Flowers for Algernon
Mouse outsmarts man
Flowers for Algernon is a 1959 science fiction story by Daniel Keyes, later expanded into a novel, about a mentally disabled man who undergoes experimental surgery to increase his intelligence.
The title refers to flowers placed on the grave of a laboratory mouse who received the same treatment.
The story is told through the protagonist's journal entries, which grow more sophisticated as his intelligence rises, then deteriorate as the effects reverse.
The phrase sometimes alludes to temporary brilliance or the tragedy of losing cognitive abilities: It felt like my own Flowers for Algernon moment when the medication wore off.
- CharliePhonetic alphabet's third
- intelligenceMental ability, cognitive capacity
- mazePuzzle of passages
- lab mouseRodent used in experiments
- mouseSmall gnawing mammal
experiment · surgery · genius · regression · IQ · mental disability · laboratory · progress · reports · memory · learning · disability · brain · science · science fiction · tragedy · tragic ending · lost innocence
- Novelsnovel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby
- sci-fiscience fiction, Star Wars, sci-fi, Blade Runner 2049, aliens
- epistolary novelsPamela, Clarissa, Dangerous Liaisons, Julie, Dracula
- Psychological FictionCrime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Mrs Dalloway, The Bell Jar, Dostoevsky
Flowers for AlgernonLucy
Feminine name meaning light
The Ugly Duckling · Cinderella · Rocky · Good Will Hunting · My Fair Lady