Flowers for Algernon: Pages 278-311

Charlie is quickly changing. He is losing the knowledge he knew. Charlie begins to get in fights with people and is very irritable. One day Charlie had a very strange therapy session with Dr. Strauss. Charlie starts to make fun of everything about Dr. Strauss. Charlie begins to become lightheaded. He describes to Dr. Strauss, “A feeling I’ve had once or twice before, just before I fainted. A lightheadedness…everything intense…but my body feels cold and numb…” 

Charlie continues to write the progress reports but it gradually gets harder. Charlie is losing lots of his vocabulary and forgetting how to spell basic words. Professor Nemur wants Charlie to come in and do some tests to find out how much knowledge he has lost. The first test was a maze, Charlie could not complete it. Charlie becomes very frustrated he is sick of doing these tests and he doesn't want people's sympathy. The rests of the tests did not go well. Charlie could not complete any of the tests successfully. 

The next day Dr. Strauss came to visit Charlie. Charlie refused to let him in. He just wanted to be left alone. Suddenly Charlie decided to try to read a book. He picked it up and couldn't understand anything. This caused him to remember a time when he was seven. He was sitting at the table with his mother. His mother told him to read a sentence. Charlie repeatedly read the sentence incorrectly. This frustrated his mother.

When Charlie came into his apartment in the morning after wandering around he found Alice. She had cleaned his apartment and fell asleep there. Alice told Charlie she was very worried about him and wanted to come and check on him. Charlie began to yell at her saying he doesn't need someone to check on him and he doesn't need her sympathy. Alice will not give in she refuses to leave. She wants to spend as much time as she can with Charlie before he goes to the Warren Home. Before Charlie replies Alice kisses him. 

Charlie is rapidly losing knowledge. Alice stays around to keep him company. One morning Charlie screamed at Alice for cleaning and then she cried. Charlie regretted yelling at her but was also partially angry.  Charlie stays in bed all day and watches T.V. Alice left Charlie’s apartment. She told Charlie she couldn’t live in such a mess. Alice was really sad about leaving. After Alice leaves Charlie gets an idea. If he keeps reading and learning new things the deterioration will go slower. Charlie goes to the library and begins to read. The next day Dr. Strauss came Charlie told him not to come back that he would send the progress reports and he wants to be left alone. Fay won’t talk to Charlie because she is afraid. The Landlady Mrs. Mooney begins to take care of Charlie. Since Charlie wouldn’t talk to Alice, she would give money to Mrs. Mooney for Charlie. Mrs. Mooney would bring food for Charlie to his room. Charlie knows that Alice and Dr. Strauss told her to check on him but he decides not to me mean to Mrs. Mooney.

Charlie tries to keep reading but it is very hard for him and he gives up. Mrs. Mooney, Dr. Strauss and Alice are all very worried about Charlie. He lies around all day doing nothing. When Mrs. Mooney came up and told Charlie that Alice had paid his rent. This upset Charlie he didn’t want their sympathy he wanted to do everything on his own. This prompted Charlie to go back to the bakery and ask for his job back. Mr. Donner told him he could have his old job back. Charlie started working. On his first day back a guy named Meyer Klaus came up to him. He had been hired when Charlie left. Meyer came up to Charlie and grabbed his arm and threatened to break it. Charlie got really nervous and had an accident in his pants. Meyer let go of him disgusted but then Joe came out and grabbed Meyer. When Charlie came back from getting changed Joe, Frank and Gimpy told Charlie that they would get rid of Meyer.

Charlie is losing knowledge quickly. He knows it is time to leave for the Warren Home. He packs his stuff and that is the end.

I think the ending was interesting. They didn’t directly tell you that Charlie died. According to his studies this was the end of his life. I guess the reader can decide. I think that he probably died but others may not. I wonder why Charlie wanted to be alone. Did he not want everyone to see him becoming dumb again? Overall I really liked the book I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

Flowers for Algernon: Pages 240-278

Charlie continues to try and find the reason for Algernon's strange behavior. One night Charlie goes to a cocktail party at the Nemur's house. He ends up very drunk and starts yelling at Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss that they never treated him well. Then Charlie goes to the bathroom and sees "Charlie" in the mirror. Charlie begins yell at him and ask why he is there. After that Charlie concludes that was just drunk and it was a reflection of him in the mirror. 

One morning Charlie finally figures what is going on with Algernon. He calls it "the Algernon-Gordon Effect". This means, "artificially-induced intelligence deteriorates at a rate of time directly proportional to the quantity if the increase." When Charlie finds this out it is basically saying he will die soon but Charlie is determined to keep helping the experiment. He told Professor Nemur that he will keep writing descriptive progress reports until he can't write anymore. The more information they can get out of this experiment the better. About two weeks after Charlie proposed "The Algernon-Gordon Effect," Algernon died. 

