Flowers for Algernon
Character List
1. Charlie Gordon (Pg. 1) – the main character; meets a pregnant woman in
Central Park – chased as a result of running from her and calling her
“filthy”; asked to speak at convention but instead releases Algernon, and
they run away together; sees parents’ pictures in a newspaper – decides to
visit father; loans Fay 5 dollars; sees a dishwasher with a condition at the
diner and causes a scene when other customers laugh at the boy; AlgernonGordon effect
2. Dr. Strauss (Pg. 1) – psychiatrist and neurosurgeon; the more traditional
scientist working on the experiment; he does research, and Nemur
proposes theories; tells CG to write reports; actually performs the
operation; therapy sessions with Charlie; tells Charlie about the “two
minds”; gives CG sleeping pills; talks about memories with Charlie; forbids
Charlie from reading about psychology; opposed to presenting the results
at Chicago – he believes it is too soon; tells Charlie to warn Mr. Donner
about Gimpy’s theft; worse linguist than Nemur; speaks about theory and
techniques behind experiment at the convention; along with Bert,
introduces CG to George Raynor; mediates argument between Nemur and
CG; CG is mean to him during decline
3. Miss Alice Kinnian (Pg. 1) – Charlie’s special needs teacher; becomes his
first love; works at Beekman School; goes to a movie with Charlie and to
dinner afterwards – somehow more awkward than a high school
homecoming dance; tells Charlie he has to decide about Gimpy’s theft for
himself; decide to go to a concert together – Charlie has a vision of his
former self watching them; Charlie visits her apartment after being fired–
realizes that she is just human; quarrels with Charlie when he goes to his old
school to pick her up; she invites CG to her apartment for coffee and
discussion – CG feels that he is being watched by the old Charlie – reason
he becomes pale in the face of sex; when CG almost has sex, he imagines
her as Fay to overcome his fear; runs out when Charlie tells her what will
happen to him; lives with CG during the height of his decline – eventually
leaves; CG visits her classroom after end of decline – she cries and runs out
4. Arthur Donner (Pg. 1) – owner of the bakery where Charlie works; hired
him to prevent him from going to Warren; fires him; rehires him later;
5. Professor Harold Nemur (Pg. 1) – works on the theories behind their
experiment; gives Charlie the teaching TV; “has his eye on the Chair of
Psychology at Hallston”; CG asks him about Gimpy’s theft – first time he
reacts to being treated as an inanimate object created by Nemur; furious
that their hotel rooms weren’t immediately available; sums up presentation
at convention – again states that he created Charlie; didn’t like Charlie’s
joining the project; argues with CG at the party – says he was very rude;
confirms the Algernon-Gordon effect
6. Burt Selden (Pg. 2) – gives Charlie his first Rorschach test (ink blots on
cards); writing his thesis on the experiment; takes Charlie to play with
mazes and Algernon; introduces Charlie to an economics professor – first
time he realizes that instructors aren’t intellectual gods; had the idea that
Charlie could dictate progress reports; tells Charlie about Bertha Nemur;
reveals that Charlie’s intelligence will decline in his speech at the
convention; introduces CG to the freezer and incinerator in the lab –
prompts Charlie to ask Nemur about plans for his own disposal- CG decides
to visit Warren
7. Herman (Pg. 4) – Charlie’s dead uncle; convinced Donner to give him the
job at the bakery; used to pain houses; overweight; violently defends
Charlie (once with a hammer)
8. Gimpy (Pg. 5) – head-baker; screams at Charlie for dropping rolls; steals
money from Donner; coins the phrase “pulling a Charlie Gordon” et al.; in
one of CG’s dreams- writes dirty words in a progress report; attempts to
teach Charlie to bake rolls; responds negatively to Charlie’s accusations of
theft
9. Norma (Pg. 5) – Charlie’s sister; gives permission for him to be used;
mother fears that Charlie wished to rape her; CG wonders why she is
different – keyhole incident / period underwear; gets an A on a test; tears
the test up; denied knowledge if CG’s whereabouts after convention;
