LC says:

I believe that the story that had the most impact on me was Flowers for Algernon. I think this because of the story frame. To elaborate in details, its about a thirty-seven year old man that is mentally retarded, Charlie Gordon, that is excepted to go under a brain surgery to increase his brightness. While the story continues, Charlie grew smarter, and smarter. Eventually he was to smart for anyone to even understand him. He witnessed a friend die, and he was having thoughts that he was going to end up the same way. Also, this has the biggest impact because its incredible how smart he really was, and when the smartness was dying out, he went back to normal. What I mean is that there is always something special about everyone, and no one can ever change that about you.

  BP Period 2 says:

This short story was interesting to read about all of the short stories. The one short story that had a great impact on me the most was “Flowers for Algernon”. This had a great impact on me the most because of the point of view. The point of view impacted me because a man named Charlie Gordon, who was retarded, but he was tested in an experiment and this experiment helped him to become smart. Also I think, that the theme of this story had a big impact on me to. The theme was being intelligent doesn’t mean being happy. In fact it’s better off being who you really are.

  pchrist says:

Just another comment from another web browser.

  MS Period 2 says:

The short story that had the greatest impact on me was “Flowers for Algernon”. This story made me think about how other people in life live and the troubles they go through everyday. This story effected me the most because of the characters and the theme. Charlie, the main character, was a mentally disabled man who undergoes an experiment to make him smarter. In the end, this experiment only makes Charlie depressed and he goes back to being mentally disabled again. This was very tough for Charlie because he went from being mentally disabled, to being too smart for anyone to comprehend, to going back to being mentally disabled again. This was very hard for Charlie because he realized many things as he was becoming smart. He realized that his “friends” weren’t really his friends. He also realized that he loves Miss Kinnian. However, he thinks that she would never really love him. As you can imagine, this was very tough for Charlie. Even though he was mentally disabled he still was a kind, sweet man who was treated poorly by some of his “friends”. I agree with DG’s response about how Charlie was treated. When I was reading this book and read that Joe Carp and Frank Reilly were playing mean jokes on Charlie just to get a laugh, I felt sad for Charlie. I do not think that Charlie deserved that kind of behavior from people, because he didn’t do anything to them. Also, I think that Joe and Frank should have realized that Charlie is no t that different from them; he still has feelings. Although the main character had a large impact on me the theme did as well. The theme of this story is, to cherish every moment in life while you have it, before its gone. I think that this is a great theme for this story because before Charlie undergoes the operation he is a sweet, happy man. However, after the experiment/operation he is not the same and becomes depressed. That is why Charlie should have cherished those times before he became depressed because before that he was having fun with his life. Another example would be when Algernon died, Charlie was very upset that he passed away. Charlie should have cherished those moments when he was with Algernon, because Algernon was Charlie’s best friend. As you can see, “Flowers for Algernon” had the greatest impact on me, as I think it did for many other people.

  TP-Period 2 says:

Out of all of the stories we read in the short story unit, the one that had the biggest influence on me was without a doubt “Flowers for Algernon”. The amount of mental pain and suffering that Charlie must have gone trough is so immense that it really makes you begin to count your blessings. Whenever you are laughed at a teased by your friends you fell terrible, but to know that all the times you have known them and thought they really cared for you they really didn’t must be one experience that puts you through great anguish. Charlie felt alone and unwanted, like a piece of dirt on the sidewalk of life. On top of his sudden realization of truth, he was forced to cope with the improvement and then recession of his intelligence. At first all seemed alright when he began to learn how to read and write correctly and boosted his knowledge, but soon he was no longer able to communicate with the people he cared for most around him and was basically isolated and alone. To make matters worse, he his mind began to slow again and he returned to his normal state. The author insinuates that he is eventually to die, just like Algernon did.
All Charlie really wants is to be liked for who is and had loving, caring friends who would never put him in harms way. However, he is taken advantage of because of his mental disability. Fortunately, when his “friends” learn about what he went through they actually begin to support him in such a way that Charlie has never seen. The tell him that they will be there for him from now on and always help him along if he needs it. This teaches the reader some important themes. “All humans, no matter how different they may be, should be treated with respect,” and, “Intelligence and other traits do not matter as much as you may think because in the end what you think of yourself really matters. As long as you believe in yourself you can lead a fine life.” are themes that are very prevalent in the short story. These also relate directly to our life and can be used to live better.
I completely agree with both DG and MS on the fact that Charlie is truly not that different than everyone else working at the factory; all he wants is to work hard and make friends that care for him, and yet his “friends” at the beginning don’t realize that they should indeed respect him.

  JP- period 1 says says:

I think the story that touched me and had the greatest impact on me would be “Flowers for Algernon”. “Flowers for Algernon” is a story about a mentally restarted man, named Charlie. He was treated in a mean way. His supposed friends made fun of him and laughed at him. While they were doing these pranks on him he didn’t know that they were laughing at him not with him. This story had the greatest impact on me because he is a mentally retarded man that gets laughed at just because of the way he is. Every single day he would go through being laughed at. He went through that every single day, but he managed to keep happiness in him. Then he had his surgery and got really smart. Charlie thought this was so great, but then he started to find out that he could not communicate with anyone. That was another problem that led him into sadness. Then he got mentally retarded again; that was another problem to face. I don’t think that I could face anything like that. That’s why I think that “Flowers for Algernon” had the greatest impact on me.