Charlie decides he needs to visit his mother, Rose, soon. When he arrives at her house he doesn't know what to say. He stands there watching her clean the outside porch. Finally Charlie builds up the courage to say, "Ma." This startles her and she runs inside and locks the door. Charlie won't turn back. He's come this far he deserves to have a conversation with her. He bangs on the doors in the vestibule until it breaks. Then she runs to the apartment and locks the door. Charlie begins to knock and say he's only come to talk and he has no intention if hurting her. Reluctantly, she opens the door and invites Charlie in. Charlie begins to tell her about the operation and that he is normal know. Rose begins to become very self-conscious about her home and she starts to clean. Then they begin to talk about the operation. Rose acts very selfish. She starts to talk about how she has to tell all her friends and that it is wonderful news. All she wants to do is brag. Before Charlie is about to leave, he gives his mom the article he wrote about "The Algernon-Gordon Effect." Just as Charlie is about to leave, Norma comes home. Charlie was hoping to avoid Norma, but now he will need to talk to her. She is very surprised to see him, but also seems happy. Charlie was expecting her to be very upset with him. Norma began to talk very fast about how she is so excited to see him and she was so happy to hear he is still alive and so on. Then, they begin to talk about their childhood. Norma doesn't really remember much but when Charlie brings up some of his memories she begins to say how sorry she was for being mean to him. When Charlie is about to leave Norma begins to cry and hugs Charlie. Then Rose stood up grabbed a knife and began to yell at Charlie, "What are you doing to her? Get away from her! I told you what I'd do to you if I ever caught you touching your sister again! Dirty mind! You don't belong with normal people." This upsets Norma. She yells at Rose to put the knife down. But Rose refused. So Norma took the knife. Charlie quickly escapes from the apartment and wishes Norma good luck.

I can’t believe the way Rose treats Charlie. It’s unbelievable that she would threaten him with a knife. What did Charlie do to deserve this poor treatment? Will Charlie die? I can’t wait to read the end of this book and find out what happens.

Flowers for Algernon: Pages 200-238

After a few weeks, Charlie decides to contact Alice. He calls her and decides to meet up at her apartment. Alice told Charlie that she was really worried about him. Charlie told her not to worry and he would return to the lab in a few days. Charlie begins to have a theory that "Charlie" is watching him. He believes "Charlie" is the version of him before he had the operation. Charlie believes that "Charlie" is against Charlie and Alice having a romantic relationship. He thinks this because whenever he is about to do something romantic with Alice he starts to feel sick and nothing ever happens. He thinks "Charlie" is causing this sick feeling. Alice told Charlie to stop thinking about his theory and that it’s not real.  But when Charlie leans towards Alice to kiss her yet again he gets this sick feeling. Charlie runs out of her apartment so he can go home. 

 

When Charlie gets back to his apartment he waits for Fay to return back to her apartment. When she comes back he quickly goes to her apartment. They end up drinking then getting in bed together. Charlie feels as if "Charlie" is watching but he doesn't care. But the relationship between Fay and Charlie isn't perfect. Charlie is having a hard time getting work done because he is always out dancing and drinking with Fay. Algernon begins to act very strange. He refuses to complete the challenges Charlie creates for him. But even worse, he bit Fay. 

Charlie decides to meet up with Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur. They are glad to see Charlie and Algernon. They make a plan to get their experiments back on track. Unfortunately, they are also very upset about Algernon's recent behavior and disappointed that Charlie left with Algernon for New York City.

Charlie decides to visit the Warren home, a place where retarded people live. When Charlie arrived he met up with Mr. Winslow who gave him a tour. Charlie thinks the whole atmosphere seems very gray and sad. When Charlie leaves he doesn't know what to think about the Warren home.

Algernon continues to struggle and he refuses to do his practice activities.

Alice meets Fay and right away they click. They hang out, Charlie, Fay, and Alice for a few hours. When Alice leaves she tells Charlie that Fay is a very nice person, but he needs to be careful. He needs to make sure he isn't drinking too much and he keeps learning.

Questions

• What is the cause of this sick feeling he is getting? 

• Why does Charlie keep seeing "Charlie"?

• What does Charlie mean when he says on page 31, "I may soon be coming to Warren, to spend the rest of my life with the others... waiting."?

Flowers for Algernon: Pages 165-200

Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss are determined to find Charlie and Algernon or this will be the end of their careers. Charlie finds an apartment in New York. He moves in and starts his new life. He goes to the library every day to expand his knowledge and decides to build mazes for Algernon to keep learning. One day Charlie gets locked out of his apartment. He decides to go next door hoping he can use the fire escape to enter his locked room. When he knocks on his neighbor’s door, a voice invites him to enter. When Charlie opens the door he sees a women standing in her underwear painting. She introduces herself as Fay and asks if he would like a drink. Charlie feels very uncomfortable and just wants to get into his locked room. Fay continues to try to create conversation. Eventually Charlie goes up to his apartment after making what some would call his “first friend.” 

Charlie decides to go meet his father, Matt. When Charlie goes to the hair salon Matt owns he doesn't know what he is in for. When he arrives Matt quickly says, “No waiting, your next." This catches Charlie off guard but he decides he will get his hair cut. After Charlie gets his hair cut he decides to ask if Matt recognizes him. Matt thinks it some kind of joke and Charlie decides not to tell him the truth. Charlie returns to his room wondering why his father would want to talk to him.

One night Fay came to Charlie's room. She comes in and acts very strangely. She starts saying stuff about liking Charlie and that he would be the one. They end up both getting drunk then falling asleep. The next day when Charlie went out to eat he noticed something different about the boy washing the dishes. When the boy dropped a plate and his boss started yelling at him a lot of the people eating began to laugh. Then Charlie realized this boy was retarded. Charles related to this boy and it really upset him. Charlie yelled at everyone laughing then abruptly left the restaurant.

I think it interesting to see that Charlie is so dedicated to keep learning but he is also determined to help Algernon keep learning. At first Charlie hated Algernon but now they have grown a bond in-between each other. I wonder if Fay and Charlie will become friends. I can’t tell if Charlie likes her or not. Will Charlie get enough courage to go talk to Matt? I can’t wait to answer these questions and keep reading.