Lipa Campus
College of Teacher Education
Bacani, Allea
Calingasan, Divine
Miranda, Camille
“Flowers for Algernon”
by Daniel Keyes
1. Respond:
2. Recall:
3. Recall:
4. A.) Recall: Charlie angrily and intensely throws a roll and Shouts, at the person in the
diner who is teasing Joe, the dishwasher for dropping a plate. He intensely shout , "Leave
him alone and He can't help it!
B. ) Charlies strong emotional reaction js from his empathy for Joe as he has also faced
similar experience of being bullies and insults in the past due, to his intellectual struggles
this reflects to hisgrowing sense of justice and newfound ability to be the voice and to
stand up for others.
5. Compare and Contrast:
a. ) On a positive side He discovers the deeper parts of his personality he also gains an empathy
and Learn to appreciate the beauty in of art and literature. Also Charlies academic journey has
brought him fulfillment self discovery and improved social connections. However there are
aspects he has experienced well such as He feels lonely and feel the fear of isolation he also
unable to connect with people who can't keep up or who can't reach his intelligence. For his co-
workers he became overly critical and he tend to dging others harshly due to their limitations.
Aside from that He faces intense emotions, anxiety and breakdowns due to the mental strain.
b. Charlie's feelings are a rollercoaster. He's is very amazed and excited to his newfound
abilities, he can compare to a kid in a candy store of knowledge. But then behind those
excitements there comes the fear and the confusion as he realizes his isolation he is in between
the excitement and despair.
6. Recall:
a. ) His coworkers react with confusion, jealousy and resentment as they witness the
sudden transfromation of his intelligence that surpassed their intelligence.
b. )The reason for their reaction is that the coworkers comes from their fear of the
unknown , because first they are very amazed and impressed to Charlie by being a genius
and they also ask charlie's help for their stuff, But then, things get weird when they face
challenges understanding charlie They also start feeling jealous and scared. Because they
believe that charlie is very smart now and They worry that charlie may take their jobs and
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College of Teacher Education
he will make them dumb. and that is why they treat Charlie meanly. They excluded him
and make fun of him since they perceive the sudden changes in charlie's intelligence as it
is a threat for them, to their self esteem.
c. ) I do sympathize with their reactions because I do believe that we all know that their
reaction was a normal or a natural human reaction to feel insecure when someone else is
doing better than you we always tend to compare our self to others ability, However, even
though I want to sympathize with their reactions to understand their feelings, i might not
agree with their actions of being mean to Charlie.
7. Analyze:
When do you realize that Charlie’s intelligence is not permanent?
The time where I suspected that the intelligence of Charlie was temporary are
when he begins to make mistakes when writing and showed difficulty in remembering
information, for example when he forgets things that he learned recently and when he
couldn’t even remember where he lived. Second, when he begins to misspell words,
stumble over sentences, and lose the ability to understand complex ideas, such as when
he couldn’t longer read German and tested himself with all languages and it’s all gone, it
shows that his intellectual abilities are fading. Ultimately, he becomes increasingly more
childish and dependent, similar to his state before surgery.
Apply:
What two details from the story reveal the progress of reversal?
First, Charlie’s progress reports showed development in vocabulary, grammar,
spelling, and understanding. For example, when he begun using a period and a comma
even, he doesn’t know the right place where to put or proper use of it. However, as the
reversal progresses, sentences become shorter, simpler, and grammatically incorrect
similar to his progress reports at the beginning.
And, the interaction with the mouse named “Algernon.” They compete in maze and their
performance interpret their cognitive capacities. The impact of the experiment with
Algernon has failed as he loses the ability to complete the puzzles. Charlie beats
Algernon’s performance, but his own intelligence also failed where he finds himself
struggling with the same maze, he once passed and aced.
8. Contrast:
What is the difference between Charlie at the beginning of the story and Charlie at
the end of the story?
At the beginning of the story, I must say that Charlie was ambitious and greedy,
maybe because of his desire for a sense of belonging. He has no idea on the consequences
of having a high intellectual capacity and he just think that being intelligent can make
him a better person. As I continue in reading the story, Charlie’s progress has been
shown, he exceled in terms of academic and he even surpasses Ms. Kinnian, his teacher,
which was incredible but “happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate
what they already have.” His newfound intelligence comes at a cost. His relationships
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Lipa Campus
College of Teacher Education
suffer as he struggles to connect with individuals who haven’t experienced what he does
like Joe and Frank. He grapples with feelings of isolation and loneliness; his confidence
gradually fades into delusions.
By the end of the story, Charlie have changed. He begun to realize the impermanence of
his intelligence like it is cruelly snatched away. However, in spite of losing the
intelligence he always wanted, his motivation turns into acceptance and self-
understanding.
Apply:
Why does Charlie decide to leave New York?
As his intelligence fades, Charlie feels he can no longer connect with people who
knew he was once an intelligent. He doesn’t want others to feel sorry for him because
they can make him feel uncomfortable. He needed to escape this painful experience as he
had lost the intelligence, he once imagined that can improve his life. Leaving also
symbolizes a new beginning, so I think that this is an opportunity to meet his future with
acceptance and dignity.
Predict:
What will happen to Charlie?
In the story, regression is permanent. It's likely that Charlie's intelligence will
continue to fail, like Algernon's. He might face challenges with daily tasks, social
interactions, and emotional regulation. But, If I will be the one to end or continue the
story, I will let him become intellectually capable in a way that he will undergo in an
actual process of understanding and acquiring knowledge.
9. Take a Position:
Do you think Charlie should have had the operation? Why or why not?
I agree with him having the operation, even if the regression is permanent. The
operation allows Charlie to experience the world in a way he never could before. He
acquired knowledge that allows him to become confident and reach his full potential. He
is accepted by others which helped him to connect with others for a while. But the most
important thing is that he experienced the happiness and satisfaction that no one can
never give.
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