This book review was written by Annie Guo of Richard Montgomery High School
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is an intricately complex yet captivating and powerful book that originated as a short story in 1959 and was adapted to a novel several years later. It takes the often-seen science fiction idea of transforming intelligence and humanizes it by giving its characters another layer of depth and emotion. This novel is the perfect thought-provoking overlap between the fascinating world of science and a reflection on our society.
The story is narrated by Charlie Gordon, a mentally disabled man who works at a bakery during the start of the novel, at which point he is recommended for an experiment to increase his human intelligence. He is the first human to undergo the surgery, which had thus only been apparently successful on animals; the surgery triples his IQ. He keeps a journal as a record, showing the drastic changes to his thoughts and awareness and how his newfound intellect affects the rest of his life.
Reading Flowers for Algernon for the first time put me in a place of confusion. I had to stop and really think about what was happening and the implications of each event. Charlie spends much of the novel lost in a place of conflict and unknown. This novel was able to convey his mental state to me so clearly and portrays self-conflict in such an honest, distraught manner, forcing me to reflect in a way that few books have.
“And he said that meens Im doing something grate for sience and Ill be famus and my name will go down in the books. I dont care so much about beeing famus. I just want to be smart like other pepul so I can have lots of frends who like me.” -Charlie Gordon, Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
Even from the beginning, Keyes makes it easy to love and feel for this character. Charlie’s earnesty towards learning and fitting in socially is something understandable and human, even if I don’t share his experiences with his mental disability. His genuine excitement made him a lovable character, one I was inclined to support from the start. When Charlie worked at the bakery, he was undoubtedly taken advantage of and mocked for being disabled. His lack of awareness is heart-wrenching and troubling, and the juxtaposition between his earnesty and the others’ cruelty motivated me to want to see him happy.
Throughout the novel, Keyes reflects upon the treatment of the mentally disabled from a first-person perspective, rather than outsider’s. I saw his perspective upon realization, and it is devastating in a subtle way.
“That was the same thing that happened at Halloran's. And that was what Joe and the rest of them were doing. Laughing at me. And the kids playing hide-and-go-seek were playing tricks on me and they were laughing at me too.” -Charlie Gordon, Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
Charlie later realizes he was mocked, but it’s gradual and changes his entire world. He doesn’t become angered, just simply shocked—and it’s devastating because he was mocked while unaware and thus unable to defend himself. It feels so intensely cruel because it shows how dehumanizing it can be, as though he were simply an object and a target rather than a person.
“No past, no contact with the present, no hope for the future. It might be said that Charlie Gordon did not really exist before this experiment…” -Professor Nemur, Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
Even after Charlie’s intelligence is raised from the experiment, others still speak of him as less-than-human, as though he was not a person before and is still not a person—just an experiment—after. Keyes’s commentary is persistently underlying throughout, and it is so powerful.
Keyes also addresses the differences between intellectual and emotional intelligence in an eye-opening way. In the beginning, Charlie does not lack emotional intelligence—he understands wanting to fit in, and he understands generally how people feel. He is just unable to understand his coworkers’ insults and mockery. His intellect hinders his ability to interact and communicate his emotions with those around him.
“Now it's impossible. I am just as far away from Alice with an IQ of 185 as I was when I had an IQ of 70. And this time we both know it.” -Charlie Gordon, Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
Yet on the opposite end of the spectrum, with his intellect at an unprecedented level, his emotional intelligence deteriorates. He finds himself distanced from his coworkers, unable to connect with them because of his newfound awareness. While this realization was important in helping him understand himself, it also incited a paranoia of being mocked and ostracized, bringing Charlie’s social life down. Keyes shows the convoluted, realistic, and difficult balance between intelligence and emotion here. He emphasizes how it is impossible to be so comprehending of both simultaneously and yet how they are so interrelated; one cannot exist without the other. I loved the portrayal and the nuances, how there is no easy solution, simply acceptance.
Through Charlie’s conflicts, Keyes shows the struggle between focusing on your interpersonal relationships and sociability and centering your life on intellect and study. He shows finding the balance and it feels real and tangible, bringing the distress to life. Searching for this balance is a struggle that I along with many others can identify with, making this story a more personal one.
Flowers for Algernon is, in one word, powerful. In so many ways. It reflects on mental disability in our society from an intriguing and captivating perspective, without being overly straightforward or blatant. It takes relatable and understandable characters who feel, above all, so human, and gives them a story of conflict that is accurate, raw, and true. It forces you to think about society and yourself. It takes a story that is about intelligence and makes it about emotion. It isn’t outright tragic, but it’s heart-wrenching and troubling. The novel ends beautifully and leaves you with a sense of peace and letting go.
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