Flowers For Algernon

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “The Nuremberg Code”

In this activity, students will research a human experiment and create a presentation relating the ethics of the experiment with the narrative and themes of Flowers for Algernon.

Created via the Supreme Court case U.S. v. Brandt, the “Nuremberg Code” is a set of ethical guidelines for experimentation involving human beings put into place in the aftermath of the Nazi experiments in World War II. This code aims to eliminate any disrespect or inappropriate treatment toward human subjects in any experimentation such as the one Charlie went through in Flowers for Algernon.

Choose and research an experiment involving people from the list provided. Then, synthesize your findings in a presentation or poster to share with the class.

Requirements

• Explain if your chosen experiment follows the ethics outlined in the Nuremberg Code.
• Assess the Psychological Impact of the chosen experiment on the individuals involved.
• Express if it supports Dignity of All Humans.
• Compare this experiment with the one Charlie went through in the narrative.

List of Experiments: The Marshmallow Experiment, The Stanford Prison Experiment, The Milgram Experiment, The Bobo Doll Experiment, The Clark Doll Experiment

Teaching Suggestion: It may help to provide a handout of the Nuremberg Code and go over what each bullet point means in relation to treating human beings with dignity and respect. Utilizing the experiment detailed in the narrative and comparing each point using evidence from the text may be a starting point to introduce this activity.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students with processing challenges, consider providing 2-3 guidelines from the Nuremberg Code to consider rather than the full 10. This may help them focus more on the skills and activity itself.

Paired Text Extension: “An Origin Story” by Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye

Watch and listen to the following two-voice poem by Sarah Kay and Phil Kay titled, “An Origin Story.” Then, create your own two-voice poem with the two voices being “Intelligence” and “Emotions.” Have both sides describe the same situation from their specific points of view. Throughout the poem, weave in the theme Acquiring Intelligence Versus Developing Emotions as seen in Flowers for Algernon.

Teaching Suggestion: With two-voiced poems, it sometimes helps to provide a layout structure for students to follow. For example:

Voice 1: Intelligence                Both Voices                  Voice 2: Emotions

From here, students may fill in each column with their poem. Since this does require two people to speak, you may allow students to work in pairs.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Prior to Charlie’s surgery, Charlie is content with his life, colleagues, and peers.

• Though Charlie Acquires Intelligence and Develops more complex Emotions, was he better off before or after his surgery? (topic sentence)
• Argue for one of the perspectives: better or worse. Include a minimum of three key plot points with analysis of the evidence that support your claim and compare Charlie to himself before and after his surgery.
• In your concluding sentence(s), interpret the author’s perspective on this prompt and critique his narrative choices to emphasize his point.

2. After Charlie’s surgery, he is caught off-guard by the onslaught of memories from his childhood regarding his family’s shame and guilt toward him.

• How has Charlie’s life been shaped by The Psychological Impact of the Past? (topic sentence)
• Select at least three of Charlie’s family memories. For each memory, explain the event and connect it to Charlie’s actions and/or value as an adult. Then, evaluate each impact regarding its positive or negative outcomes.
• In your concluding sentence(s), evaluate his family’s overall impact on his identity and critique Keyes’s choices to redeem them.

3. Throughout the novel, Charlie is treated both with and without Dignity, depending on the relationship he has with the individual and his level of intelligence at the time.

• How does Charlie’s developing intelligence affect his relationship with others? (topic sentence)
• Select two or more characters from the novel. For each one, explain their relationship with Charlie utilizing specific evidence from the text. Then, analyze how their relationship develops and/or disintegrates before, during, and after Charlie’s intellectual development.
• In your concluding sentences, synthesize both characters’ overall relationships with Charlie and explain how Keyes implies that personal development may impact others.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider Charlie’s statement at the end of the novel: “It’s foolish and sentimental, but late last night I buried him in the back yard. I wept as I put a bunch of wildflowers on the grave” (Progress Report 16). How has Charlie changed? Show the development of his relationship with Algernon over the course of the novel, citing three different examples of textual evidence. With each piece of textual evidence, analyze the parallels between Charlie and Algernon’s characters. In your conclusion, evaluate Keyes’s effectiveness in utilizing Algernon’s character to mirror Charlie’s, and justify your evaluation.

2.  The novel itself is structured as a series of “Progress Reports” written in Charlie’s first-person point-of-view. Analyze the impact this structure has on the narrative and the reader’s relationship with the narrator. Citing textual evidence from before his surgery, during the aftermath, and throughout his decline, show how Keyes’s choices allow for the reader’s deepening understanding of the main character. In your conclusion, express how the impact of the narrative themes may have changed if written in a traditional format.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is Charlie’s main motivation for agreeing to the operation?

A) To excel in his class

B) To impress Miss Kinnian

C) To become more intelligent

D) To impress his family

2. What role does Algernon play in the narrative?

A) As a parallel to Charlie’s own experiences with the surgery

B) As a foil opposing Charlie’s experiences with the experiment

C) As a guardian to support Charlie’s increasing self-awareness

D) As a researcher analyzing Charlie’s changes

3. Which statement best summarizes how Charlie’s perception of his bakery coworkers develops over the course of the novel?

