Book Review: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes was first published by Hancourt, Brace & World in 1959 in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a 274-page long novel. The novel, which is science fiction based, is now used by many prestigious schools for the use of analysing the themes. A renowned book that one shouldn’t miss, the novel tracks the lifestyle of a mentally retarded adult named Charlie Gordon. Similar to another novel, “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, the novel has the theme of prejudice embedded in. Many people have said that their lives have taken a twist after reading these novels, will yours change?

Why is this book so successful that it is even explored and analyzed in schools? Simple - the writer’s craft and the theme. Not only written in the 1st Person Point of View, it’s also written in a simple diary format. When I read the book for the 1st time, I was momentarily stunned and that’s what will happen to you when you flip the cover page. First page and it grabs your attention, what else could it be but a fantastic book? Written in this format, allowing readers to get access to his private (since it’s a diary) feelings and opinions.

A simple theme – prejudice and indifference, but Daniel Keyes has managed to bring out these 2 themes through a person’s diary. Wonderful is the only word to describe it. The story revolves around a mentally retarded adult named Charlie Gordon. In today’s society, there are many types of prejudice and one of those would be disabilities and IQ. Other key characters in this story are his teacher, Miss Kinnian, the doctors and a mouse named Algernon.

The plot was not easy to think of, it could have been a simplistic plot in your eyes but in truth, lots of planning had to be done. Charlie Gordon, one with few friends, felt that he had to be clever in order for him to have more friends. Thus, he was introduced to the doctors, who gave him an operation to make him clever, without having any knowledge of the consequences. Reckless at that point of time, the consequences awaited him. At the end, he realised the intelligence was not meant to be permanent and reverted back to the way he was.

So, why is the book named “Flowers for Algernon”? The title is named after the plot in the exciting novel. Prejudice is one of the main concerns in today’s society and the book addresses how one is being looked down by others – the consequences and the changes. A person being mentally retarded gives no excuse for one to bully him/her. An example of prejudice in the novel would be: Charlie’s friends, Joe and Carp, make him act like a clown in front of them, Charlie, oblivious to what’s happening did the act willingly? But, what was it that changed Charlie’s perception? After becoming clever, he witnessed a scene at a restaurant where one waiter was ticked off after breaking a glass cup. He recalled his experiences he had before only to realise – he had been treated the same way before.

What exactly happened between the time he became clever and the time where he reverted back? Would you have expected him to make more friends? True enough, he did not. Instead, the consequences were even direr. There was further gap between his friends and him. People did not look at him the same way as before. People found him different, thus, leaving him further and further. People were unaware of what happened to him. Surprised and shocked, he did not have any friends at all. Thus, should we accept what we were when we are born or should we not resign to fate and make a change for ourselves?

As time passed, Charlie realised his spelling and grammar was getting poorer and poorer. Algernon, with the same operation as well, had already died. Charlie immediately researched and found out that the operation was not meant to last forever. Shocked, surprised, he cried and reflected and regretted in agony. The regression started, slowly by slowly, until he reverted back to his normal self. Towards the end, he attends school once more, having recovered from his agony. In the last sentence of the story, he writes “P.S. Put some flowers on Algernon”. Charlie still remembers him as a friend, the interaction with him (animals and humans), thus, resulting in the title “Flowers for Algernon”.

“Flowers for Algernon” has acclaimed many awards, having won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960 and joint winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966.

Why have people’s lives changed after reading this novel? Revolving around the themes of prejudice and the change in one’s life, it brings out the moral values of what one should have in their own personal lives. To respect one another, to respect people from all walks of life, to respect EVERYONE.

“Anyone who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eye are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye.”

-Taken from Plato’s the Republic