Hope In Daniel Keyes Flowers For Algernon

Words: 609
Pages: 3

Flowers For Algernon “All my life I wanted to be smart.” Charlie Gordon is a 37 year old male who is mentally retarded and is going to undergo surgery to try to make him smart. When he gets the surgery he starts to get better, a lot better. Eventually Charlie starts taking a downturn and eventually gets worst than he was before. During these events, in Flowers for Algernon, the author, Daniel Keyes, portrays that hope can be useful when going through the change. To start off with, one of the ways that theme is shown throughout the story is in characters. Charlie is a prime example of how hope can be useful when going through the change. For example, in the text Charlie says,” lm skared…. I hope I have luck. I got my rabits foot and lucky penny and my horse shoe.” Charlie is hopeful that he will get through the the surgery good and have luck in the outcome. Another example of characters in the story having hope is Dr. Strauss. In the text, Dr. Strauss is hopeful that he told Charlie to do the right thing when suggesting the surgery,”Never mind, Charles. I just hope I wasn't wrong to advise you …show more content…
Strauss, Algernon and Miss. Kinnian are also good examples of the theme. Algernon is a good example of the theme because he foreshadows Charlie's life, which shows Charlie that there is hope for him to get smarter. In the text, Charlie realizes that the things that are happening to Algernon are going to happen to him, which gives him hope, “I guess the same thing is or will soon be happening to me.” Another example is, Miss. Kinnian wants Charlie to succeed after the procedure and throughout his changes. For example, in the text Miss. Kinnian is pleased with Charlie that he is making good progress, “Miss. Kinnian says I'm learning fast. She reads some of my progress reports and she looked at me kind and funny.” Miss. Kinnian is hopeful that Charlie will get even more smart with more of the changes to