Symbolism in Flowers for Algernon

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The scientists viewed Charlie Gordon as an experiment before and after and scarcely thought of him as a person which immediately makes Charlie an outsider. The fact that these scientists thought of him only as an experiment not only makes him an outsider but excludes him from our race as humans. They were never sure if this operation would work and what the long term effect would be, they should have waited longer and in conclusion Charlie payed with his life. Symbolism: We know that the theme in Flowers for Algernon is Charlie, the outsider. Symbolism in the Novel can also link up with this theme and I will be elaborating on that. Algernon is an outcast just like Charlie; he is an outcast to his own race and runs around in a big maze looking for a solution. Charlie’s situation sounds very much alike to Algernon’s. Charlie, moving in a world with the emotional intelligence of a little boy, he tries to find a way out and is also an outsider within his own race. The day that Charlie was sent a way his mother had threatened him with a knife. This was shocking and it symbolized not only that she wanted him out of her life so badly but also that she was cutting all familial ties between them. The tree of knowledge is brought up twice in the book. Charlie ate from the forbidden fruit. The scientific community I think was the snake, they tricked him and he took the knowledge. With knowledge come power but also pain and in Charlie’s case unhappiness and anger. He went against God’s will and changed who he was, he was a person before the operation and many people failed to see that. Norma, her name is a figurative slap in Charlie’s face. The one thing he could never be … Normal. Sometimes Charlie would see himself, staring out of the window when he was a boy, he wanted to play with the other boys and girls but his mom wouldn’t let him. Even then the

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