ENG 4C1 Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Unit Questions
Progress Report 1-6 (Pages 1-13)
1. Who is writing the “progris reports” and why?
2. What information does the protagonist give about himself in his first progress report?
3. What sorts of tests is Charlie given in progress reports 2 and 4? What are each for? How does he
respond to these tests?
4. What is revealed about Charlie’s family? What can you infer from this?
5. Who is Algernon? Describe Charlie’s first meeting with him.
6. What is Charlie’s IQ (intelligence quotient)? What things in Charlie’s writing suggest his low mental
ability?
7. What is the experiment Charlie is participating in? Why is he a good candidate?
8. What is Professor Nemur worried about with respect to the operation? How does Dr. Strauss
respond? Describe each of these men as well as Burt who is part of their team.
9. Why does Charlie want to become smart?
10. Who is Miss. Kinnian? How does Charlie feel about her?
Progress Reports 7 – 8 (p. 13 – 33)
1. How are Charlie’s progress reports changing in structure? Why?
2. Where do you detect the first signs that the surgery has caused changes in Charlie? Is he aware of
these changes?
3. Why is Charlie’s skinny nurse Hilda, changed? What is her opinion of the experiment? Do you agree
or disagree? Why?
4. When Charlie returns to work, what little bit about his past is revealed? How did Mr. Donner come
into Charlie’s life? How does he treat him?
5. What frustrations does Charlie experience after the surgery? What do the doctor’s suggest?
6. How do Charlie’s “friends” at the bakery treat him? Provide specific examples from throughout the
progress reports. (What does it mean to “pull a Charlie Gordon”? What do they do to him?)
7. After he beats Algernon on March 29th, what advances are evident in Charlie’s memory and
intelligence? What is the significance of this?
ENG 4C1 Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Unit Questions
Progress Report 9 (Pages 34-59)
1. How would you describe the style and content of Charlie’s writing at the beginning of April?
2. By April, how has Charlie changed intellectually?
3. Describe what happens at the bakery on April Fool’s day.
4. How much of a raise increase does Mr. Donner offer Charlie?
5. On page 37, Miss. Kinnian cries when Charlie tells her that all his friends are good. Why do
you think she reacts this way?
6. What does Charlie do when he realizes the truth about his “friends” at the bakery?
7. Dr. Straus tells Charlie that the more intelligent he becomes, the more problems he’ll have.
Why?
8. In what ways is Charlie’s improved memory painful? Make reference to the memories he
has of his past.
9. If Charlie had known how painful remembering would be, do you think he would have
wanted the operation? Explain.
10. What happens the second time Burt administers the Rorschach test to Charlie? What does
this reveal about Charlie?
Progress Report 10 (59-76)
1. What does Charlie do to warrant a $10 a week raise?
2. Describe the difference between the way Gimpy and Frank treat Charlie.
3. What does Charlie say he usually does when he knows people are talking about him? Why is
this?
4. What does Charlie remember about the words “learn” and “teach”? Make a prediction
about his past associations with these words.
5. What does Gimpy promise Charlie if he can learn to make rolls? Why is this incentive for
Charlie?
ENG 4C1 Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Unit Questions
6. What initially confuses Charlie about making rolls? Why is this significant?
7. Can Charlie read? Provide evidence from the text to support your response.
8. What does Charlie write about in his April 22 report? Why is this important?
9. Why does Professor Nemur decide that it is impossible for Charlie to write down everything
in his progress reports?
10. What are Dr. Strauss and Prof. Nemur arguing about on pages 68-69? What is the
significance of this?
11. How has Charlie developed intellectually thus far?
12. What does Charlie’s mother want for him? Why?
13. Briefly explain why Charlie’s parents are fighting towards the end of the progress report.
Explain the family dynamics that is evident in the novel so far.
Progress Report 11 (Pages 76-113)
1. What feelings do Charlie experience for the first time at the movies with Alice Kinnian?
How has their relationship changed by May? (*make notes throughout*)
2. What does Alice say about Charlie’s progress? Why does she say she “hopes to God [he]
doesn’t get hurt”?
3. How is it evident when they are at the movies that Charlie’s emotional growth has not
kept up with his intellectual growth?
4. What nightmare does Charlie have? Why? What do you think happened based on his
free association exercise?
