Austin Nolen, Week 3

The issue of gender is very prevalent in the novel “Flowers for Algernon.” Males and females are portrayed very differently both negatively and positively. Women are portrayed in a negative way based on the way the book describes Charlie’s mother, Rose. She was abusive to Charlie as a kid and was disgusted by the thought that he was her son. She was portrayed as a bad mother. Her actions are contrasted by Matt’s ,Charlie’s father, behavior. Matt is characterized as the “good guy” in the situation with Charlie when he was a boy. He , in converse with Rose, accepted Charlie the way he was and tolerated the way he acted. However, males are also depicted as ‘greedy.’ Even though Matt wanted the best for his son he didn’t feel it necessary to spend so much money to try and better his condition. He was more worried about opening his own barber shop. Moreover, the scientists at the lab Nemur and Strauss are portrayed as ‘greedy’ or egotistical. They are more worried about their image than for Charlie’s well-being. They see Charlie more as a “lab specimen” than a human- being which anger’s charlie. Overall males and females are portrayed very differently in the novel but neither image is substantially more positive than the other.