FLOWERS FOR ANGERNON - Disscusion Questions

1.     What time period does this novel take place?

2.     What disability does Charlie have?

3.     Does Charlie need the surgery to become happy with life?

4.     Where does Charlie work?

5.      Charlie states, "People think it's funny when a dumb person can't do things the same way they can." What is society's perception on the mentally disabled? Does society treat them as outcasts or accommodate them?

6.     Who is running the experiment?

7.     Who is Algernon?

8.     How do Nemur and Strauss treat Charlie? Do they treat him like a human or like a rat you would perform experiments on?

9.      What are the similarities and differences between Charlie and Algernon?

10.  What changes took place at the bakery when Charlie became smarter? How did people begin to treat him? How did they react to his new found intelligence?

11.  How does Charlie's personality begin to change as a result of his increasing IQ?

12. Do you prefer the Charlie before or after the surgery?

13. What is Charlie's relationship to Fay? How does it change throughout the story? Is Charlie's relationship with Fay a healthy one?

14.  Which characters can be considered Charlie's true friends?

15.   Describe the procedure and risks of the experiment.

16.   How do Charlie and the scientists come to realize the experiment will not work?

17. Where does Charlie end up in the final chapter?

18.  What are the main themes and morals throughout the novel?

19.     How does treatment of the mentally disabled currently compare to the treatment of the mentally disabled in 70s?

20. What effect does writing in journal form have on the overall novel?

21.  What is the significance of the title. What are the flowers's for Algernon significant of?

22.  Do you like the ending of the book? If you were the author how would you end the story?