Sunday, March 8, 2015

In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, what does Charlie realize about Gimpy? Why is he so angry?

In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Charlie realizes that the head baker Gimpy is stealing from the company. Gimpy is undercharging customers for kickbacks. Charlie does not know what to do, so he goes to Drs. Strauss and Nemur and asks for their advice. Dr. Strauss feels that Charlie should report Gimpy to Mr. Donner--that it is the moral thing to do, but Dr. Nemur does not think Charlie should get in the middle of it. He goes on to say that before Charlie's surgery, Charlie was nothing more than "an inanimate object"  (Keyes 21), which takes away all accountability for him. This enrages Charlie. He feels that Dr. Nemur does not understand that even though he might have been mentally disabled, he still had feelings and thoughts like every other person. In the end Charlie asks Alice for her thoughts, and she tells him that his decision is inside himself. For the first time, Charlie realizes that he can make up his own mind. He talks to Gimpy and gives him a chance to reform his ways. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

How does author Elie Wiesel use symbolism to contribute to the meaning of Night?

In his book Night , Elie Wiesel uses symbolism throughout to enhance the text. First of all, the title itself is symbolic. The word "ni...