5. What does Charlie discover about Gimpy? What dilemma does Charlie face?
6. What conflicting advice do Nemur, Strauss and Alice give? What decision does Charlie
come to and how? Do you think Charlie reaches the best decision about what to do?
What would you do if you were Charlie? Explain.
7. Charlie begins to resent Professor Nemur. Why? Is his perception of the man accurate?
ENG 4C1 Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Unit Questions
8. How is Charlie changing intellectually? What is he beginning to realize about
academics?
9. What is happening to him socially as a result of his intellectual growth? Provide specific
examples to support your conclusions.
10. What happens at the concert? What conclusions can you draw? How does this show
that Dr. Strauss was right in saying “the more intelligent [Charlie] gets, the more
problems [he] will have”?
11. Why is Charlie fired from the bakery? Describe what happens. If you were Mr. Donner,
would you do the same thing?
12. How has Charlie’s mom treated the subject of sex? In your opinion, how has that
affected Charlie’s attitude toward women? Explain with evidence from the novel.
Progress Report 12 (Pages 113-132)
1. At the beginning of progress report 12, Charlie explains that Professor Nemur is upset with
him. Why is he justified? Explain why Charlie continues to resent Nemur.
2. In progress report 12, Charlie states, “Strauss again brought up my need to speak and write
simply and directly so that people will understand me. He reminds me that language is
sometimes a barrier instead of a pathway. Ironic to find myself on the other side of the
intellectual fence.” (114) Why is this quote significant?
3. On p. 114 Charlie describes a nightmare he has after being fired from the bakery. Briefly
explain what each part of Charlie’s nightmare could mean and why he is having these
dreams. (door locked and no one looking at him; bride and groom on the wedding cake
laughing at him and cupid waving flaming arrows; things clutching at his legs dragging him,
the oozing all over him)
4. When he “reaches” for his memories, what memory does he recall? (p. 115-118). What does
this say about the relationship between Charlie, his sister, mother and father?
5. Why do Charlie and Alice argue? How does she feel and what is ironic about this?
6. Explain how Charlie is “just as far away from Alice with an I.Q of 185 as when he had an I.Q
of 70” (126).
7. What is Charlie doing and why? Explain what this says about his state of mind.
ENG 4C1 Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Unit Questions
8. Who does Charlie meet in the park? What does she want from Charlie? Why does she start
screaming?
9. When pursued, Charlie realizes that he wants to be caught and beaten. Why do you think he
wants to be punished? Explain.
Progress Report 13 (Pages 132-164)
1. Who takes Charlie to church when he is younger? From your understanding of the reading,
what role does God play in Rose and Matt Gordon’s life? Why is this important?
2. How is Charlie recording his progress reports on the plane? Why?
3. Why does Charlie not want to fasten his seatbelt in the airplane? What memory does the
seatbelt elicit?
4. Why is Charlie frightened when his parents dress up?
5. What does Matt do for a living?
6. How much money does each session of psychosubstantiation therapy cost?
7. What does Dr. Guarino put in Charlie’s mouth to make him stop yelling? What happens to
Charlie following this?
8. What does Charlie finally realize about his desire to be intelligent? Do you think most people
who strive to do well in school, do so for a similar reason? Explain.
9. Why does Charlie like Dr. Guarino better than the doctors he is working with now? (especially
Professor Nemur)
10. Why won’t Nemur discuss the articles written in Hindu with Charlie?
11. Why does Charlie feel he is being treated poorly at the conference? Is he justified in his
feelings? How could the researchers have treated him better? Explain.
12. Why does Charlie run away from the conference? Is he wrong to release Algernon? Explain.
13. Provide examples of Charlie’s close relationship with Algernon.
14. What plans does Charlie have now, by the end of progress report 13?
15. Charlie worries that he may not have “all the time I thought I had.” Why does Charlie think
this? How much time do you think Charlie has? Explain.
ENG 4C1 Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Unit Questions
Progress Report 14 (Pages 164-215)
1. What does Charlie do upon his return to New York, and why?
2. What does Charlie discover when he reads the newspaper account of his actions at the conference?
3. What memories does the news paper article trigger?
4. Where does Charlie move and why? Why does he bring Algernon with him?
5. Describe Charlie’s new apartment.
6. Who does Charlie meet when he moves in? Describe this new neighbour through Charlie’s eyes.
7. Who does Charlie go to see? Why doesn’t Charlie tell his him who he is? Are you surprised that he
doesn’t?
