What Flowers for Algernon Can Teach Us (spoilers)
Flowers for Algernon is a short story that was adapted into a novel by Daniel Keyes. I remember reading the short story in elementary school and it resonated with me ever since. I just finished the novel and I cried. Flowers for Algernon is about a man named Charlie Gordon who has a very low IQ and is mentally disabled. He attends classes for mentally disabled adults with his teacher, Miss Kinnian. Charlie is the most determined to learn as much as he can. This is why Charlie is selected to undergo an operation that was only done on a mouse named Algernon, which increases his IQ until he becomes a genius and a great problem solver. However, genius does not teach him emotional stability, and Charlie struggles to connect with others as his intelligence surpasses those around him. Soon, Algernon shows signs of decline, and shortly after, Charlie begins to decline and reverts back to his low IQ self. He forgets about the interactions with others and h...