  SC- Period 1 says:

The short story that impacted me the most was “Flowers for Algernon”. This story is about a thirty-seven year old man who’s name is Charlie. Charlie is mentally retarded. When the story begins his IQ level is 68. Many people at this intelligence level are vicious, but this is quite the opposite with Charlie. He is the nicest man. He is kind and considerate even when others are not. He endured tortuous pranks that he did not understand. He thought he would never be smart enough to be a normal person. The part in the story that impacted me the most was the sick, disgusting, and immature pranks by Charlie’s two “friends”. These so called friends make fun of Charlie and do not care about him at all. This brings up so many emotions in me. I feel hatred toward Frank and Joe, Charlie’s “friends”, because of the mean things they did to him. I also feel sadness for Charlie who suffered from their cruelty. Lastly, I feel happiness for Charlie because he was able to receive surgery to triple his intelligence level. I agree with CF because of her reasons on FFA. This story has changed the way I looked at disabled people even more than it I already do. This story has, arguably, the most powerful message ever displayed in literature.

  BM- Period 1 says:

The short story that had the greatest impact on me was “Flowers for Algernon”. “Flowers for Algernon” had the greatest impact on me because it made me think how people that are mentally slow must feel everyday. People think, since they are “different”, they wont understand what your saying about them. They have feelings to, there just like everyone else, but they learn in a different way. What affected me was the characters and theme. Charlie was the main character. He was a thirty-seven, mentally retarded man who undergoes an experiment just to make him smarter, so he can be just like everyone else. After the experiment, he is just more upset and he goes back to being mentally disabled once again. This was hard for Charlie to know he went from mentally disabled, to being way too smart for anyone to comprehend him, to going back to being disabled. When he was smart, he realized many different things. He noticed that his “buddies” really weren’t his buddies. They just wanted a laugh and once he was smart they wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Also, he experienced something very good. He realized that he loves Miss Kinnian. However, he feels she will never be able to love him. This was very touch for Charlie. In the beginning of the story, with an IQ of 68, Charlie was surprisingly very kind and gentle. Which is not normal because people with that low of an IQ are normally hostile. At the end, after loosing his intelligence, he became very hostile and angry. I agree with MS and DG about how Charlie had been treated. The way Joe Carp and Frank Reilly were treating him you would have never known they were “buddies”. They used to laugh and play jokes on Charlie, so I felt really bad for him. They just wanted Charlie around for a laugh. I don’t think Charlie deserved that because all he really wanted was a friend. The theme affected me also because no matter how smart someone is, or how “stupid” someone is, they should be treated like a regular human being. Everyone should get the same chance in life, and not worry about being made fun of just because they are slower than someone else. Imagine if you were in Charlie’s position, I know people wouldn’t life that.

  JF-Period 1 says:

Of all the short stories that we had viewed in class, “Flowers for Algernon” was the story that had made the greatest impression on me. I chose this story because it had a meaningful theme or central message. Charlie Gordon may have been mentally disabled, but that never stopped him from being the nice, caring, and genial man that he is. Charlie never had to undergo the surgery to be who he really was. It was sad for him to realize that his friends were never really kind to him at all. It also ashamed Charlie to discover that he never realized that his friends were just making fun of him when his was mentally disabled. Another central message or theme for this story is that people who are mentally disabled have feelings and are just like everyone else. Despite the fact that Charlie was disabled mentally, he still had feelings and expressed sorrow when he was being mocked by his co-workers.

The plot, too, had also made a great impression on me. In the story, we were able to view the journey of a mentally disabled man gradually grow into a person who is extremely intelligent, back into a mentally disabled man again. Being able to see the story through Charlie’s own eyes and perceive and experience what he is feeling emotionally throughout his journey, made the story very powerful in meaning. In each passing progress report you see how everything Charlie perceives changes. His knowledge began to expand and he was able to understand everything in a new and different way. Although, with his growing knowledge, Charlie finds it even more difficult to become like everyone else due to his disability to communicate with those who are not as intelligent as he was.

  CC Per 1 says:

I would say the story that had the greatest impact on me was “Flowers for Algernon”. This story really made a huge impact on me because Charlie didn’t have the intelligents as other people. Charlie still had feelings like other people, but the two men at his work did really mean jokes on him and he didn’t know. He cared about everyone and he never said anything mean about anyone, he was just slow then other people. When he finally got his intelligents he finds out that his ‘friend’ weren’t his friends and kept on playing jokes on him and also when he got smarter he wasn’t able to talk to anyone. It made him sad and made him wish he never got his intelligents. He was much happier when he didn’t have his intelligents. After Algernon died he started to lose his intelligents. He knew that his intelligents would disappear and he knew he would forget about them. This story really touched my heart and made me realize that slow people have feelings and it isn’t fair for them to be treated in a mean way. The charater, Charlie really made this story have a huge impact on me. Charlie is slow, and there are many people that are slow too and that made the huge impact because people really do get treated like Charlie did and that is unfair for people to get treated like that. I agree with DG, this story really did touch my heart and showed that people souldn’t be treated differently just because they aren’t as intelligent. Overall this story had the most impact on me.

  AG - Period 3 says:

Out of all the short stories read in this unit, I believe that “Raymond’s Run” really taught me a valuable lesson about respect. “Raymond’s Run” is a story about a sassy young girl named Squeaky and her mentally-retarded brother Raymond. Squeaky is largely responsible for Raymond and he accompanies her on her runs, for she is the star runner in their town. However, many of the other girls in town make fun of Raymond because he’s retarded. In this passage, I believe that the characters display the greatest impact. Squeaky really showed how to stick up for someone you love and to never give up. At the end of the story, knowing that she has already shown everyone that she has a place, she decides to train Raymond to become a runner. This action portrays Squeaky’s real character as a person and it shows how she is loving and respectful despite her sassy attitude.
Relating to many of the other posts, I believe that “Flowers for Algernon” depicts a great message as well. However, in my opinion, “Raymond’s Run” is a great lesson that people should take into consider due to how Squeaky shows love to her family members and how she sacrifices her whole running career for Raymond.