8. Who does Matt think he is? What do you think Matt Gordon’s reaction would have been, had Charlie
revealed his identity?
9. What memory does Charlie have while he visits him? What is the significance of this memory? What
impact does it have on Charlie?
10. Why does Charlie refer to his mother often as “two people”?
11. How is Algernon changing? What do you think will happen to him?
12. What is happening between Fay and Charlie? Do you think she is good for Charlie? Explain.
13. Do you think Charlie and Fay will continue their relationship? Will they marry? Explain.
14. Charlie the adult says that Charlie the child is watching him. Explain what he means.
15. What is Charlie spending most of his time doing now? What does this say about his mental state?
16. Describe what happens in the diner with the developmentally delayed boy.
17. What happens between Charlie and Alice when he talks to her? Why isn’t he able to be intimate
with her?
18. What happens between Charlie and Fay? What is the result? How has he changed and why?
19. What is happening to Algernon and why does this worry Charlie?
20. Do you think Charlie will ever see his family again? Explain.
ENG 4C1 Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Unit Questions
Progress Report 15 (Pages 215-221)
1. How do the researchers react when Charlie returns to the lab?
2. How has Charlie’s role shifted?
3. What does Burt reveal about Algernon’s condition? How is Algernon acting?
4. What is done to dead specimens in the lab, and how does Charlie react to this?
5. What arrangements have been made for Charlie if the experiment fails?
6. Do you think Charlie visiting the Warren State Home is a good idea? Explain.
7. Why do you think Charlie is worried about Fay and Alice meeting?
Progress Report 16 (Pages 221-278)
1. Why does Charlie visit the Warren State Home? Describe his visit.
2. What comments on the institutional system do you think the author is making? Provide
specific evidence (at least 2 – 3 points) from Charlie’s visit to the Warren State Home. (consider
treatment of the disabled, administration, funding etc.)
3. Describe what happens when Charlie meets a young deaf-mute boy at the Home.
4. How do Fay and Alice meet? How do they get along? Is it realistic? Explain why or why not.
5. What are Alice’s concerns about Fay? What happens to their relationship?
6. What is Charlie spending most of his time doing?
7. How does Charlie behave at the cocktail party? Why?
8. What comments does Nemur make about Charlie? Is there any validity to these comments?
How does it make Charlie feel?
9. What is the Algernon-Gordon Effect? What is happening to Algernon and what does Charlie
wonder about? Explain.
10.What is Charlie’s attitude towards the people involved in the experiment now that he has
discovered it will fail?
11. Describe Rose and Norma’s neighbourhood. What has changed since Charlie’s childhood?
What do these changes indicate?
12. What does Norma think Charlie has returned to do? Why can’t he do this?
What is ironic about the condition in which Charlie finds his mother?
13. What does Charlie learn from his visit with Rose and Norma?
ENG 4C1 Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Unit Questions
Progress Report 17 (Pages 278-311)
1. How does the first word of Progress Report 17 set the tone for the rest of the novel?
2. Charlie thinks of committing suicide explain why. Why doesn’t he do it? In your opinion,
would he be better off if he did?
3. How is Charlie’s behaviour changing? What signs or symptoms is he exhibiting of regression?
4. What sort of hallucination/vision does Charlie have in Dr. Strauss’ office? What do you think
it all means?
5. What is the significance of Plato’s words “…the men of the cave would say of him that up he
went and down he came without eyes…” (285) *see the excerpt at the beginning*.
6. What happens when Charlie is tested again? What other signs are there that his I.Q is
diminished?
7. Why is Charlie spending so much time alone? Is this good for him? Why or why not?
8. Why does Alice come to Charlie? Do you think either of them would be better off if she were
to stay away?
9. Alice tells Charlie she will try to forget him once he is at Warren. Do you think that is true?
10. Describe what happens between Alice and Charlie and why this is possible now. What
conclusions does Charlie make about love?
11. Why does Charlie send Alice away? What has been happening?
12. How is it evident Charlie’s deteriorating through his progress reports? Provide examples.
13. How do the bakery workers treat Charlie when he returns? Have they changed? Why does
Charlie leave his job at the bakery again?
14. What does he do when he “pulls a Charlie Gordon”?
15. How does he feel about going to Warren? Does he have any other options?
16. What does Charlie include in his final post-scripts (P.S.)? What is the significance?
17. How much time has elapsed from the first to the last progress report?