Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

"Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other; or, if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the den." -Plato, The Republic


I've always wanted to read this book and I finally had the chance to when I decided to assign it to my 12-year-old tutor girl. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it. I could not put it down! Even ask my sister! My nose was constantly in this book! But wow...such a beautiful book.

My very few encounters with special needs children that I have had in my life were what allowed this book to find resonance in my heart. I have a cousin who is born with Down Syndrome. And, during the time when I was going through grade school, the special needs children were able to attend school with us. I am ashamed to say that my experiences were not very pleasant ones. Growing up, I had always thought my cousin was a little off. I felt bad whenever he came over to our house because I didn't want to play with him and yet I felt bad leaving him by himself. At school, I was always afraid of the special needs children. My mom told me to not stare at them, and at that age, I had thought it was because they were bad, not because my mom was trying to teach me to be polite.

But this book is more than just about the rights of special needs people. It is about what constitutes "life."

Growing up, my parents have always stressed the value of intelligence. Undoubtedly, as an adult, I, too, believe in the importance of intelligence and it's role in carrying out a filled life. However, more important than intelligence, is love. Without love, nothing matters. I think that that is what Charlie learned. When you learn to love yourself, you learn to love each other. He realized this through his love for Alice, his love for his friends at the bakery, his love for Algernon, and even his love for his foes.

As a side note, I wish Keyes had delved deeper into Charlie's relationship with Alice. He had gone on so much about Charlie's sexual development (to the point where it got the book banned in most schools), it seems almost a waste when compared to his relationship with Alice. I leave a favorite quote of mine. (There were a few but I was too busy reading to catch them) I try to live by a "do to others as you would have them do to you" mantra, but sometimes I fall off my rocker and shock myself at my insensitivities...Charlie reminded me again to be more conscious.

"How strange it is that people of honest feelings and sensibility, who would not take advantage of a man born without arms or legs or eyes - how such people think nothing of abusing a man born with low intelligence."