Charlie’s issues come to a head when the lab team attends a conference to report their research. He recalls how his mother shunned him and the pain it caused. Long-buried memories of Charlie’s childhood begin to surface. In addition, Charlie’s coworkers at the bakery become resentful of his transformation.Ĭharlie’s progress reports describe how his emotional and romantic frustrations build, and he also becomes critical of the lab team at Beekman. In particular, he has difficulty managing his sexuality he tries to begin a relationship with Alice but finds that his romantic feelings cause panic. He has difficulty understanding how to interpret and respond to other people’s emotions and struggles to control his own. However, Charlie finds that his emotional development does not match his intellectual growth. Charlie, like Algernon, begins to make rapid intellectual gains. Charlie and a mouse named Algernon, who received the procedure before him, undergo psychological tests and training.

The early progress reports, which function as the novel’s chapters, are simple and full of mistakes, but over time, Charlie’s writing becomes far more advanced. Before the procedure, Charlie is asked to begin recording his thoughts and feelings in a series of progress reports (which he initially spells “progris riport”). His teacher at the center, Alice Kinnian, notes that Charlie is motivated to learn, and he is chosen for an experimental procedure designed to vastly improve his intelligence. A few nights a week, he attends classes at Beekman, a college center for adults with intellectual disabilities. Donner, a friend of Charlie’s uncle who took Charlie in after he was abandoned by his family in youth. He lives in New York City and works as a janitor in a bakery owned by Mr. This guide acknowledges the novel’s depictions of this topic, as well as other difficult material, including abuse, bullying, and terminology that is now considered disrespectful toward people with intellectual and physical disabilities.Ĭharlie Gordon, aged 32, has an intellectual disability and an IQ of 68. However, the novel has also been viewed as controversial and has frequently been banned for its depiction of explicit sexual content. The novel has never gone out of print, has been made into multiple film and stage adaptations, and has been adopted by many required reading lists. This guide references the 1994 Harvest (Harcourt) version of the novel.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes