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Flowers for Algernon. Daniel Keys Reading Guide #5: Progress Report 13: June 4 – July 28. June 5. Charlie does not want to lose control because he wants to record information as long as possible. This will be his legacy to the program and a way to help others. June 5.
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Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keys Reading Guide #5: Progress Report 13: June 4 – July 28
June 5 Charlie does not want to lose control because he wants to record information as long as possible. This will be his legacy to the program and a way to help others.
June 5 Algernon is losing his mental and physical skills. His body is weakening and he is losing his memory. * Note: Algernon’s physical decline indicates that he is regressing BELOW the point where he started.
June 10 Charlie identifies with Algernon. Algernon’s death foreshadows his own mental and physical decline and death.
June 30 Charlie is reporting his own mental decline. The use of this simile, “It’s slipping away like sand through my fingers,” suggests that Charlie still has some capacity for abstract thought.
June 30 June 15 – “touchy and irritable” June 19 – forgets where he lives June 21 – Charlie reports rapid losses – “Fugues of amnesia” June 22 – “last facts learned are the first forgotten” – short term memory loss June 23 – lack of coordination forces him to give up typing June 30 – most books “are too hard for [him] now”
July 7 He realizes as he becomes increasingly childlike that he needs someone to take care of him, and he naturally thinks of his parents. However, like the doctors, his parents made promises that they did not keep. Charlie has come to realize that he has no one to depend upon but himself.
July 24 He no longer uses apostrophes in contractions and possessives. His sentence structure and vocabulary are simpler than they were in May and June.
July 25 Even though he desperately needs her assistance, Charlie sends Miss Kinnian away because he wants to maintain his self-respect. At this point, Charlie can be seen as proud, or as vain.
July 27 There could be many reasons for their behavior: they may be embarrassed about the way they treated Charlie before; they may feel sorry for Charlie; they may admire his bravery; they may recognize his desperation; they may welcome a chance to feel superior to him again.
July 28 Miss Kinnian likely feels guilty for her part in helping Charlie get the surgery. Charlie shows up to her class because he has forgotten that he ever had the surgery. Since Miss Kinnian worked so closely with Charlie, she would be especially affected to see him after he has regressed to this extent.
July 28 Originally, Charlie did not understand this statement. Now, however, Charlie uses the statement properly, which indicates he has remembered what it means. When coupled with his statement to Miss Kinnian, “Its easy to make frends if you let pepul laff at you,” it sounds like Charlie has learned to not take himself so seriously.
July 28 The third question for this date is strictly an opinion question. However, whatever your answer, you should be prepared to support it with details from the story.
