Why is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes a perfect story to begin a writing improvment program? A reason may be that it shows what a difference mechanics, vocabulary, and just being clear in writing can effect the way a person is treated. I dont remember how the party was over but I think I went out to buy a newspaper and coffe for Joe and Frank and when I came back there was no one their.
The main character Charlie Gordon is treated badly because he is mentally retarded but as he becomes smarter, he is treated with more respect. Later Frank Reilly came over and said Charlie if anybody bothers you or trys to take advantage you call me or Joe and we will set em staight. With the ability to write more intelligently one will be judged more in a positve way. Having people making negative assumptions of oneself will lower their self-esteem. Thus improving one s writing will improve a person s self-esteem. By writing carelessly with mechanical errors, a writer advertises him/herself to be a undereducated person.
Charlie writes, What happind is a nice young man was in the room and he had some white cards and ink spillled all over them. That sentence is from the old Charlie Gordon before the operation took place. The new and improved Charlie Gordon from after the operation uses dictionarys to look up a word every time he didn t know how or just had the slightest doubt about the spelling or grammar. Readers will notice that they can also ask for help from people about mechanics like Charlie does. Charlie uses those sources and is actually improving, this allows the reader to notice that they can also achieve what Charlie achieved.
Charlie serves as an example to others that a brain operation is not needed to know how to use those sources that he used to educate himself on mechanics. With no mechanical errors in one s writing, there will be less assumptions on the writer being undereducated. After reading Flowers for Algernon from begining to end one would realize that using a larger variety of vocabulary will raise the quality of their writing. Knowing a very minimum amount of vocabulary, Charlie reads books and looks up big words that he does not know.
By reading books with a larger variety of vocabulary one can pick up on some of the words like Charlie has done. Replacing less intelligent with more intelligent sounding words is a good method to meliorate a piece of writing that needs improving. Before the operation Charlie knew only a limited amount of vocabulary. After the operation, reading books, and looking up words in the dictionary, Charlie writes in May 15, He was educated in the tradition of narrow specialization; the broader aspects of background were neglected far more than necessary – even for a neurosurgen.
Simply writing clear and understandably Charlie increases the respect he recives. I was very skared even tho I had my rabits foot in my pockit because when I was a kid I always faled tests in school and I spillled ink to, Charlie writes in progress report 2 – March 6. Reading how Charlie begins to learn how to write clearly and not mix a bunch of ideas all in one sentence, gives ideas to the reader on writing clearly.
Charlie after the operation was too difficult to understand, I tried to avoid all discussions of intellectual concepts and to keep the conversation on a simple, everyday level, but she just stared at me blankly and asked me what I meant about the mathematical bariance equivalent in Dorbermanns Fifth concerto. Charlie understands how he was when he was dumb and how he was when he used too much difficult words. By understanding that he kept his writing in between the two in able for people to understand.
While reading Charlie going through improving his writing abilitys in those three ways, correct mechanics, larger variety of vocabulay, and being clear in writing one can have ideas of how they will improve their own. One can write as if he/she is smart or not. Flowers for Algernon shows the reader that there is hope for anybody that wants to start improving their writing skills. Also shows that even the smartest of people still don t know everything and needs improving. Writing intelligently will make peple think positive of a person. There is room for improvement for everybody.
