Problems in producing flowers for algernon. Daniel Keyes "Flowers for Algernon"

The work "Flowers for Algernon" can be attributed to a science fiction drama. However, the element of fantasy there is small and secondary, and the dramatic component is in the foreground.

The presentation of the content in the novel comes from the perspective of a 32-year-old man named Charlie Gordon, who is mentally retarded. He had a unique chance: to undergo a brain operation that will allow him to raise his intellect to a normal level, before him this operation was performed by a mouse named Algernon, whose intellectual abilities have increased significantly. Charlie keeps a diary in which he writes down his impressions, and the very first entries begin from the preoperative state, they are distinguished by complete illiteracy and a lack of understanding of the essence of what is happening around. Charlie really wants to become smart, learn to communicate normally with people. The operation is successful, and the protagonist's intelligence begins to grow at an incredible pace. Grammar becomes perfect, and thoughts become deeper from record to record. In a few months, Gordon becomes a brilliant scientist, whose intellect rises above the people he wanted to be like before the operation. However, in the mechanism of changing brain activity, a mistake was made that made the reverse regression of mental abilities irreversible. Charlie is aware of this but can't help it, losing his genius every day and falling into amnesia. Over time, the style of his reports becomes poorer, he again forgets punctuation, grammar, and becomes the same person that he was before the operation.

The novel is quite easy to digest, and, at first glance, nothing but this sad story can be seen in it. But is it? In fact, there are many philosophical ideas, which immediately rush into the eyes trained in a deep analysis of literature. The philosophical message of the work can be divided into several levels.

First you need to highlight some irrational notes. As his rationality grows, Charlie begins to become more and more alienated from people. He is constantly told that during his mental retardation he was good-natured, smiling, had many friends. But he perfectly understands what was the price of this “friendship”. If a person who is always smiling is a degenerate, then, of course, he will constantly be in the company of other people. But what is the price of such sociality? It consists in the fact that Charlie attracted people to him only because he was an eternal whipping boy and a clown, was an easy target for the constant mockery of others. In fact, this “sociality” is still the same alienation, only not realized by a mentally retarded person. Becoming reasonable, Charlie realized it and the alienation of everything just became more immediate. A person removes alienation in joint mental and practical activity, but the peculiarity of modern society is such that neither a one-sided fool, nor a brilliant scientist can engage in it simply because they do not correspond to the average level of one-sided development of other people.

Stupidity is sincere and understandable. Genius is complex, inaccessible, and therefore terrible. Stupidity attracts. Genius is repulsive. The first is directed at the happy ignorance of the loving idiot. The second - to the infinity of knowledge in the horror of loneliness. Make a choice!

Another irrationalist message is more true. In the novel, the lagging of Charlie's sensual content from the rational one is constantly noticed. Intelligence can be increased by locking yourself in the library behind books. But the sensual side of a person can develop only in the constant practice of communicating with people. The operation sharply accelerated the growth of intellectual abilities, but the skills of interpersonal relations remained at the level of the child's development, and no operation could force their growth. Charlie constantly suffers from this, and this is especially evident in his experience with women, in how he cannot build normal relationships with them at first. “Pure” reason in itself is not capable of much without the development of other aspects of a person. Intellectual one-sidedness is not as harmful as sensual one-sidedness, when a person is stupid, but subtly understands the vicissitudes of interpersonal relations, but, nevertheless, it also leads to sad results and the destruction of a person.

A person who has a mind, but is deprived of the ability to love and be loved, is doomed to an intellectual and moral catastrophe, and perhaps even to a serious mental illness. In addition, I argue that the brain closed on itself is not capable of giving others anything, only pain and violence. When I was weak-minded, I had many friends. Now I don't have them. Oh, I know a lot of people, but they are just acquaintances, and among them there is almost no person who would mean anything to me or who is interested in me.