changes as she ages – doesn’t hate Charlie when he returns – proud of him
10. Algernon (Pg. 7) – a mouse which is subjected to the same procedure as
Charlie; CG builds a maze for him – living element; behavior becomes
erratic
11. Joe Carp (Pg. 12) – brings Charlie a chocolate cake from the bakery
workers; Charlie asked him how to read – laughed at; tells Charlie to show
the girls at a bar how he mops up the bakery’s toilet; tells Charlie to take
Oliver’s job (mixing); tells CG to dance with Ellen
12. Frank Reilly (Pg. 15) – works at the bakery; kicked Charlie when he fell
asleep standing up; asks whether Charlie could learn to make rolls
13. Hilda (Pg. 16) – “skinny nurse” who is good to Charlie but opposes the
experiment in respect to religion; presumably fired
14. Lucille (Pg. 17) – Charlie’s new nurse; kind to him
15. Ernie (Pg. 22) – new boy hired to do Charlie’s deliveries for him; loses a
birthday cake
16. Fanny Birden (Pg. 26) - recommends Charlie for Beekman School; kindest at
to CG at the bakery; only worker not to sign petition to expel Charlie,
though she opposes his operation1 on religious grounds
17. Mrs. Flynn (Pg. 30) – Charlie’s first landlady; she tells him that a police
officer brought him home on the night of the first party (“mop incident”)
[Later revealed that the mop incident occurred at Halloran’s]
18. Oliver (Pg. 34) – formerly worked the mixer – quit
19. Bernie Bate (Pg. 35) – helps with the mixer; compliments Charlie’s skill at
working it
20. Mrs. Leroy (Pg. 37) – Charlie’s childhood neighbor; he stays with her when
his mother and father go to the hospital to deliver Norma
21. Ellen (Pg. 40) – Charlie dances with her at a party; gives him a fake apple to
eat
22. Harriet (Pg. 51) – Charlie’s childhood sweetheart (much like Lily); he
attempts to give her a locket with a kind note inside but accidentally gives
her a note with mean words written by Hymie Roth
23. Hymie Roth (Pg. 51) – plays a game similar to “Monkey in the Middle” with
young Charlie; writes mean words in CG’s letter to Harriet
24. Barry (Pg. 52) – asks Charlie, “Where you gonna get a valentime?” [sic]
25. Mrs. Janson (Pg. 53) – one of Charlie’s schoolteachers; he does bad things
when she’s not watching
26. Harold (Pg. 53) – school-age Charlie throws a piece of chalk at him
27. Gus (Pg. 54) – one of Harriet’s older brothers
28. Oscar (Pg. 54) – one of Harriet’s older brothers; was on the football team
before graduating high school
29. Mr. Wagner (Pg. 54) – custodian at Charlie’s school who chases Oscar and
Gus away
30. Lenny (Pg. 70) – a college student who argued that Sir Francis Bacon write
Shakespeare’s plays
31. Rose (Pg. 73) – Charlie’s mother; has difficulty accepting his state; is mean
to him because of her reluctance to accept his disability; makes him use the
restroom on his own; won’t accept that sexual thoughts are natural (a
compelling piece of evidence for something) – affects him every time he
thinks of someone in that way; forces Norma to play with Charlie – doesn’t
buy her a dog (until much later); opposed Matt’s desire to open his own
barbershop – wasted money on curing CG; threatens to kill Charlie with a
knife- stopped by Matt; visited by CG – became senile in old age; though
Charlie was raping Norma
32. Matt (Pg. 75) – Charlie’s father; accepts his condition; tries to be nice to
Charlie in spite of Rose’s reluctance; tries to convince Rose not to trust
quack doctors; opens barbershop in the Bronx after leaving Rose; Charlie
visits him for a haircut – not even recognized; brings CG to Herman who
saves him from Warren
33. Mrs. Wheeler (Pg. 87) – one of Gimpy’s friends who is offered a special
price on baked goods
34. Dr. Wessey (Pg. 98) – once did a paper on wartime trade agreements;
Charlie is told to see him
35. Mrs. Baffin (Pg. 115) – Norma’s history teacher; says that her test was the
best in the class
36. Mike Dorni (Pg. 120) – student at C.R.A.; wheelchair-bound; first to
recognize Charlie
37. Lester Braun (Pg. 120) – smartest of the group of C.R.A. students but didn’t
care much – often skipped class; sits in the front row
38. Bernice (Pg. 121) – blonde student at the C.R.A.; has “empty” eyes; asks
why he skipped school
