Should this novel be read in high school? Why or why not? Is this novel relevant today? Why or why not? Have you read other novels that deal with similar themes? If so, how are the two works similar or different? Which novel would be better to read in high school?
After reading the novel “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, I firmly believe that the novel is perfect for any high school reader. The reading level is slightly below the average high schools readers standards, but the way the novel is written and the topics and subjects it covers are something a younger reader would not be able to comprehend and properly understand. I also believe that the novel is relevant to today, because we are in an age of fast growing technology and multiple research programs for sicknesses and diseases; that it makes you wonder how far away society is from creating something like the brain surgery Charlie underwent to cure his autism. Also the theme I got out of the novel was a very common one spoken in multiple novels, “the grass is not greener on the other side”. I got this theme out of the novel, because Charlie had always wanted to become an intelligent human being and try to experience life as it is, but when he finally became smart, he started to regret it and wish he never had all this intelligence. Yet I would have to say that “Flowers for Algernon” portrays this theme better than most novels that I have previously read.
I agree with you all way Big Rayn, this book was not a tough read later in the book but in the beginning of the novel I had to re-read sentences just t figure out the context and what Charles was trying to say. After reading this post I would have to agree with you that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. That is one of the truest statement and most relevant statements that go with this book. In my essay I said that Charlie’s surgery was worth it, reading this post makes me regret saying that because now that I think about it he was unhappy about being super smart. He was he kept seeing himself as a boy when he got intimate with girls which would have been torture. Great work in this post it was very well put together and it made a ton of sense I didn’t get confused once which doesn’t happen ever when I am reading.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the novel is relevant today because of the advancements in technology and science. There are lots of new up-and-coming projects and projects in the future that will surely be for the advancement of disabled people, both mentally and physically. Maybe something like the operation done to Charlie will soon be a reality.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the way you stated the theme you found in the book as “the grass is not greener on the other side”. I think this is a good way of phrasing one of the main themes of the book. I think this theme is very relevant because when Charlie has the operation done and is on the other side, he realized that the grass is not greener over there because he wasn’t able to have friends and certain things were harder for him.