But, one way or another, behind all the above irrationalistic motives, rationalistic ideas pass through the entire novel as a main line. Although in a sense Charlie became a stranger to people, but at the same time he became closer to them. If before his closeness to others was similar to the closeness of a monkey in a zoo to his visitors, then after the operation everyone began to treat him as a person, and not a toy for a laughing stock. Albeit to a controversial person, not always the most pleasant for others, but still a person. By his scientific activity, he did a much greater service for mankind than by amusing crowds of onlookers.

Nemours makes the same mistake as people who make fun of an underdeveloped person, without realizing that he is experiencing the same feelings as they are. He does not realize that long before I met him, I was already a person.

Although Charlie considered himself unreasonable as a complete person, but this was not so. Yes, even then he had his own experiences, feelings, awareness of some things. But in a person, the determining side is his mind, and only with full-fledged intellectual activity, with sufficient reflection and socialization, a person becomes a full-fledged personality. And Charlie's socialization itself really began only after gaining reasonableness. The intellect, as it were, began to pull the rest of Charlie's personality with it, and although they needed independent development, it was the mind that gave impetus to this development, which clearly shows its defining role in a person. Emotionality is also rigidly tied to the development of the intellect; in the case of Charlie, the mind, as it were, filled an empty vessel of sensory experiences. The deeper consciousness reflects the world, the more diverse its emotional experience.

It is also worth paying attention to the ridicule of religiosity. If Charlie the idiot knew neither science nor art, but was sure of the existence of God, then Charlie the genius, on the contrary, considered religious problems too insignificant and meaningless, and all his attention was focused on scientific problems. An interesting scene in the bakery, where a woman convinced Gordon that by ceasing to be mentally retarded, he violated his divine destiny, which is written in his fate. Religiosity always puts shackles on a person that does not allow him to rise above his current level of development, metaphysically denies the need for self-improvement.

In conclusion, we can say that this novel, which shows the rise and fall of the human spirit, makes us think about how great the role of the mind in a person, how much the level of his intellectual development transforms a person and radically changes relationships with people. The rationalistic orientation of this work becomes clear in its philosophical analysis, but at the same time, the author well shows the limitations of “pure” rationalism and makes it clear that the other aspects of a person are relatively independent and cannot be reduced to just one rational activity.

Maximilian Sergeev

Flowers for Algernon is a 1966 novel by Daniel Keyes based on the short story of the same name. The book leaves no one indifferent, and confirmation of this is the award in the field of literature for the best novel of the 66th year. The work belongs to the genre However, when reading its sci-fi component, you do not notice it. It imperceptibly fades, fades and fades into the background. Captures the main characters. They say that a person uses the potential of his brain by 5-10%. What is hidden behind the other 90-95%? Unknown. But there is hope that science will come to an answer sooner or later. But what about the soul? This is an even greater mystery, with no prospect of finding a solution to it ...

Flowers for Algernon book

First page, second, third… “Sloppy” text with lots of dots and commas. Poor language, more like a slurred, incoherent story of a five-year-old child who is trying to tell us something important, but he does not succeed. Bewilderment and questions, because Charlie Gordon, the protagonist of the novel, on whose behalf the story is being told, is already 32 years old. But soon we realize that Charlie has been sick since birth. He has phenylketonuria, which is almost inevitable.

The protagonist of the novel "Flowers for Algernon" works as a janitor in a bakery. He has a simple life with its joys and sorrows. Although he writes little about his sorrows. But not because there are many or few of them, but because he simply does not notice them. For him, they simply do not exist: “I told me it doesn’t matter if people laugh at me. A lot of people laugh at me, but they are my friends and we have fun.” He talks about his “friends” at work, about his younger sister Nora and parents whom he had not seen for a long time, about Uncle Herman, about his friend Mr. Donner, who took pity on him and hired him in a bakery, and about Miss Kinnian, a kind teacher at night school for the feeble-minded. This is his world. Let it be small and not always friendly - he doesn't care. He sees and notices a lot, but does not evaluate what is happening. People in his world without virtues and weaknesses. They are neither bad nor good. They are his friends. And Charlie's only dream is to become smart, read a lot and learn to write well, to please his mother and father, to understand what his comrades are talking about, and to justify the hopes of Miss Kinnian, who helps him so much.