  AC says:

Out of all of the short stories we have read in class, I think “The Kitten” had the biggest impact on me. “The Kitten” is a story about how a young boy kills a kitten to show the resentment he has towards his father. His father is never nice to his sons and sleeps all day because he works a nightshift. “The Kitten” is probably one of the shortest stories out one the ones we have read, but it had a huge impact on me. What impacted on me the most, was the story’s theme and plot. After the boy killed the kitten to show his resentment towards his dad, it made me very emotional and upset. Also when the boy’s mom made him pick up the kitten and bury it; that also made me very emotional. This explains the theme of the book, which is that every animal and human deserves to live and should not be killed for any reason. This theme really impacts on me because it shows that the boy never should have killed the kitten to show resentment towards his father. Also the theme shows that the boy’s mother did the right thing, to make the boy pick up the kitten, bury it and then say a prayer to God. The boy deserved to go through the anguish of picking up the kitten and burying it himself. The second reason that this story made a huge impact on me is because of the plot. The plot was that there was a kitten outside and the boy’s father wanted him to keep it quiet, so he could sleep and said to kill it. The boy always disliked his father and, so he took his father literally and actually killed the kitten by hanging it in a noose. This, like I said before, made me very emotional and made a huge impact on me because hanging a kitten to just show resentment is a horrible and shocking thing to do, not just for a six year old boy, but for anyone. The last reason this story impacted on me was because of the point of view. The point of view of “The Kitten” is in first person. The narrator and author is Richard Wright. Richard Wright is the boy in the story and “The Kitten” is a true story. This impacts on me a lot because somebody is not making this whole story up, it really happened and knowing this makes me much more emotional and very upset. Overall “The Kitten” impacted on me the greatest out of all of the short stories that we have read so far and it taught me to never hurt or kill a living human or animal.

I agree with EM bacause “The Kitten” has taught me to respect all living things. I also agree that the theme of this short story is to always respect life and living things because every living thinh deserves to live.The boy should have never took his father literally and actually killed the kitten just to show his hatred towards his father because that kitten and everyother living thing should deserve to live.

  CD - Period 1 says:

From all of the stories we read in class, I believe the story,” Flowers for Algernon”, made the biggest impact for me. This story was about a grown mentally disabled man who goes throughout his life being teased without him knowing it. The main character, Charlie, was a bright student and he would do anything to be smarter. Throughout the story, Charlie would undergo a surgery that will temporally make him smarter than anyone else. Charlie had no idea what he was about to face. With Charlie’s operation finished he notices that he gets smarter everyday. The flaw to this operation is that he finds out that his friends such as, Miss Kinnian and Charlie’s friends, were not really his friends at all. They were using him for their own amusement or just to help themselves. A little while after Charlie finding out all this, his friends start to stick up for him because they realize he has feelings too. This story made me realize something too.

Everyone should be treated equally because they are just like us. They have feelings and hearts just like people that aren’t disabled. I believed this story touched more people than myself. We should treat people the way we want to be treated. We are all the same.

  JG Per.1 says:

All the short stories I have read with my classmates were really good and made me really think about each one. But the short story that really impacted on me the most was The Kitten. The Kitten was about a boy who’s dad never paid attention to him. When his dad said kill the kitten he didn’t mean it literally. The boy killed the kitten and even though he knew his dad didn’t really mean to murder the kitten. The Kitten taught me three important lessons. The first lesson was all creatures have feelings. You shouldn’t kill creatures or anything because they have thoughts, feelings and a lot of things that humans have. An example of this is when the boy killed the kitten. He didn’t think the kitten had feelings so he kills him. The second lesson I have learned from this short story was that you don’t have to kill anything to get attention. Your family all loves you even if they don’t show it as much as you’d like. The third lesson I learned was don’t take everything literally. From the short story the boy took his dad literally by killing the kitten. Even though the boy knew his dad did not want him to kill anything.
All of these things impacted on me and made me think about the lessons of the short stories. The theme had the most impact on me. The theme of the short story was all creatures have feelings. You shouldn’t kill creatures or anything because they have thoughts, feelings and a lot of things the humans have.

  NC- Period 1 says:

Out of the entire lesson learning short stories that we have read in this unit, “The Kitten” by Richard Wright had the biggest impact on me. “The Kitten” was about a young boy who takes the life of a young kitten to retaliate and get back at his father for being a grouch and not being a father who is there for him. What had the biggest impact on me was the stories climax of when the boy killed the kitten. This part of this story taught more than any other story we read. I learned two things at this part of the story. The first thing I learned was that once a person or animal is gone it’s gone; no matter how upset you become or no matter how much you pray for the animal, it’s a part of life that you have to deal with. The second thing I learned is that you have to listen to elders no matter how much you disagree with or dislike that person. You can also infer that life is short and that anything could happen to anyone for any reason at anytime even if it is not meant to happen in the end. In this case Richard really didn’t like his father so he did whatever he could to get back at him. The reason this story had the biggest impact on me was because it was a true story unlike all the others which were fiction stories. Also it was a little scary that a six-year-old boy did this. When you read this story you become afraid of killing any animal or person under any circumstance.

