Flowers for Lennie.

Both of the novels that we read in Senior English so far were good. I enjoyed them both. I enjoyed Flowers for Algernon more. I feel as if it had a better storyline than Of Mice and Men. I’m not so sure why we are reading so many books on mentally challenged people, but I think it is wrong how mentally challenged people are looked down upon by society. To get a true perspective of what mentally challenged people have to deal with, I attempt to imagine myself in their shoes. When I am in their shoes, all I want is for someone to stand up for me, but rarely does that happen. I think that people are afraid to stand up for mentally challenged people, because if they do people will pick on them instead. In the novels, Charlie and Lennie are somewhat similar, because they both have someone kind of looking out for them. Lennie has George and Charlie has Alice and Fay. In Flowers for Algernon Charlie just regressed and didn’t die. Lennie never became smart, but he just stayed the same level of intelligence. I wonder what would’ve happened if Lennie had surgery to make him smart. I wonder if the operation would have worked this time? Unless you gave professor Nemur a little more time, odds are that Lennie would regress back to his regular self. If Lennie had the surgery, I wonder if he would have found a different place to work, and possibly bought the farm for George and himself.

this or that

Comparing Both novels, Mice of Men and Flowers of Argon is hard because they are both good books. If I had to choose I would pick the novel Mice of Men. I liked this novel better than Flowers of Argon because it is more believable. Both the books have similar themes, which are society’s intelligence and how people react to that. People Judge others who are way to smart or really dumb. If any one is out of the norm they are judged and criticized. I think that Lennie and Charlie are almost exactly alike. Both are mentally challenged, at least for a time. Also, both appear to be very kind. I think that this is kind of a stereotype by both authors; they seem to think there is a relationship that the less smart you are, you also become more friendly or innocent. I do not think that that is necessarily and accurate label.

Week 4 Flowers vs. Mice

I liked "Of Mice and Men" more the "Flowers for Algernon", that's probably because I felt like I could relate a little more to "Of Mice and Men". Both of the books brought mental handicaps into the picture in their own ways. "Flowers for Algernon" brings retardation into view in the the life of a handicapped adult and the want to be smart, and the willingness to do anything to achieve that goal to be normal in the world that Charlie lived in. The experiment was his attempt at reaching that goal. In "Of Mice and Men", Lennie is a big, strong adult, but has the mental handicap that makes him a problem maker. He can't really be helped with his handicap which is one of the reasons he causes all kinds of problems, like killing Curley's wife on accident. His size and mental capacity makes him kind of a threat. It's problems like these that get Lennie killed in the end by his best and only friend. He was just doing more bad then good with good intentions. Both of these portrayals make very good points about the treatment of mental handicaps and what may eventually come to be of them, fixed or dead.

Ryan Makinen Week 4 comparison post

In the comparison between Flowers for Algernon and Of Mice and Men, Flowers for Algernon is the favorite. Flowers For Algernon is a better read because it shows more of the discrimination that people face. In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie gets discriminated against the most because of his mental disability. Multiple characters in the novel give him a hard time and treat him as though he is inferior to them, and is an animal. In Of Mice and Men, Lennie is a character who also has a mental disability, bu the only person who seems to give him a hard time is Curley. Although Curley picked on him because he doesn't like big guys, he kept picking on him because he thought that it would be easier for him to get away with it because of Lennie's mental disability. Both novels show society's expectations for humans regardless of their intelligence. Both novels also show that innocence is bliss. In Of Mice and Men, Lennie doesn't really know what's going on because he always forgets, but this allows him to focus on what he wants, and it makes him happy. All Lennie really thinks about is how someday he might be able to tend rabbits. In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie doesn't really know what's going on as well. He thinks that the workers at the bakery are his friends because they always seem to be laughing and having a good time. Even though they're laughing at him, just the fact that they're laughing makes him happy. But after the surgery, Charlie was much more intelligent and aware of what was happening around him, so he realized that they weren't really his friends and he became less happy.

Which is better? Read it.

Between of Mice and Men and Flowers for Algernon I would have to say that I enjoyed Flowers for Algernon more than I did of Mice and Men. The reason that I enjoyed it more was that I thought the characters in Flowers were more likable and their personalities were much deeper than that of the characters from Of Mice And Men. Intelligence, both books revolve around the topic yet they both do it in completely different ways. In Of Mice and Men they show mentally handicapped people through Lennie and him being this giant of a person yet having the mental capabilities of a 6 year old. In Flowers for Algernon it portrays mentally handicapped people as being the joke of most people so that they can feel better about themselves. The book also shows that they believe mentally challenged people should be able to have an operation and be able to be normal just like everyone else in the world, it shows that the author thinks that everyone in life should be normal or at least have the opportunity to be normal it shows a level of xenophobia from the author. Overall I would say that Flowers for Algernon was much better than Of Mice and Men.

Week 4 Post

Flowers for Algernon and Of Mice and Men are two novels that I have recently read in class. Both novels are very similar stories to each other. One similarity the novels share is that they both show a mentally handicapped person and how they connect with society and how society connects with them. Both Charlie and Lennie want friends and are looking for approval from their peers. They both also had a similar dream. Charlie’s dream was to be smart and for Lennie it was to live on a ranch with George and raise rabbits. Although Lennie never reached his dream, he died with the thought of achievement. Unlike Lennie, Charlie reaches his dream but ends up broken hearted when his dream doesn't last. After reading both novels, the novel I liked the most was Of Mice and Men. I felt Flowers for Algernon was a little bit predictable throughout the story unlike Of Mice and Men which had several surprises that I didn’t think were predictable. I enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen as I read the story. I thought the friendship between George and Lennie was nice and especially like the way George took care of Lennie and stuck for him.

of mice and men vs flowers

I enjoyed Flowers for Algernon more than of mice and men. I feel like a flower for Algernon had a better story line and was told a lot better than of mice and me. Plus even tho it still had a sad ending it was better than over all ending. Society always puts a high standard on intelligence and it is a very prominent theme in both books but in flowers for Algernon it showed that some people in society don’t care about intelligence, only about your self at the level you are at. In of mice and men Lennie was portrayed as a very dim witted man that cant do anything for himself, but in flowers for Algernon he made the change because he had the drive to change. In of mice and men they convey a kind of sad out look on the mentally handicapped. That they are for the most part unable to keep themselves out of trouble and can not function in normal society. In flowers for Algernon they show a very different side of mentally handicapped people. Showing that they are capable of working in a plaice like a bakery and that they are real people too. Even tho most people don’t treat them as so