His great motivation to study does not go unnoticed. Scientists from a research institute offer him a unique brain surgery that will help him become smart. He readily agrees to this dangerous experiment. After all, a mouse named Algernon, who went through the same operation, became very smart. She navigates the maze with ease. Charlie can't do it.

The operation is successful, but it does not bring instant "healing". And sometimes it seems that this will never happen, and most likely the guy was once again deceived and laughed at him. But no. We see how dots and commas appear in his daily reports. Fewer and fewer mistakes. More and more complex sentences. He is no longer limited to describing his daily duties. Gray everyday life is filled with deeper feelings, more complex experiences. More and more he remembers the past. The fog is gradually dissipating, he remembers the faces of his father and mother, hears the voice of his little sister Nora, smells the smell of his home. There is a feeling as if someone took a brush, bright colors, and decided to paint white with black outlines pictures of past years. Those around you are also beginning to notice these amazing changes ....

Charlie takes up his studies. What yesterday seemed incomprehensible and confusing, today is as easy as shelling pears. The speed of learning a cleaner in a bakery exceeds the rate of study by tens or even hundreds of times ordinary people. After a couple of weeks, he is fluent in several languages ​​and reads non-fiction. His dream came true - he is smart. But did this make his friends happy? Was he really happy himself?

At work, he independently learned how to bake bread and buns, made his rationalization proposals that could increase the income of the enterprise ... But the main thing is that he noticed that those whom he loved and respected yesterday can deceive and betray. There was a clash, and "friends" signed a petition for his dismissal. They are not ready to communicate with the new Charlie. On the one hand, there have been mysterious changes. And what is incomprehensible and somewhere even unnatural - frightens and alarms. On the other hand, it is impossible to communicate on an equal footing and accept into your ranks someone who was several steps lower yesterday. However, Charlie now can no longer and does not want to be close to those whom he loved and respected immensely just yesterday. He learned to read and write, but at the same time he learned to judge and be offended.

Alice Kinnian, one of the brightest female images novel "Flowers for Algernon", sincerely rejoices at his success. They are getting closer. Friendship develops into mutual sympathy, and then into love ... But every day the level of his intelligence is growing. Sometimes Charlie's former teacher and mentor lacks the knowledge and ability to understand him. Increasingly, she is silent, blaming herself for her failure and inferiority. Charlie is also silent. He is annoyed by her and her misunderstanding of the “elementary”. A small crack appears between them, a rift that increases in parallel with the growth of his IQ. In addition, another problem arises: as soon as he wants to kiss her, hug her and approach her like a man, he is seized by an incomprehensible numbness, fear, inexplicable panic, and he falls into darkness, where he hears the voice of that feeble-minded Charlie. What is it - he does not understand and does not want to understand. That Charlie no longer exists, or maybe he never was. The circle is narrowing. The world laughed at him when he was weak-minded. Circumstances have changed, he himself has changed, but the world continues to reject him. Cynicism, fun and mockery were replaced by fear and alienation. A blue stamp with the words “not like everyone else” used to make others want to rise up, fill in their gaps at the expense of it. Further events did not erase the image of an outcast of society assigned to him, they only painted him in other colors. The new Charlie is not a human, but a "laboratory animal". No one knows how he will behave tomorrow, what to expect from him and how it will all end.

Bad news comes from the research institute - the strange behavior of a laboratory mouse. Algernon is experiencing a rapid decline in intelligence. The apparent initial success of the experiment ends in failure. What to do? Charlie Gordon takes Algernon and then runs with him away from worried scientists and psychologists, from Alice and from himself. He hides in a rented apartment and decides to figure out the causes of the inevitable collapse on his own. Algernon dies soon after. An autopsy shows that his brain is significantly reduced, and the convolutions are smoothed out. There is very little time left...

