Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. What is the
significance of Charlie's relationship to Fay? How does he feel
about her? What role does their relationship play in his development?
2. Do you think
that Charlie's writings as a mentally disabled man at the beginning
and end of the novel accurately represent the way a disabled person genuinely
might write? Defend your answer, and explain why you think these
passages are written as they are.
3. What is the
role of memory in the novel? How do Charlie's flashbacks further
the general themes of
the novel?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. How does the diary or journal-entry
form of the novel affect the emphasis of the narrative? Is Charlie
dependable as a narrator as he progresses through his various stages?
Is Charlie capable of providing insight into the other characters, or
is he too preoccupied with himself?
2. How has Charlie changed at
the end of the novel? Is he different from the person he is at the
beginning of the novel, and if so, how? Do you consider the novel's
ending to be tragic or inspiring?
3. Does the novel make a definitive
statement about the role of intelligence in human life, or does
it simply explore this idea as an open-ended question?
4. Compare and contrast the characters
of Professor
Nemur and Dr. Strauss. How do their reactions to
Charlie's intelligence differ? How do their approaches to science
differ?
5. How does Algernon function
as an alter ego for
Charlie? How does Algernon's condition represent
Charlie's condition?
