“Flowers for Algernon” By: Daniel Keyes

About the Author: Daniel Keyes Photographer, merchant, seaman, & editor Majored in psychology in college Wrote many fiction and nonfiction novels Minds of Billy Milligan is about a man with a multiple personality disorder. “Flowers for Algernon” is his best known work, which won the Hugo Award of the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1959.

“Flowers for Algernon” Was adapted into the film Charly Also adapted into a Broadway play Charlie and Algernon The idea for the novel came to Keyes after he met a mentally disadvantaged young man. He wondered, what would happen “if it were possible to increase human intelligence artificially.”

Purpose for Reading Build vocabulary Respond to text through writing (journals), listening and speaking (discussions and debate). Relate a story to personal experience. Summarize sections of a story. Recognize parts of the plot and create a plot chart.

Vocabulary Psychology – study of mind & mental & emotional processes Tangible (adj.) – can be understood; definite; objective Specter (n.) – disturbing thoughts Refute (v.) – prove to be false by argument or evidence Illiteracy (n.) – inability to read or write Obscure (v.) – conceal or hide Syndromes (n.) – symptoms that occur together and characterize a specific disease or condition Introspective (adj.) – inward looking; thoughtful

Observation Journal Point of view (POV) refers to the vantage point from which a story is told. Pick a character in “Flowers of Algernon” and imagine you are observing Charlie’s progress. Write several entries in their observation journal to describe the events from their point of view. Support your observations with specific details from the story.