Why are we given life? Difficult question… From birth, we learn about the world around us and ourselves in this infinity. What role does the soul play in this? What is the place of the mind? Why do some people have a broad soul, but a “meager” mind? Do others do the opposite? Man has always sought to uncover “this mystery”, to know what is hidden there, beyond “our understanding”, and every time, approaching the solution closely, he finds himself at its source. This is not surprising - we are not the creators, we are not the creators of all things. Scientific progress has allowed us to climb the nth floor of a skyscraper, and we look at the world from another window, naively believing that now the whole world is spread out before us, but forgetting that the house still has an unattainable “roof”. In this sense, the phrase of the nurse at the very beginning of the novel “Flowers for Algernon” sounds symbolic: “... she said maybe they had no right to make you smart because if God wanted me to be smart, he would have done so that I would be smart ... And maybe Prof Nemours and Doc Strauss are playing with things that are best left alone."

Work to complete the experiment was in full swing. Charlie was in a hurry, because it was important for him to find mistakes and help future generations, and most importantly, to prove that his and Algernon's life was not just a failed experiment, but the first step towards achieving the main goal - real help to people born with such a disease. He found a mistake, and in his scientific article he left a parting word - in the near future, such experiments should not be carried out on humans. But the search for a scientific basis for what happened led him to ask other questions: "So what is the mind really?" He came to the conclusion that pure reason, which so idolizes humanity and for the sake of which it rejects all those who do not possess it, is nothing. We stake everything for the sake of illusion and emptiness. A highly intelligent person without the ability to love, with an "underdeveloped" soul, is doomed to degradation. Moreover, "the brain for itself" is not able to bring any benefit and progress to humanity. And vice versa, a person with a "developed" soul and without reason is a "concentration" of love, the possibilities of which are endless, which brings true "progress" to the human race - the development of the spirit. And before you help people with mental disabilities cope with their problem, you need to deal with your own. And then, probably, the very concept of "the problem of mental retardation" will lose its relevance ...

Charlie didn't let Algernon's body be burned. He buried him behind the house, and he left the city and settled in a hospital for the feeble-minded people. The book “Flowers for Algernon” ends with a remarkable phrase - he asks, if possible, to visit Algernon’s grave in the backyard and bring him flowers ...

Illustration by V. Anikin

Very briefly

A mentally retarded person undergoes an operation to increase intelligence. He becomes a genius, but the effect of the operation is short-lived: the hero loses his mind and ends up in an orphanage.

The story is told in the first person and is made up of reports written by the protagonist.

32-year-old mentally retarded Charlie Gordon lives in New York and works as a janitor in a private bakery where his uncle got him. He barely remembers his parents and younger sister. Charlie goes to a special school where teacher Alice Kinnian teaches him to read and write.

One day, Miss Kinnian brings him to Professor Nemours and Dr. Strauss. They're running an intelligence-enhancing experiment and they need a volunteer. Miss Kinnian proposes the candidacy of Charlie, the brightest student in her group. Since childhood, Charlie has dreamed of becoming smart and willingly agrees, although the experiment is associated with a risky operation. Psychiatrist and neurosurgeon Strauss tells him to write down his thoughts and feelings in the form of reports. There are many errors in Charlie's first reports.

Charlie starts to pass standard psychological tests, but it doesn't work. Charlie is afraid that he will not suit the professor. Gordon meets the mouse Algernon, who has already undergone surgery. The test subjects race through the maze, and Algernon is faster each time.

On March 7th, Charlie is having surgery. For a while, nothing happens. He continues to work at the bakery and no longer believes that he will become smart. The bakery workers mock Charlie, but he does not understand anything, and laughs along with those whom he considers friends. He does not tell anyone about the operation, and every day he goes to the laboratory to do tests. On March 29, Charlie completes the maze faster than Algernon for the first time. Miss Kinnian begins to work with him individually.

