Kenneth Vazquez & Monisha Foster Flowers For Algernon Part 6 Kenneth Vazquez & Monisha Foster

The Voice of Charlie Tone: Charlie’s attitude and emotion in his writing is now scarce, concerned and even a little frustrated. Charlie is confused ex. Mrs. Flynn called a strange doctor to see me. She was afraid I was going to die. I told the doctor I wasn’t too sick and that I only forget sometimes. When I read this I read it as if he if confused and maybe just a little scared

Charlie’s Diction Charlie’s vocabulary is still complex and he is understanding thing at a whole different level. He talks about how confusing and stressful things are becoming. He has become so educated and intellectually advanced that he looks over old progress reports and he unable to read and comprehend what he was writing. He has reached a whole new level and at this point in time isn’t quite sure how to handle it. Ex. “I was looking at some of my old progress reports and it’s very funny but I cant read what I wrote.” Right here he is at a whole new level Ex. “Please… please let me not forget how to read and write..” Right here he is feeling very much overwhelmed and insecure Charlie’s vocabulary is still complex but not as complex as it previously was but his understanding it still very high and this is a major part of his frustration. Knowing what he wants to say but it being difficult to put into words.

Charlie’s Syntax Charlie’s grammar is slowly fading away he is misspelling words. Thot instead of thought. Laff instead of laugh. Lesin instead of lesson. Startid instead of started. Pepul instead of people. Operashun instead of operation. He has lost his ability to articulate in an accurate way, and has stopped looking for words in the dictionary. He at first is hesitant and wishes he doesn’t forget how to read and write. Ex. “Please… Please let me not forget how to read and write”.

People in Charlie’s Life In this part of the story we discover a little bit about some people that were before unmentioned. We see changes in the way people treat and look at Charlie. He is now acknowledged as a regular person instead of a mentally challenged man. Although, all of this has now changed, he has become isolated from the world. He is afraid to be made fun of again.

Ms. Kinnian; Charlie’s love interest and teacher Charlie has become hopeless and isolated from the people that are the closest to him. Ms. Kinnian, who he once claimed to be in love with has come to see him, and he told her to go away for he is terrified she will laugh at him now that he is not a intelligent person anymore. He feels bad about having to let her go, for he still cares deeply for her. She pays his rent, and he feels uncomfortable with her doing that for him. Ex. “She cried and I cried too but I wouldn’t let her in because I didn’t want her to laugh at me. I told her I didn’t like her anymore. I told her I didn’t want to be smart anymore. That’s not true”

Drs. Nemur and Strauss Charlie does not go to the laboratory anymore, so it’s been quite a while since he’s seen the two doctors who performed the operation on him. Right at the end of the story, as he leaves Ms. Kinnian his journal and says goodbye to his old life, he asks her to please advice Dr. Nemur to be more of a forgiving and humble person so that he will have some friends. Ex. “…tell Dr. Nemur not to be such a grouch when pepul laff at him and he would have more frends.

His “friends”: The co-workers at the box factory Charlie is trying to convince himself that once he’s back doing his old job, that things will change and there would be no more making fun of him. He’s trying to think of his co-workers as he once used to. As his “friends”. This time around, a new worker at the factory cracks a joke at Charlie, and Joe Carp stands up for him. Later on, Frank Reilly also came up to him telling him that he has Charlie’s back. Charlie is very thankful and feels like he is cared for. He goes to the supply room to let out a cry for it is a very emotional moment in his life. Ex. Joe Carp to the new worker- “leave him alone you lousy cracker or I’ll break your neck.” Ex. Frank Reilly to Charlie- “if anybody bothers you call me or Joe and we will set em straight.” Ex. Charlie to himself afterwards- “its good to have friends”

Mrs. Flynn: His landlady Mrs. Flynn expresses worry towards Charlie’s new behavior. She feels that all Charlie does is lay around without doing anything productive. She considers him a loafer and lets him know that she doesn’t like loafers. She feels sorry for Charlie and he expresses his admiration towards her humble personality whenever someone is sick. Ex. “I’m really sick and she feels very sorry for me. She’s a wonderful woman whenever someone is sick.”

His parents Charlie is reminiscing at this point in the story about his parents. He remembers his dad but only the things that have affected him emotionally. He expresses sorrow towards how his father could never keep a promise or didn’t show him much affection as a child. Also, we find out the grudge that Charlie’s mom holds against Charlie’s dad for abandoning them. He asks her if his father’s alive and that sets her off in an angry way. Ex. “all I remember is my father drunk most of the time and arguing with mom about money.” Ex. “… Cousin Miltie said he heard his mom say that my father ran away with another woman. When I asked my mother she slapped my face and said my father was dead. I don’t think I ever found out which was true but I don’t care much.

Algernon: his first real friend At the end of the story, Charlie asks Ms. Kinnian to put flowers on Algernon’s grave, showing he has a great amount of respect towards his deceased friend. Also, he expresses how he knows his time is coming as well. He asks Ms. Kinnian to put flowers on the grave as a symbol of putting flowers on his own.

Summary Charlie is once again facing some difficult conflicts. For example, he is losing his grammar and spelling abilities. He tries to use complex vocabulary but it is not as easy as it once was. He has learned that the more that he learns, the more eventually his knowledge deteriorates. He is back to his old self but with knowledge of what the “real world” is like. He finally actually has friends and is treated as a human being instead of a mentally challenged person. These events highlight the theme of the story which is to not make fun of someone for his short comings because if they had the chance or ability to learn as we can, they could make us feel bad about our IQ level. We must learn to accept people the way they are for we are all the same inside, and we all have feelings that can be hurt with a not so funny joke. Everybody should have a chance to be themselves without anybody judging them.