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Flowers for Algernon Study Questions
Directions: Answer the following questions using complete sentences on a separate sheet of paper.
Progress Reports 1 to 9, March 5 to April 20
1. Why does Charlie go to Miss Kinnian's class? He wants to learn.
2. What does Charlie see the first time he is given the Rorschach test? Charlie
sees ink spilled on a page. He is unable to see anything else.
3. Why is Charlie chosen for the experiment? He’s motivated and hardworking.
4. Before the operation, what does Charlie think of Joe Carp and Frank Reilly? How do they treat
him? He likes them and thinks they are his friends; however, Joe and Frank make fun of Charlie
and laugh at his expense.
5. What does it mean to "pull a Charlie Gordon"? It means to do something “stupid.”
6. How can the reader tell that Charlie is getting smarter after the operation? Explain at least 2 signs.
He starts to spell words better and he can make judgements on his own.
7. Explain Charlie's feeling toward Algernon before and after the operation. Before the operation, he
resented Algernon for beating him in the race. After the surgery, he liked Algernon and
befriended him.
Progress Reports 11 and 12, April 21 to May 20
1. How is an IQ defined by the various characters? (April 21) The ability you have to learn, what you
already know, a combination of both
2. What are some differences between the two doctors? Dr. Nemur is a surgeon who is more
concerned with his career and reputation. Dr. Stauss is a psychiatrist who is concerned more with
Charlie.
3. Why does Charlie lose his job? His co-workers sign a petition because they feel threatened by
Charlie and are afraid of him.
4. Describe Charlie’s ability to communicate with people after the surgery. Charlie finds it difficult
to communicate with people because his intelligence level is MUCH higher than everyone else—
he cannot relate to anyone.
5. How does Charlie's opinion of the doctors change after the operation? Before the operation, he
thinks of the doctors as geniuses; however, after his IQ is tripled, he views the doctors as very
average—not nearly as smart as he thought they were.
6. Why was Charlie upset about the incident with the dishwasher? Why is this significant to
Charlie? He sees what he used to be like for the first time and he’s angry for laughing at the boy.
This is significant because Charlie realizes that he wants to devote his life to the study of artificial
intelligence.
Progress Report 13, May 23 to July 28
1. What is the Algernon-Gordon Effect? The Algernon-Gordon Effect is the research study that
Charlie conducted to find what went wrong with the surgery.
2. What does Charlie do when he realizes he will lose his intelligence? He moves into the lab and
begins researching and further analyzing the work of Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss.
3. When Charlie returns to the factory, how do his co-workers react? The co-workers feel sorry for
Charlie, stick up for him and are very friendly.
4. How does Miss Kinnian react when Charlie returns to night school? Why? Miss Kinnian runs out
of the room crying because she fell in love with Charlie and she feels bad that he has regressed.
5. Who does Charlie blame for his loss of intelligence? Why? Charlie blames himself because he
feels like he didn’t work hard enough.
6. How does Charlie's personality change throughout the story? At first he’s naive and innocent. He
changes by becoming suspicious, untrusting, and arrogant. He later returns to being naive and
innocent.
7. How do Charlie's feelings toward Miss Kinnian change throughout the story? (Describe 3 different
types of feelings he has for her.) He respects her as a teacher and role model. He becomes her
friend; then he falls in love with her.
8. What are some of the themes of the story? Things are not always what they seem; Don’t take
things for granted; Treat others as you’d want to be treated; Don’t make fun of people; The grass
is not always greener on the other side.
Do you think that Charlie should have had the operation? Why or why not?