On April 1, the bakery workers decide to play a trick on Charlie and force him to turn on the mixer. Suddenly, Charlie succeeds, and the owner promotes him. Gradually, Charlie begins to understand that for "friends" he is just a clown, over whom you can joke with impunity and evil.

I have reached a new level of development. But anger and suspicion were the first feelings I had for the world around me.

He recalls the most offensive cases, hardens and ceases to trust people. Dr. Strauss conducts psychotherapy sessions with Charlie. Although Gordon's intelligence is increasing, he knows very little about himself and is still emotionally a child.

Charlie's past, previously hidden from him, begins to clear up.

I'm like a man who slept half his life and is now trying to find out who he was while he slept.

By the end of April, Charlie has changed so much that the bakery workers begin to treat him with suspicion and hostility. Charlie reminisces about his mother. She did not want to admit that her son was born mentally retarded, beat the boy, forced him to study at a regular school. Charlie's father tried unsuccessfully to protect his son.

Charlie is in love with his former teacher Alice Kinnian. She is not at all as old as Charlie thought before the operation. Alice is younger than him, and he begins an inept courtship. The thought of having a relationship with a woman terrifies Charlie. This is due to the mother, who was afraid that her mentally retarded son would harm her younger sister. She put it into the boy's head that women were not to be touched. Charlie has changed, but the prohibition that has settled in the subconscious is still in effect.

Charlie notices that the head chef of the bakery is stealing from the owner. Charlie warns him, threatening to tell the owner, the theft stops, but the relationship deteriorates completely. This is the first major decision Charlie made on his own. He is learning to trust himself. Alice pushes Charlie to make a decision. He confesses his love to her, but she understands that the time for such a relationship has not yet come.

The owner of the bakery was a friend of the uncle, promised to take care of Charlie and kept his promise. However, now Charlie has changed strangely, the workers are afraid of him and threaten to quit if Charlie stays. The owner asks him to leave. Charlie tries to talk to his former friends, but they hate the fool, who suddenly became smarter than all of them.

Reason drove a wedge between me and everyone I knew and loved, kicked me out of the house. Never before have I felt so alone.

Charlie hasn't been working for two weeks. He tries to escape from loneliness in the arms of Alice, but nothing comes of them. Gordon seems to see himself and Alice from the side, through the eyes of the former Charlie, who is horrified and does not allow them to finally get closer. Gordon recalls how his sister hated and was ashamed of him.

Charlie is getting smarter. Soon, people around him cease to understand him. Because of this, he quarrels with Alice - she feels like a complete fool next to him. Charlie distances himself from everyone he knew and immerses himself in his studies.

On June 10, Prof. Nemur and Dr. Strauss are flying to a medical symposium in Chicago. The main "exhibits" at this major event will be Charlie and mouse Algernon. On the plane, Charlie remembers how his mother tried in vain to cure him, to make him smarter. She spent almost all the family savings, which her father, a hairdressing equipment salesman, wanted to open his own hairdresser. The mother left Charlie alone, giving birth again and proving that she was capable of having healthy children. Charlie dreamed of turning into a normal person so that his mother would finally love him.

Every day I learn something new about myself, and memories that started as small ripples wash over me in a ten-point storm.

At the symposium, Charlie reveals such vast knowledge and high intelligence that professors and academics pale in comparison. This does not prevent Professor Nemour from calling him "his creation" equating Charlie with the mouse Algernon. The professor is sure that before the operation, Charlie was an "empty shell" and did not exist as a person. Many consider Charlie to be arrogant and intolerant, but he simply cannot find his place in life. At the report on the operation to increase intelligence, Gordon feels like a guinea pig. In protest, he releases Algernon from the cage, then finds him first and flies home.

In New York, Gordon sees a newspaper with a photo of his mother and sister. He remembers how his mother forced his father to take him to an orphanage. After the birth of a healthy daughter, the mentally retarded son aroused in her only disgust.