39. Francine (Pg. 121) – a female student at the C.R.A. ; gave birth to three
children by age 18; allowed out only with an escort
40. Dr. Guarino (Pg. 135) – quack doctor whom Rose believes in; is actually nice
to Charlie; paid ten dollars a visit
41. Rahajamati (Pg. 148) – an Indian scientist who published a report about
enzyme fusion in Hindu: Charlie wonders why Nemur hasn’t read it
42. Tanida (Pg. 148) – Japanese scientist working on enzyme fusion – opposed
by Rahajamati; Nemur cant read Japanese
43. Bertha Nemur (Pg. 152) – Harold Nemur’s demanding wife; used father’s
influence to get him the grant; holds a cocktail party for the Welberg
foundation; introduces CG to Hyram Harvey
44. Professor White (Pg. 155) – two other professors from Beekman; attend
scientific convention
45. P.T. Zellerman (Pg. 155) – wrote a scientific paper on the difference in maze
completion time with rounded corners vs. angular corners
46. Worfel (Pg. 155) – paper on the effect of intelligence level on the reactiontime of rhesus monkeys
47. Professor Clinger (Pg. 156) – first professor from Beekman to speak at the
convention; paper on the effects of left-handed vs. right-handed goals in a
T-maze
48. Dr. Portman (Pg. 170) – another doctor Charlie visits; he tries to convince
Rose that CG will have no effect on Norma; would send CG to state home if
given permission; later wants to put Rose in a nursing home
49. Fay Lillman (Pg. 173) – CG’s neighbor in his new apartment; very artistic
and free-thinking; doesn’t lock her door; CG meets her when he locks
himself out; paints nude pictures of herself; enjoys dancing – Stardust
Ballroom; used to play the piano; modern sculpture – CG’s own maze for
Algernon; goes to CG’s apartment for protection after Leroy – CG becomes
drunk – he acts like a child according to Fay – take away his peanuts; first
woman with whom Charlie finishes sex – overcomes old Charlie with his
will; given a key to CG’s apartment; amasses huge pile of parking tickets;
CG dedicates his first piano concerto to her; invites a woman into her
apartment – steals money, but Fay decides not to press charges – didn’t
even know her name; bitten by Algernon; not allowed to visit the lab; meets
and likes Alice – Alice finds her hilarious and is okay with Charlie’s love for
her; has a new boyfriend after CG begins sleeping in the lab – a dance
instructor from the Stardust Ballroom; later locks door to stop CG from
visiting her during decline
50. Wagner sisters (Pg. 177) – former occupants of Charlie’s new apartment;
never used pleasantries with Fay
51. Margaret Phinney (Pg. 181) – according to Rose, “would snicker at the
barber’s wife”
52. Lois Meiner (Pg. 181) – husband was a salesman for the Alarm Casualty
Company; also wouldn’t think well of the barber’s wife
53. Minnie (Pg. 189) – female white mouse Fay gives to CG as a companion for
Algernon
54. Leroy (Pg. 189) – a man Fay brings home and introduces to CG – met him at
Stardust Ballroom – Fay throws him out for unknown reasons
55. Landsoff (Pg. 210) – CG phones him to ask about the possibility of
something scientific; he at first believes CG is crazy, but then he keeps CG
on the phone for an hour; by far the book’s most important character – the
entire plot is shown in the one sentence he speaks
56. Mr. Ray Winslow (Pg. 22) – head psychologist at Warren; takes CG on a tour
of Warren; introduces CG to the deaf-mutes (woodworkers); throws CG out
of Warren
57. Thelma (Pg. 224) – woman in charge of the boys at Warren
58. Jerry (Pg. 226) – large student at Warren; plays with Dusty
59. Dusty (Pg. 226) – small student at Warren; plays with Jerry
60. Hyram Harvey (Pg. 242) – from the Welberg foundation; introduced to CG
by Bertha; argument between Bertha and CG
61. George Raynor (Pg. 243) – other from the Welberg foundation; talks with
Burt and Strauss; real problem is convincing board of work’s practical
value; “beautiful, dark-haired wife” - almost argues with CG
62. Mr. Vernor (Pg. 278) – lives in apartment below Charlie’s
63. Mrs. Mooney (Pg. 302) – Charlie’s new landlady; brings him food several
times during the decline – takes care of him
64. Meyer Klaus (Pg. 307) – Charlie’s replacement at the bakery ; twists CG’s
arm; Joe Carp stops him from hurting Charlie more; fired