1. Flowers For Algernon Symbols
By: Rachel James, Kathleen Dooley, Logan Singer, Angelina Perera, and Emily Crockett

2. Big Question
Which symbol best represents the story, Flowers For Algernon and why?

3. Algernon
As Algernon and Charlie undergo the same operation and same testing, Algernon’s developments are good predictors of Charlie’s future. When Algernon begins to lose his intelligence, it is an indication that Charlie’s mental intelligence will only be temporary. Algernon also symbolizes Charlie’s status as a subject of the scientists: locked in a cage and forced to run through mazes at the scientists.
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The most important symbol in the book.

4. Window
Charlie’s always looking through a window in his childhood, trying to figure out how to get to the other side. The window that divides Charlie from his old self and starts to seem less like a barrier for his own safety, and more like a menacing reminder of his future.

5. Inkblot Test
The inkblots show not only how much Charlie wants to be smart, but also his belief that everyone else is already smart. At the beginning, Charlie cannot identify any pictures out of the Rorschach test he is given. The inkblots first represent failure for Charlie, and later his first sense of inner self- awareness. He begins to question why anyone would make up lies for a test. Towards the end of the novel, it represents Charlie’s final experiment, and his refusal to be a science project any more.

6. Flowers
The flowers represent Charlie’s wish for him and Algernon to be remembered, even though the experiment failed. But, for Charlie and Algernon, it was a unique and special experience, which through Charlie’s eyes makes it a success.

7. The Tree of Knowledge
The Tree of Knowledge bears a symbolic resemblance to Charlie’s journey from retardation to genius. While he is in the hospital, his nurse, Hilda, talks about the story and it stays in his mind. Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, which costs them their innocence and causes them to be cast out of the Garden of Eden. As the forbidden fruit does for Adam and Eve, Charlie’s operation gives him the mental capacity to understand the world that he previously lacked.

8. Maze
The maze is an important symbol in the novel. Although it is a literal maze, it is also a symbol for life. Thus, as we move through life, we all must figure out how to navigate the maze. Algernon is literally a rat who runs in a maze, but we must also consider that as Charlie's intelligence increases, he too becomes another individual caught in the human rat-race in the maze of life.

9. Progress Reports
The novel is composed of a series of progress reports written by Charlie. However, the progress report itself is an important symbol. Most people believe that the role of science is to make progress, yet the novel calls into question the means and methods used to achieve progress, as well as the results of progress. It also prompts us to consider in what way(s) Charlie is making progress. At the end of the novel when Charlie has regressed to his initial state, we are left wondering if he has made any real progress.


10. Inkblot Video