I agree with EM and AC respect all living things. I also agree that the theme of this short story is to always respect life and living things because every living thing deserves to live no matter any of its personalities or brains like in “Flowers for Algernon”. The boy should have never taken his father literally and should not have actually killed the kitten. If I ever did that I would be tormented for the rest of my life with the thoughts of killing an animal.

  KC- Per. 1 says:

The story that had made the biggest impact on me was “Flowers for Algernon”. This story had a big impact on me because all Charlie Gordon, the main character, wanted was to be as smart as everyone else. Charlie Gordon was a mentally retarded thirty-seven year old man. He went tonight school trying to become smarter. His night school teacher, Miss.Kinnian recommended him for a surgery to increase his intelligence. Charlie has the surgery and his intelligence eventually becomes over two hundred, before the surgery his intelligence was sixty-eight. Charlie begins to realize his friends really weren’t his friends, and were making fun of him. Charlie also becomes so smart that he cannot even communicate with other people, this frustrates him and makes him wish he did not have the surgery. After that Charlie then starts to loose his intelligence as soon as he got it. This upset Charlie because he knew he was loosing his super intelligence, and that was all he wanted. All together this story had a big impact on me.

  FS-Period 1 says:

Reflecting on the selections that were read in the short story unit, the one that had the greatest impact on me was definitely “Flowers for Algernon”. This is the story of a mentally retarded man who seeks to be smarter. The beginning of the story was very sad. Charlie’s co-workers, Frank and Joe, made fun of him and teased him all the time just because he was different than them. He didn’t have the knowledge that they had therefore they thought it was funny to tease him without him even realizing it. Charlie thought that these people were his friends, but soon enough he figured out the unacceptable things that they were doing to him were just to make him feel embarrassed. They only hung around him to make him look stupid. This part of the story truly made you think about how he must have felt. Just because he is not as smart doesn’t mean he has no feelings. That part of the story seriously teaches you how hard it is for people like Charlie and it also teaches you never to be like his Frank and Joe. No matter how aloof you think a person is from the world, that doesn’t mean they don’t know that what you are doing isn’t right and that they’re not being treated respectfully. Also in the story, there were two surgeons who performed a surgery on Charlie’s brain to raise his IQ from sixty-eight, which is extremely low, to almost triple that. He became extremely intelligent and it was hard to see the way it affected him. Charlie became so smart that he couldn’t communicate with anyone because they didn’t understand him. The way he talked was completely out of everyone’s league. He became hostile because he couldn’t talk to anyone. When his teacher and the love of his life came to see him he sent her away crying. He felt disconnected from the world because of the surgery and he wanted to be like everyone else. Soon enough, the surgery wore off and Charlie became his old self again. The interesting part of this situation was that when he went back to work all of his co-workers treated him with respect. It was great to see them trying to make Charlie happy and try to make up for all of the cruel things they had done in the past. I think that was the highlight of the story. Even tough Charlie felt like they were only being nice to him because they felt sorry for him, so he decided to move away, they tried. We should all try to be like Frank and Joe in the end of the story because I’m sure Charlie was able to forgive them and love them as the friends he always thought they were.
I agree with what DG Period 1 said. She said that the story touched her heart and went on to all of the obstacles that Charlie went through. The story touched my heart as well. All of the emotions and different situations that occurred in the story made it come alive and made you feel pity for Charlie. It also taught you that mentally challenged people are just like you and me. I’d be happy to read this story again because I enjoyed it very much.

  JL P3 says:

Out of the six short stories we read in this unit, “Flowers for Algernon” proved to be the most powerful. “Flowers for Algernon” was truly an inspirational tale about a man named Charlie Gordon who fought mental retardation and was determined to become intelligent. I feel that “Flowers for Algernon” was the most riveting of the tales because of Charlie Gordon, the main character. Charlie was not the typical main character to a story; he had much more depth than any other character that I have ever read about. What’s interesting about Charlie is that he’s one of the characters that you can’t really relate to. Reading about this man’s struggles made me see the world through different eyes. After reading “Flowers for Algernon” I honestly felt guilty about ever calling anyone names like “retard” or “idiot” or anything of the nature. People like Charlie are really good people at heart, and they deserve to be treated as equals, not put down; however, in Charlie’s case, this did not occur. Charlie’s co-workers were constantly making fun of him and using him as the butt of their jokes which is downright cruel. The mentally retarded just can’t express themselves the same way, but that means that they should be treated equally, if not with more care. After all, why did Charlie want to experiment with his intelligence? He wanted to be like everyone else and treated equally. To me “Flowers for Algernon” sends a very powerful message about how people’s actions affect a person’s feelings about themselves. Charlie eventually, after undergoing a surgery to increase his intelligence, began to see results in the growth of his brain capacity. Over the course of a few weeks, Charlie’s intelligence tripled growing to an IQ of over 240. Subsequently Charlie realized that being über-intelligent just wasn’t for him. He realized that being someone else was not the solution to his problems; he figured that he just had to grab life by the horns and take what God gave him. This is the part that really absorbed me into “Flowers for Algernon”. I was in awe with Charlie’s decision that being himself was more important than being intelligent. He realized that intelligence doesn’t equal happiness.

In conclusion, “Flowers for Algernon” was a heartrending tale that really touched me. I became in touch with another perspective of the world which was very interesting. I consider Charlie Gordon to be an inspiration to anyone who is not happy with themselves. I think Charlie teaches us all a valuable lesson about how to handle ourselves when we are feeling down. We should not resort to artificial results, we should just live our lives.

