Flowers for Algernon

Keyes, D.  (1959).  Flowers for Algernon.  Heinemann New Windmills.

This book was on the most Challenged List.

Charlie Gordon was born with a birth defect, mentally challenged.  He was always called names, couldn't control himself when he got excited or nervous and was not aware of his disability.  But then Charlie grew up.  As an adult, he wanted to improve himself.  He went to night classes to improve his writing but his inability to spell many words made it difficult for him to express himself. He was noticed by several psychologists who tried the Rho shack Inkblot test on him and in his simple mind it just looked like spilled ink.  They take him to a lab where they show him a mouse called Algernon.  Algernon has been altered, by an operation, to be a smarter mouse.  He can make it through any maze faster than any other mouse. This bunch of doctors decide that Charlie would be the perfect candidate for a similar surgery to make him smart.  He has he operation and his IQ went from 70 to 185.  He was doing really well, beating Algernon at his maze when he couldn't before.  All of a sudden Algernon died.  There were signs that he was disoriented before this happened and the doctors decided he was reverting back to where he was before the operation.  They also realized that Charlie would also go back to his original self.  They just didn't know why it was happening.  Charlie didn't want to be around anyone when it happened.

I have mixed feelings about this book.  It was a little difficult to follow because it kept going back in time with Charlie in his retarded state.  When I first read it, I thought why would anyone subject themselves to a surgery like this that was so dangerous.  Charlie just wanted to be smart.  He didn't realize it would affect his life in such a way that it would actually take it away.