Feminism
In the novel, Flowers for Algernon, women are depicted as objects where as men play a more dominant role. The author does this because during the time period in which the book is written, women were seen as inferior. In the text Charlie’s intelligence makes Alice feel dull and small minded. For example, Alice says, “’All I can do is listen and nod my head and pretend I understand all about cultural variants, and neo-Boulean mathematics, and post-symbolic logic, and I feel more and more stupid…”’(124). As Charlie’s IQ increases, Alice feels that hers is decreasing because she cannot understand everything that Charlie says. Feminism plays a large role in the novel because all of the doctors and important people are male. The
perception of females at that time is that they are not capable of having jobs as doctors and are used as objects.
According to a reading on Gender, Power, and Marginalization it is said that, “Feminist criticism is concerned with the impact of gender on writing and reading. It usually begins with a critique of patriarchal culture” (Feminist Criticism/Analysis). All of the female characters in the text are portrayed as sex objects. For example, as Charlie starts to gain intelligence, he becomes
physically attracted to Alice and the woman in the park. Also some of his flashbacks are about him looking at his sister and her
friends and getting punished by his mother. This is how feminism plays a role in the novel.
Formalist
In the novel, Flowers for Algernon, the author uses unprofessional diction in the text to show Charlie's progression overtime. In the beginning of the text, Charlie's writing showed how he did not have a lot of knowledge. When he began writing he in his journal he wrote, "Dr Strauss says I should rite down what I think and remembir and every thing that happins to me from now on"(1). He is open to writing everything down because he is unsure what is going on. Throughout the text, Charlie's grammar improves to show how he is becoming smarter and learning more. At the beginning of the progress report later in the text he says, "It's getting harder for me to write down all my thoughts and feelings because I know people are reading them"(59). Diction is used in how the author spells the words to show how Charlie is not only becoming more advanced, but also starting to comprehend what is going on around him. The author uses diction to show how Charlie is progressing over time in many different ways.
Critical Theory
Charlie faces the struggle of evolving into society as a normal individual. In the beginning, Charlie was a very uneducated man. He was unable to spell simple words correctly. For example, in his journal he wrote, "I said I dint care because I aint afraid of nothing"(11). This shows how his understanding of American language is not so good. He struggles with trying to fit into society before and after the operation. After the operation, Charlie was slowly starting to realize how he was actually treated. He had said, ""But the last time it happened I didn't laugh. I picked myself up and Joe pushed me down again"(41). Charlie starts to realize what is actually going on around him. He struggles with the idea of trying to fit into this new world he is foreign to.
In the novel, Flowers for Algernon, women are depicted as objects where as men play a more dominant role. The author does this because during the time period in which the book is written, women were seen as inferior. In the text Charlie’s intelligence makes Alice feel dull and small minded. For example, Alice says, “’All I can do is listen and nod my head and pretend I understand all about cultural variants, and neo-Boulean mathematics, and post-symbolic logic, and I feel more and more stupid…”’(124). As Charlie’s IQ increases, Alice feels that hers is decreasing because she cannot understand everything that Charlie says. Feminism plays a large role in the novel because all of the doctors and important people are male. The
perception of females at that time is that they are not capable of having jobs as doctors and are used as objects.
According to a reading on Gender, Power, and Marginalization it is said that, “Feminist criticism is concerned with the impact of gender on writing and reading. It usually begins with a critique of patriarchal culture” (Feminist Criticism/Analysis). All of the female characters in the text are portrayed as sex objects. For example, as Charlie starts to gain intelligence, he becomes
physically attracted to Alice and the woman in the park. Also some of his flashbacks are about him looking at his sister and her
friends and getting punished by his mother. This is how feminism plays a role in the novel.
Formalist
In the novel, Flowers for Algernon, the author uses unprofessional diction in the text to show Charlie's progression overtime. In the beginning of the text, Charlie's writing showed how he did not have a lot of knowledge. When he began writing he in his journal he wrote, "Dr Strauss says I should rite down what I think and remembir and every thing that happins to me from now on"(1). He is open to writing everything down because he is unsure what is going on. Throughout the text, Charlie's grammar improves to show how he is becoming smarter and learning more. At the beginning of the progress report later in the text he says, "It's getting harder for me to write down all my thoughts and feelings because I know people are reading them"(59). Diction is used in how the author spells the words to show how Charlie is not only becoming more advanced, but also starting to comprehend what is going on around him. The author uses diction to show how Charlie is progressing over time in many different ways.
Critical Theory
Charlie faces the struggle of evolving into society as a normal individual. In the beginning, Charlie was a very uneducated man. He was unable to spell simple words correctly. For example, in his journal he wrote, "I said I dint care because I aint afraid of nothing"(11). This shows how his understanding of American language is not so good. He struggles with trying to fit into society before and after the operation. After the operation, Charlie was slowly starting to realize how he was actually treated. He had said, ""But the last time it happened I didn't laugh. I picked myself up and Joe pushed me down again"(41). Charlie starts to realize what is actually going on around him. He struggles with the idea of trying to fit into this new world he is foreign to.