  AS Period 2 says:

Since starting the short story unit, each of the stories has had an important effect on me. However the greatest impact that was made was when we read, “Flowers for Algernon”. I chose this story because it had a very strong and meaningful theme. Charlie Gordon is a mentally retarded, thirty-seven-year-old man, who is chosen by a team of scientists to undergo an experimental operation. This operation is designed to triple his intelligence so he can be like everyone else. However, following his operation, he surpasses everybody intellectually, and cannot communicate with anyone. He later reverts back to his usual ways. This passage made me realize that all people have feelings even if they have disabilities. Once you read this story, it makes you think twice when you’re going to call your friend a retard or a moron. You might just be being facetious, but keep in mind that this is someone’s level of intelligence.
I agree SW Period 2, because this story has changed the way I looked at a disabled person. I also agree with JL Period 3, because Charlie being himself was more important than being intelligent.

  IA-Period 3 says:

Though we have read many great stories for this unit; the one with the greatest impact on me because of its theme was “Flowers for Algernon”. Daniel Keyes’ use of artificial mental retardation was key to portray the life timeline of thirty-seven year old Charlie Gordon and how he went from and intelligence quotient of sixty-eight and went above and beyond their expectations and surpassed the intelligence of the doctors. The theme, however, was the most important part of the story. The theme to me was how blind equality is when humanity can’t recongnize the feelings of those who have metal disabilities. In “Flowers for Algernon” this theme really stuck out to me because of how Charlie said that we would not make fun of those who have physical diabilites(handicapped, blind, deaf, etc.) but you will not think twice when making fun of those with mental disabilities. This stuck out to me because Charlie failed to realize that all along while he was mentally retarded and while he was not as smart as others they used him as the center of their jokes. Though, when his intelligence was increased he knew exactly what was going on and he knew that people aren’t just making fun of him but of others who are like him and so he said this questioning how equal we truly are. Another theme is that you should look before you leap. Charlie may have been mentally retarded but he should have known to go further in or Ms. Kinnian should have helped him with that to see the outcomes and the final results. The last theme is probably the most important and that is to just be happy with who you are. Though, Charlie may have wanted to be smart there is somethings that people in general not just Charlie aren’t capable of; so if he was happy with who he was and heis co-workers treated huim equally then he would be much happier and wouldn’t worry about increased intelligence. A leopard can’t change its spots so don’t change what makes you who you are. That is a key component that made up “flowers for Algernon”.

  JJ Period 2 says:

The selection that had the greatest impression on me was “Flowers for Algernon”. “Flowers for Algernon” is a touching story about a mentally retarded man who yearns to better himself and become smarter. When his adult night school teacher recommends him for an experiment that will increase his intelligence by 300%, he is eager to participate even though he knows it may not be permanent. As he begins to undergo the experiment his IQ increases and he eventually becomes a genius; so much of a genius that he can no longer communicate with normal humans. This was not a good sign. His intelligence then began to decrease and eventually he became a normal human again. While he declined, the lab mouse that also underwent the experiment eventually died from the decrease in intelligence. This was not good. Charlie, the man, then left Boston because of everyone feeling bad for him from the experiment. This is only one part of the plot.

This story had a great impression on me because of the way Charlie saw life. All Charlie wanted was for everyone to accept him for who he is and to be seen as an equal. Unfortunately he was not seen this way because of his mental disability. The theme of this story had the greatest effect on me. The theme was how all people have feelings, no matter what their non- or disability. This effected me because many times the youth of today, including myself, have used the word “retard” to refer to someone who clearly is not mentally retarded but has only made a mistake or misunderstood something, therefore if we refer to a legit mental retard we do not take it as being offensive when they personally do. The story has also shown me how intelligence is also not a key to happiness and sometimes you are better off being who you are and not trying to be something you’re not. I believe that if more people today believed that the world would be a better place, as we would not have so many people vying to be like someone else. Finally, another thing that affected me in this story was the point of view. By making the story in first person point of view it showed the reader a better understanding of the feelings Charlie had during the experiment. If written any other way, I do not believe that the story would have had the same effect.

I personally agree with JF’s comment on our classmate, A.D. I too have heard very mean comments said behind his back and now see a relation between “Flowers for Algernon” and my personal life. From the story, I have decided to now stand up for that particular student when I hear a comment made.

  DD Period 2 says:

The story that I thought had the biggest impact on me was “Flowers for Algernon.” In this story, the character who had the most impact on me is Charlie. Charlie was the one who was always picked on by his co-workers because it was mentally retarded. They were treating him different because of his disability. This is a very cruel thing because many people still do that to disabled people today. In fact, in our own society there are tons of people who mimic the characters in the story named Frank and Joe. They are the ones who make Charlie the end of all their jokes. In the story Charlie goes from being a “idiot” to a genius and back to being not the brightest person in the world. This is something that I would have never been able to do. It just so happens that it makes you realize that those bullies are surrounding you and I every day. One thing that everyone should realize is that mentally retarded people are human beings just like the person who making fun of them. This story had the biggest impact on me because it really brings to my attention how sometimes someone is a bully and not even knowing it; or when you are the victim and might not even realize it. This is needless to say that “Flowers for Algernon” is a story that I will never forget about.

I am going to agree with DG because what Charlie went through was very difficult to do. He was not able to communicate with the doctors who operated on him, the night class teacher, who taught him. He was only able to talk to himself. This is something he didn’t even do that often, most of the time Charlie would write in his journal.

