie when he regresses and how Charlie refuses to let her see him this way. Akin to how a partner looks after their significant other who has dementia
- To be a miserable Socrates or a happy pig? Charlie would argue the former, when he was looking in the bathroom mirror at his old self, because he would be serving a greater purpose of helping more people.
- The influence of his past on the present, dealing with past trauma (sexual shame instilled from mother)
- "please if you get a chanse put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard" - What we remember on the death bed/ later stages of life