Flowers for Algernon Chapter 9

How does Charlie get his new job?

He proves that he can work the mixing machine

How does Charlie respond to his new job?

He wants his old job back

2a. Why does he respond that way?

He is familiar with his old job and feels uncomfortable in his new position

What does Miss Kinnian teach Charlie about?

Punctuation

3a. What indicates he does not understand the concept?

He uses commas excessively

3b. How does Charlie remedy the problem?

He reads a book on punctuation

3c. What does Charlie’s remedy indicate about his condition?

He can learn quickly by reading a book

Describe Joe and Frank.

Charlie’s co-workers Befriend Charlie to make fun of him

4a. How do Joe and Frank embarrass Charlie?

They get him drunk and force him to dance

The guys get in a circle and trip him

Give two examples, unnoticed by Charlie, that show his improving condition.

Grammar corrections Memories

Describe Charlie’s memory of Donner’s bakery.

Kids gang up on him Charlie runs back to the bakery The guys at the bakery are as mean as

the children on the street Charlie goes to the back of the bakery

and someone there kicks his legs out from under him

6a. What does this memory tell you about his emotional connection to the place and to the people there?

He knows that they can be cruel

What does Charlie dream about?

Harriet and a valentine

What does young Charlie decide to give Harriet?

A locket

What does Charlie realize at the end of his dream?

He never got the locket back

9a. How is this realization pertinent to his improving condition?

His memory is improving

What does Charlie see in the ink blots?

Fencers A pair of bats

Why does Charlie want to keep the reports private?

He is aware that people are reading them

THE BIG QUESTION: How does Charlie’s truth about the ink blots change and what does this change say about his condition?

He is able to see images in the ink which shows that he is getting smarter

Flowers for Algernon Chapter 10

How does Charlie improve the mixing machines?

He makes them go faster

What does Frank suggest Charlie learn to do?

Make the rolls

2a. What does this suggest about Frank’s character?

He sets Charlie up so that he fails

What happens when Charlie tries to make the rolls?

He cannot remember the steps

3a. How does this make Charlie feel?

He is upset and embarrassed

Infer what Nemur saying “nothing can go wrong now” indicates to the reader.

It indicates that something will go wrong

Who does Charlie ask out?

He asks out Alice Kinnian

5a. What does this tell you about how his relationship with women has changed?

He is beginning to see women sexually

Describe Charlie’s new friends.

Intelligent Talk about politics and religion Are from the university

6a. Give two examples of how these friends are different than his friends at the bakery.

Respect Charlie Listen to Charlie Speak with Charlie not at him Do not embarrass Charlie

What is Charlie’s dream about in his April 28th progress report?

His mother

Describe Charlie’s mom.

Wants Charlie to be normal Is in denial Has brown hair

Explain each parent’s view of Charlie.

Mother – is in denial; believes Charlie is normal

Father – is more accepting of Charlie’s condition; will not stand up to Rose

9a. How might each parent’s view affected Charlie and his relationship with people?

Mother – might make him take on challenges he is not capable of handling

Father – might understand his condition and understand when people are being cruel

THE BIG QUESTION: How does the reader’s truth about Charlie’s background change after we meet his parents? Does this truth explain anything about why Charlie thinks of the men at the bakery as friends?

We realize Charlie may not be aware of his condition

He may be more trusting of people because he thinks he is normal

Flowers for Algernon Chapter 11

What is Charlie beginning to realize about Alice Kinnian?

Charlie realizes he loves Alice

1a. How does this realization embody his improving condition?

He sees women as more than just friends

What did Charlie realize from his nightmare about the bloody knife and the free association he did after the dream?

He associates love with blood and abuse

Describe the problem Charlie discovered at the bakery?

Gimpy is stealing money

3a. What did he do about this problem?

Charlie confronts Gimpy and asks him what he would hypothetically do in this situation

3b. What did Charlie realize when he talked to Alice about the problem at the bakery?

He has to figure out the right thing to do

Describe Charlie’s evening out with Alice.

They go to Central Park When things get physical between

Charlie and Alice, Charlie sees young Charlie watching them

Charlie is paranoid

What is the status of Charlie’s job at the bakery?

Charlie’s co-workers feel uncomfortable and have signed a petition asking to have him fired

5a. What does Charlie conclude because of his status?

He concludes the men are jealous

What was Alice’s comment when Charlie next visited her?

She says it doesn’t have to do with him

What memory did Charlie experience while he was talking to Alice?

A middle-aged woman exposed herself to Charlie during a bakery delivery

Then his mother yelling at him for thinking of girls in a sexual way

THE BIG QUESTION: How does Charlie’s truth change after he speaks with various professors and specialists

He realizes that professors are not necessarily “intellectual giants”