  CJ-Period 3 says:

Over the past few months, we have read several short stories. “Charles” by Shirley Jackson, “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara, “The Kitten” by Richard Wright, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Thank you, M’am” by Langston Hughes, and “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes each had an impact on me. However, if I had to pick one piece that truly left an impression with me, it would have to be “Flowers for Algernon.” “Flowers for Algernon” follows the story of Charlie Gordon, a thirty-seven mentally retarded man. As soon as I started reading the story, I was immediately interested. Charlie is incredibly kind, even though he suffers through terrible mistreatment because of his disability. The other main characters in this story, Miss Kinnian, Drs. Nemur and Straus, Joe Carp, and Frank Reilly also interested me. Miss Kinnian was quite kind to Charlie, and she believed in him, like no others did. Both of the Drs. at first appear to be caring, but as Charlie become more intelligent, he realizes they do not care for him. Both Joe Carp and Frank Reilly at first seemed to be Charlie’s friends. But Charlie realizes that he is just being used by them. This brings me to another point that was very good in “Flowers for Algernon.”
The plot of this short story was very interesting. Its almost as if two different characters narrate the story. The slow Charlie and the hyper-intelligent Charlie are complete opposites. Charlie originally thinks all people are good, and that all of them care for him. As he becomes more intelligent, his faith in humanity diminishes. His perception of almost everyone changes. This brings me to my final point. The theme of “Flowers for Algernon” impacted on me in a way that none of the other stories did. Charlie never had confidence in himself. Whenever he took a test, he always thought he failed it (the ink blot test.) However, he keeps persisting. All his life, he has faced many challenges. He is constantly made fun of and taken advantage of. But Charlie keeps going. As he grows more intelligent, he is still, if not more, ridiculed. A petition is signed to get him out of his job. The main reason Charlie wanted to become more intelligent was so he could be normal. And then, when he became intelligent, he was too smart. Too dumb, too smart, Charlie is never excepted. This struck me. Almost everyone calls their friends retards, in an affectionate way. After reading this story, I couldn’t help but object to this. Every person deserved respect and understanding, which “Flowers for Algernon” shows on every page.
I agree with CF that all people have feelings, no matter if they have disabilities. CF said that you could tell what went through Charlie’s head, which was also true. In addition, I agree with TP. He says that even if we are teased by our friends, we know they care about us; Charlie didn’t know this. He had to deal with so much, his intelligence being lost, as well as losing his “friends.” Finally, I agree with DG. DG said that he would not have been able to deal with

  JM- Period 3 says:

The story “The Kitten” had the biggest impact on me. This was due to the main character. It is hard to imagine that a young boy would actually go to such a limit just to try to get his father in a position where he didn’t have any authority. It is upsetting to know that the boy had such resentment toward his father that he, without blinking an eye, killed another being. The story was very descriptive because it had happened to the author. This story also made an impression on me because the author had carried it with him through his whole life and even devoted a chapter of his book to this incident. Reading this story made me realize what effects your parents could have on you. The boy’s father was an unsupportive coward and at such a young age, I am positive that that would be extremely hard to deal with. The father chose the wrong use of words and his son was smart enough to try and take advantage of that. The boy wanted so badly to humiliate his father and to put him in a place where he had nothing to say.
I agree with EM in that the boy was so fed up inside that he didn’t even think twice about what he was doing. The boy witnessed the poor animal suffer and die and didn’t even flinch. He was so focused on getting back at his father that it was not until afterwards that he realized, when he held the lifeless kitten in his hands, what he had done. This incident could have been prevented if the boy had a stronger and healthier relationship with his father. I thought a lot about this story after I read it and it has definitely had a strong impact on me. I truly realized the importance of supportive parents especially in a young child.

  NAJ- Period 3 says:

This year in communication arts, we have read many excellent short stories, but the short story that influenced me the most was “Thank You, M’am”. “Thank You, M’am” was a story by Langston Hughes that showed the importance of forgiveness and understanding. The story started in Harlem, New York, at midnight. A boy was walking down the street and tried to steal a woman’s pocketbook. When he got the pocketbook, the woman kicked him and dragged him to her house. At her house, the woman, Mrs. Jones, found out that Rodger, the boy who tried to steal the purse, just wanted money for some blue suede shoes. After finding this out, she gave Rodger ten dollars, so he would learn to do the right thing later on in life. Before she let Rodger leave, she made Rodger wash his dirty face and she also made him eat. When Rodger left, he could only get the words, “Thank you, m’am” out of his mouth, even though he wanted to say more. “Thank You, M’am” has touched me more than the other stories because of its theme. The theme was that one person’s kindness can change another person’s life. Mrs. Jones act of kindness will stay with Rodger his whole life, and it will influence the choices he makes later on in life.

I agree somewhat with what the people who wrote about “Flowers for Algernon” said. Although I agree completely with the theme that mentally retarded people have feelings too, and should be treated like normally people, I feel that the theme of “Thank You, M’am” is stronger. Since we live the middle class suburbs of Florham Park, not most people know about all of the hungry, poor, and homeless people living in cities. Because of this many people don’t realize what a person like Mrs. Jones means to a poor young boy struggling for his next meal. What Mrs. Jones did to help out a less fortunate person was huge factor in Rodger’s life. Mrs. Jones gave Rodger more than ten dollars; she gave him a life lesson.