A) He initially views them as adversaries but gains a new understanding of them by the end.

B) He initially views them as friends until he becomes more self-aware of their disrespect.

C) He initially views them as acquaintances but becomes closer to them after the surgery.

D) He initially views them as the family he never had and becomes more intertwined in their lives throughout the novel.

4. How do Charlie’s experiences with Dr. Guarino as a child most differ from his experiences with Dr. Nemur, Dr. Strauss, and Burt?

A) Dr. Guarino temporarily increased Charlie’s intellect while the scientists permanently helped Charlie.

B) Dr. Guarino treated Charlie with resentment while the scientists continuously supported Charlie and his endeavors.

C) Dr. Guarino predicted Charlie’s inability to permanently change while the scientists contested and invalidated his assumption.

D) Dr. Guarino treated Charlie with human dignity while the scientists often treated Charlie like a specimen.

5. What does Charlie ask the reader to do at the end of his final progress report?

A) Submit his research to the Wellberg Foundation.

B) Put flowers on Algernon’s grave.

C) Enlist a different individual to take the surgery and compare outcomes.

D) Give Algernon a new home away from the scientists.

6. Which statement best describes Charlie’s relationship with Alice?

A) Charlie loves Alice physically and mentally, though he struggles to express it.

B) Charlie appreciates Alice’s values and teachings.

C) Charlie forgives Alice for subjecting him to the surgery.

D) Charlie pines for Alice, though she no longer loves him.

7. Read this excerpt from Progress Report 11 (Page 89):

“What’s right? Ironic that all my intelligence doesn’t help me solve a problem like this.”

To which of the following themes does this quote best relate?

A) The Psychological Impact of the Past

B) The Extent of Emotional Knowledge

C) The Dignity of All Humans

D) Acquiring Intelligence Versus Developing Emotions

8. Which of the following is the strongest depiction of the theme The Dignity of All Humans in the novel?

A) Dr. Nemur chooses Charlie to undergo the surgery.

B) Alice teaches Charlie in her class at Beekman College Center.

C) Charlie comes to the aid of a neurodivergent boy.

D) Fay has intimate relations with Charlie.

9. How is the symbolism of the knife best represented in the novel?

A) The knife represents his guilt regarding sexual attraction.

B) The knife symbolizes the threatening relationship between Charlie and his mother.

C) The knife reflects Charlie’s self-identity as opposed to how others perceive him.

D) The knife demonstrates Charlie’s attempt to fight his intellectual decline.

10. The use of first-person point of view progress reports allows for dramatic irony in the narrative, where the audience knows something that the narrator does not. Which of the following is the best example of this?

A) Charlie hallucinates versions of his younger self.

B) Charlie discovers his mother has dementia.

C) Charlie is incorrectly convinced that his colleagues are friends.

D) Charlie correctly assumes he, like Algernon, will digress.

11. How does Charlie’s perceptions of intelligence evolve throughout the novel?

A) He believes intelligence can make him happy but later learns it has limitations.

B) He thinks intelligence is vital and maintains this view throughout.

C) He discovers that emotional intelligence triumphs over academic.

D) He becomes obsessed with intelligence as a symbol of status.

12. What do the flowers in the title Flowers for Algernon symbolize?  

A) Charlie’s digression into amnesia

B) Algernon’s desire for knowledge

C) The flowering success of scientific experimentation

D) The fleeting and temporary beauty of intelligence

13. Which of the following statements most accurately depicts the differences between Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur?

A) Dr. Strauss is motivated by fame while Dr. Nemur is motivated financially.

B) Dr. Strauss is concerned with publication while Dr. Nemur is concerned with progress.

C) Dr. Strauss treats Charlie empathetically while Dr. Nemur is more rigid and arrogant.

D) Dr. Strauss views Charlie as a specimen while Dr. Nemur considers him an asset.

14. Which of the following is the most likely reason Charlie is fired from the bakery?

A) Gimpy is upset that Charlie threatened to turn him in for stealing.

B) Gimpy is upset that Charlie was stealing from Mr. Donner.

C) Mr. Donner is concerned with Charlie’s health and well-being.

D) Dr. Nemur feels that Charlie is not spending enough time at the lab.

15. Which of the following best describes the author’s perspective on society’s treatment of individuals with intellectual disabilities?

A) The novel primarily portrays society as understanding and accepting of such individuals.

B) The novel criticizes society’s discrimination and mistreatment of them.

C) The novel suggests that society is indifferent to such individuals.

D) The novel glorifies societal norms and expectations.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Analyze the difference in relationships Charlie has between Alice and Fay. Express how each represents his increasing intellect and self-awareness.

2. How does Charlie deal with the negative Psychological Impacts of the Past, and how did his surgery allow him to do so?