Essential Questions & Readings for “Flowers for Algernon”
Day 1, pp198-200: Up to “Martch 7”
· Why would the author write using non-standard spelling, conventions, and grammar?
Day 2, pp 200-206: Up to April 6
· Why do you think that Drs. Strauss and Nemur chose Charlie of all the possible subjects for their experiment?
· What do you think that they are hoping to do with the knowledge they get from the experiment?
Day 3, pp 206-209: Up to April 22
How do we know that Charlie is getting smarter?
Day 4, pp 209-215: Up to May 20
· How are Charlie’s relationships with the other characters changing? Why are these changes occurring? List specific examples.
Day 5, pp 215-219: up to June 10
· How is the trajectory of Charlie’s mental progress foreshadowed throughout the story? Where did we get hints of what’s happening now?
Day 6, 219 to end:
· Determine the theme of “Flowers for Algernon” and justify your answer.
“Flowers for Algernon” Key Terms
In your notes, record these terms & definitions:
1. Dynamic Character: a character that changes throughout a story
2. Static Character: a character that stays the same throughout a story
3. Unreliable narrator: A narrator that does not always tell readers the objective truth, often because they are involved in the story
In your notes, record these terms. If you don’t immediately know the definition, copy those as well.
4. Foreshadowing: hints and clues the author puts in the story about what might happen
5. Subplot: a second, less important plot in a story (example: Charlie’s love interest)
6. Premise: the basic situation of a story
7. Theme: the author’s message; the lesson in the story
8. Point of View: The perspective from which the story is told
9. First Person Point of View: when a story is told by one of the characters in the story
10. Dialect: A kind of English spoken in a particular place or by particular people
11. Non-standard English: English which has different grammar and conventions, often because it is part of a dialect