  NIJ says:

Throughout this year, we have read a variety of selections. In my opinion, the short story which was the most touching was “Flowers for Algernon.” In this selection, you are able to see in the point of view of a mentally retarded man, Charlie Gordon. Charlie Gordon was selected to participate in a surgery to increase his IQ. In the beginning of the story, it is clearly seen that Charlie is a kind, caring man. Charlie puts a lot of effort into becoming smart and learning. Charlie is picked on at work by his so called “friends”, Frank and Joe. They pulled pranks on Charlie and only wanted him around to make a mockery of him. After the surgery, Charlie’s intelligence becomes so high that he reaches a point where he is unable to communicate with others. There were both pros and cons to the surgery. After the surgery, Charlie added to scientific discoveries and knowledge. On the other hand, at both points (before and after the surgery), Charlie feels isolated. One day, Charlie was at the diner. He sees a little boy who is mentally retarded whom dropped plates, looking very confused not knowing what to do. Everyone, including Charlie, laughed at the little boy. Charlie then realized how cruel his acts were. How could he laugh at this poor, innocent little boy? He had once been the same as the little boy, unknowing, confused, and a clown. Charlie then defended and stood up for the boy. At the very end of the story, Charlie’s intelligence deteriorates and Algernon, the mouse that the experiment had been tested on, died. Charlie decided to leave town, feeling very ashamed and embarrassed. He leaves Miss Kinnian, his teacher at the adult-night school, the doctors who performed the surgery, Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss, and the men at his work, Frank and Joe. As well, Charlie left behind a letter. His last request is for the reader of his manuscript to leave fresh flowers on Algernon’s grave. In conclusion, I believe this story was the most touching, thought-provoking, and had the greatest impact. The morals are that no one should be made fun of due to there disabilities. Although Charlie wasn’t able to read and write well, he was a kind-hearted man. Just because he was mentally retarded, this didn’t give Joe and Frank the rights to make fun of him and pull pranks on him. This story allows the readers to see through the eyes of someone who has experienced such ridicule and mocking. Charlie’s two distinct perspectives allowed him to figure out that he is as human as anyone else, no matter how much intelligence he possessed.
I agree completely with TP and JL. Charlie must have gone through a lot of anguish, being picked on every day due to his level of intelligence. Every human should be treated with respect. I couldn’t imagine being Charlie and having to go through such an experience whereas to put a lot of effort into becoming smart and gaining nothing in return. He went through the surgery since Ms. Kinnian thought he deserved this for someone who “gave so much with so little in return.” Unfortunately, the effects were temporary and Charlie returned to his normal, mentally retarded state.

  MD says:

I think, unlike everyone else, the best story we read was “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. I liked the plot, setting, and mood; but most of all, I liked the character. The plot is, the narrator is the caretaker for an old man who has an cataract. This “evil eye” as he calls it drives the narrator insane. He decides to murder the old man, and could’ve gotten away with it if he hadn’t confessed out of guilt. The setting helps carry the mood. the setting is a creepy, old house at night; So, the mood is obviously dark and gloomy. I like how Poe started the story. It started out with the narrator denying his insanity. Then he starts telling the story like a flash back. The narrator is a mentally insane man who tried to get away with murder. He kills the old man by smothering him with his blanket. Then, he dismembered him in the bathtub so there would be no bloodstains. Finally, he hid the old man under the floor boards of the house. The ending is my favorite part of the story. Two police officers came to the house, because a neighbour heard the old man screaming. The narrator convinced the officers it wasn’t him and they believed him. After that, the police officers stayed in the house and talked. The narrator thought they were mocking him; he started getting angrier and more guilty. Then, he thought started to hear the old man’s heatr beating. After a while, he couldn’t stand it anymore and confessed the crime out of guilt.

  GF Period 3 says:

Out of all of the exhilarating short stories we’ve read in class, I believe that “Flowers for Algernon” had the greatest impact on me. Generally speaking, I think that anyone that reads this story would be affected in some way, shape, or form. To give you a brief overview of the plot, Charlie Gordon is a grown man with an IQ of 68. He goes to night school where he is taught by a young woman, Miss Kinnian. Miss Kinnian recommends Charlie for a surgery that will be done by two neuro surgeons, Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur. Before the surgery Charlie has to go through several tests against a small lab mouse named Algernon who has gone through the surgery already to see if he is fit to be the candidate for the surgery. Soon enough, Charlie is selected to be operated on. Through the course of Charlie’s intellect growing he bec omes so smart that he can’t communicate with human beings to the point where they would understand what he is saying. At the height of his intelligence, Algernon dies. So, out of curiosity to why this happened Charlie begins a project to see what was going20on inside Algernon. Sadly, Algernon died because of deterioration in his brain. Not long after that, Charlie’s brightness begins to slowly fade away. You see, it is the symbolism of Algernon’s death that Charlie’s intelligence will go away. Now I would like to reflect on a certain example from the story. While Charlie was smart he went to a restaurant and during the time of his meal a bus boy had dropped plates and they crashed to the floor like Charlie’s self respect soon did after. This bus boy was mentally challenged like Charlie was, and even though Charlie didn’t even realize it, he had been laughing when the boy dropped the plates. Soon after, he stood up for the boy saying it was not his fault and that he couldn’t help it. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, nobody is perfect. People have flaws and imperfections. So yeah, somebody may not be as smart as you that doesn’t mean they are anything less then you. They have feelings and emotions and a heart too. Charlie was made fun of and picked on because of his “imperfection”. People wou ld say, “You just pulled a Charlie Gordon!” when somebody would do something stupid or make a mistake. Nobody deserved that. Luckily Charlie didn’t understand why they said it at first. Everyone deserves a fair chance at life and someone deprived of that because of something that they were born wi th and physically they can’t help it is just not right. So, yes, I agree with LC, there is always something special about everyone, and no one can ever change that about you.

