Flowers for Algernon - Quiz Review
Plot Synopsis
Charlie Gordon a mentally retarded _________ year-old man, is chosen by a team of
scientists to undergo an experimental surgery designed to boost his ______________________.
_______________________, Charlie’s teacher at the Beekman College Center for Retarded
Adults, has recommended Charlie for the experiment because of his exceptional
____________________ to learn. The directors of the experiment,
_________________________ and ____________________________, ask Charlie to keep a
__________________________. The entire narrative of Flowers for Algernon is composed of
the “_______________________________” that Charlie writes.
Charlie works at Donner’s Bakery in New York City as a ______________________ and
_______________________________. The other employees often
_________________________, but Charlie is unable to understand that he is the subject of
mockery. He believes that his coworkers are ___________________________________. After a
battery of tests—including a maze-solving competition with a mouse named
________________________, who has already had the experimental surgery performed on
him—Charlie undergoes the operation. He is initially _____________________ that there is no
immediate change in his intellect, but with work and help from Alice, he gradually improves his
spelling and grammar. Charlie begins to read adult books, slowly at first, then ravenously, filling
his brain with knowledge from many academic fields. He shocks the workers at the bakery by
inventing a process designed to improve__________________________. Charlie also begins to
recover lost memories of his ______________________, most of which involve his
__________________, who resented and often brutally punished Charlie for not being
____________________ like other children.
As Charlie becomes more intelligent, he realizes that he is deeply attracted to
______________________________. She insists on keeping their relationship professional, but
it is obvious that she shares Charlie’s attraction. When Charlie discovers that one of the bakery
employees is ________________________ from Mr. Donner, he is uncertain what to do until
Alice tells him to trust _________________________. Delighted by the realization that he is
capable of solving moral dilemmas on his own, Charlie confronts the worker and forces him to
stop cheating Donner. Not long afterward, Charlie is ___________________ from the bakery
because the other workers are disturbed by the sudden change in him, and because Donner can
see that Charlie no longer needs his charity. Charlie grows closer to Alice, though whenever the
mood becomes too intimate, he experiences a sensation of panic and feels as if his old disabled
self is watching him. Charlie recovers memories of his mother ___________________ him for
the slightest interest in girls, and he realizes that this past trauma is likely responsible for his
inability to be Alice.
Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur take Charlie and Algernon to a
_______________________________ in Chicago, where they are the star exhibits. Charlie has
become frustrated by Nemur’s refusal to recognize him as ______________________________.
He feels that Nemur treats him like just another _____________________________, even
though it is disturbingly clear that Charlie’s scientific knowledge has advanced beyond Nemur’s.
Charlie wreaks havoc at the convention by _______________________________________
while they are onstage. Charlie flees back to New York with Algernon and gets his own
_____________________, where the scientists cannot find him. He realizes that Nemur’s
hypothesis contains an error and that there is a possibility that his intelligence gain will only be
__________________________.
Themes
Intelligence: Success and Isolation
1) “The more intelligent you become the more problems you’ll have, Charlie. Your
intellectual growth is going to outstrip your emotional growth. And I think you’ll find
that as you progress, there will be many things you’ll want to talk to me about.” (Dr.
Strauss p. 47)
2) “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I knew and loved,
driven me out of the bakery. Now, I’m more alone than ever before.” (Charlie 108)

Charlie’s main goal in becoming intelligent is to be accepted and have friends.

The more he understand about the world and people the more Charlie withdraws
Tension Between Intellect and Emotion
3) Charlie - “But I’m not an inanimate object,” I argued. “I’m a person.”
Prof. Nemur - “Of course, Charlie. But I wasn’t referring to now. I meant before the
operation.”
Charlie – Smug, pompous – I felt like hitting him too. “I was a person before the
operation. In case you forgot –“ (Charlie & Prof. Nemur p.89)
4) “Charlie, you amaze me. In some ways you’re so advanced, and yet when it comes to
making a decision, you’re still a child. I can’t decide for you, Charlie. The answer can’t
be found in books – or be solved by bringing it to other people. Not unless you want to
remain a child all your life. You’ve got to find the answer inside you – feel the right
thing to do. Charlie, you’ve got to learn to trust yourself.” (Miss Kinnian p. 91)

Initially Charlie is warmhearted and trusting, but as his intelligence increases he grows
cold, arrogant, and disagreeable

He struggles making his own decisions and trusting in himself; making that move from
childhood to adult life.

Charlie is suspicious that everyone is laughing at him or only sees him as a science
experiment.
The Power of the Past on the Present

Charlie’s flashbacks of the past are significant in understanding the present.

Memories resurface in which the present Charlie watches the old Charlie as a separate
entity. Present Charlie gains a deeper understanding of himself and the people in his life.

Charlie’s past interferes with his actions in the present (i.e. his relationship with Miss
Kinnian, automatic fear of punishment if he makes a mistake.

He cannot move forward emotionally without dealing with the traumas of the past.
The Ethics of Medical Experimentation
2) “I just hope to God…that you don’t get hurt…You have no idea how afraid I’ve been that
something might go wrong. I feel partly responsible.” (Miss Kinnian p. 79)
5) “The say you’ve changed! I don’t know. You used to be a good, dependable man –
ordinary, not too bright ,maybe, but honest – and who knows what you done to yourself
to get so smart all of a sudden. Like everybody’s been saying – it ain’t right.” (Fanny p.
107)

Who is truly responsible for the results of this surgery? Does man have the right
to go against the fate that has already been set before him?