Russell Chan 08S304 Progress Report 1

Written in first-person, Flowers for Algernon is an intrepid work of Keyes that delves into the humanly ideals of intelligence and perfection. In this text, readers are presented with the current popular notion of humans wanting to play God. Charlie, a mentally retarded individual, undergoes an operation to make him smarter. This parallels current advances in science such as genetic engineering, the more popular being cloning and genetic alteration in babies. As Charlie gets smarter, the world he perceives gets more and more intricate, which in turn greatly affects his emotional state of mind. Keyes attempts to bring across the idea that as we humans try harder to play the role of God, the more others will be affected emotionally as morality steps in.

The novel also touches on the typicalities of human nature. Being deprived mentally and socially, Charlie is portrayed as an individual who would strive his hardest in order to achieve his goal of getting smarter, and never giving up even when the odds are all against him. However, other normal humans such as his colleagues at the bakery, who are given what Charlie did not have, take things for granted.

The book takes readers through a turbulent ride of emotion, leaving them thinking, after all that Charlie had gone through, whether Charlie's desire and efforts to get smarter was ever worth it in the first place.