  NF- Period 2 says:

The short story that impacted me the most was “Flowers for Algernon”. The main character, Charlie Gordon, is a kind thirty-seven year old man living a mentally retarded life who willingly undergoes experimental surgery on his brain to boost his IQ level of sixty-eight and, in turn, increase his intelligence. Even though Charlie has an IQ level of sixty-eight he isn’t aggressive, he is kind, sweet, and caring towards others. The theme of this story, being intelligent doesn’t mean being happy, is what impacted me the most. As Charlie grew more and more intelligent, he experienced greater anguish then being retarded. An example of this is when Charlie finally figures out Joe and Frank, his factory “friends”, aren’t really his true friends. Before the operation, Joe and Frank teased and made fun of Charlie constantly, but now that Charlie had the surgery and has a sense of his friend’s actions, he realizes they were laughing at him, not with him. Not only does this example cause pain to Charlie, but the cycle of the experiment caused great suffering to Charlie, too. The fact that Charlie went from being retarded to having super intelligence and then back to being retarded again was not only confusing for Charlie but made him upset. The upsetting part about this was that no matter which way Charlie was, retarded or intelligent, no one could formally understand him. Also, after Charlie undergoes surgery he realizes how much he loves Miss Kinnian, his school teacher. However, this caused him unhappiness as well because he believes Miss Kinnian will never love him back. During the process in which Charlie goes from being intelligent and reverting back to being retarded, Charlie wishes not to see Miss Kinnian. Also, every time she drops by Charlie’s house he tells her to leave because he doesn’t want her to feel bad for him and he is embarrassed of being retarded again.

I agree with MS Period 2 that Charlie should’ve cherished his moments while being intelligent because he went right back to being retarded with no memory of what the experiment was and how he changed. I also agree with TP Period 2 and DG Period 1 that Charlie wants to be treated like everyone else not just a mentally retarded man. He doesn’t need special treatment and he especially doesn’t need to be ridiculed by anyone, including his so called “friends” from the factory. Charlie just wants to be respected and cared for whom he is, not someone he’s not.

  ST-Per. 3 says:

The short story that had the biggest impact was “Flowers for Algernon” because of the main character. Charly played a huge role in this story because the operation was performed on him. Charly has the kind of personality where you can’t stop smiling when he is around you. Charly is mentally-retarded and was an I.Q. of 68 and attends night school. He is the hardest working student and has the biggest heart. Charly was the main reason I liked this story. When Charly’s intelligence level was increasing his loving personality was withering away, but people were starting to take him seriously. I liked Charly when he was fun and loving person and because of his personality “Flower’s For Algernon” was my favorite short story. The title “Flowers for Algernon” is for the mouse, Algernon. Algernon and Charly race, and for a long time Algernon beat Charly. Algernon died during the story and every week Charly went to Algernon’s grave and set flowers on it. From the beginning of the story to the end Charly had three stages. The first stage was what he was always been. The second stage was the peak of his intelligence. He had an I.Q of over 200. The last stage was his lose of intelligence. This was a painful stage to read about because Charly was successful and was very smart and it was slipping through his hands. Flower’s for Algernon” is one of the most inspirational short stories I have read and will stay in my heart until the end of time. This story taught me that no matter who you are or what you have done there is someone that cares about you and will always cheer you on.

  LD-Per. 3 says:

Out of all of the short stories that we have read and discussed in class, “The Kitten” has had the greatest impact and made the greatest impression on me. Most students who responded to this blog said that they chose “Flowers for Algernon”, but I disagree. “The Kitten” is about a young boy who lives with his mother, father, and younger brother. His father rarely speaks to his sons, and only does so when they are being scorned. This is because he works the nightshift of his job, and therefore sleeps all day. One day, a kitten is outside of their apartment making noise. The boy’s father, still wanting to sleep, tells the two young children to kill the kitten. When he said this, he only meant for them to quiet it down so he could sleep, but the one boy took this meaning another way. After getting tired of putting up with his father’s cruel punishments and respect, that he did what his father asked for; he killed the kitten. Because he was resentful with his father, the boy hangs the kitten through anger. The boys feels that his plan is ingenious, because he cannot be punished by his father for only fulfilling his father’s orders/wishes. This surprised me that a six-year-old boy could do such a thing as kill an innocent animal. The theme of this story, which was to respect life itself, really taught me to respect all living creatures and even life.

  MW-Period 1 says:

In class we have read a number of short stories. The short story that had the greatest impact was “Flowers for Algernon.” “Flowers for Algernon” had a greater impact than the rest of the stories because the main character Charlie only wanted a couple things in life. Those things are were to be smart, to have friends, and not be ostracized by others. Charlie wanted to be smart as everyone else because he was a mentally retarded man who was made fun of by his so called friends. I feel that charlie just wanted to fit in so he decided to go on with the surgery. This short story has tought me that everyone is different and you dont have to change yourself to fit in with others.

  GB - Period 1 says:

The story that had the greatest impact on me was “Flowers for Algernon”.This story is about a thirty-seven year old, mentally retarded man that is undergoing brain surgery that will hopefully make him smarter. After the surgery, he does become smarter, but not for a very long time.This story showed me that you have to treat people they way you would like to be treated and never to make someone feel bad about them self. Everyone has something unique about themselves and no one should ever try to change that. People always try to fit in with others around them when you can be your self and not someone your not. I also agree with MS when she said being yourself is better than trying to be something your not.