Charlie rents a four-room furnished apartment near the library. In one of the rooms, he arranges a three-dimensional maze for Algernon. Charlie does not even tell Alice Kinnigan about his whereabouts. Soon he meets a neighbor - a free artist. To get rid of loneliness and make sure of his ability to be with a woman, Charlie enters into a relationship with a neighbor. The former Charlie does not interfere with the relationship, since this woman is indifferent to him, he only watches what is happening from the side.

Charlie finds a father who divorced his wife and opened a hair salon in a poor neighborhood. He does not recognize his son, but he does not dare to open up. Gordon discovers that after drinking heavily, he turns into a mentally handicapped Charlie. Alcohol releases his subconscious, which has not yet caught up with his rapidly growing IQ.

Nothing in us disappears without a trace. The operation covered Charlie with a thin layer of culture and education, but he remained. He watches and waits.

Now Charlie tries not to get drunk. He walks for a long time, goes to a cafe. One day he sees the waiter, a mentally retarded guy, drop a tray with plates, and the visitors begin to make fun of him.

It is amazing how people of high moral principles... never allowing themselves to take advantage of a person born without arms, legs or eyes,... easily and thoughtlessly make fun of a person born without a mind.

This encourages Gordon to continue his scientific work in order to benefit such people. Having made a decision, he meets with Alice. He explains that he loves her, but between them stands a little boy, Charlie, who is afraid of women because his mother beat him.

Charlie starts working in the lab. He has no time for a mistress, and she leaves him. Algernon begins incomprehensible bouts of aggression. At times he can't get past his labyrinth. Charlie takes the mouse to the lab. He asks Professor Nemour what they were going to do with him if they failed. It turned out that Charlie was destined for a place in the state social school and hospital "Warren". Gordon visits this establishment to know what awaits him.

Algernon gets worse, he refuses to eat. Charlie, on the other hand, reaches the peak of mental activity.

It is as if all the knowledge I have acquired in recent months has combined and lifted me to the pinnacle of light and understanding.

August 26 Gordon finds an error in Professor Nemour's calculations. Charlie realizes that he will soon begin a mental regression, the same as Algernon's. September 15 Algernon dies. Charlie buries him in the backyard. September 22 Gordon visits his mother and sister. He discovers that his mother has senile insanity. Her sister has a hard time with her, she is glad that Charlie found them. The sister had no idea that her mother got rid of Charlie for her. Gordon promises to help them as long as he can.

Gordon's IQ is rapidly declining, he becomes forgetful. Books, once loved, are now incomprehensible to him. Alice comes to Gordon. This time, the old Charlie does not interfere with their love. She stays for a few weeks looking after Charlie. Soon he drives Alice away - she reminds him of abilities that cannot be returned. More and more errors appear in the reports that Charlie still writes. In the end, they become the same as before the operation.

November 20 Charlie returns to the bakery. The workers who used to bully him now take care and protect him. However, Charlie still remembers that he was smart. He doesn't want to be pitied and goes to the Warren. He writes a farewell letter to Miss Kinnian asking for flowers to be placed on Algernon's grave.

Dear readers, we present to your attention a review of a wonderful book. Flowers for Algernon authorship of an American writer already familiar to you from our reviews - Daniel Keyes.

Yes, this is not new. And yes, you have probably already heard about this novel more than once (it is worth noting that Daniel Keyes He also wrote a short story of the same name. But believe me, this book is worth mentioning once again, drawing the attention of readers to it. I really want people to continue to discover it for themselves, because the problems raised by the author are relevant today more than ever. It's not just a bedtime reading. This is a piece that definitely makes you think. The work is complex, since the gamut of feelings stirred up and excited after reading it does not leave you alone for a long time and does not allow you to come to your senses. So don't expect lightness and simplicity. It will be sad, insulting, painful, but it will definitely not work to remain indifferent.

Who is Algernon? I will answer - this is a mouse, on which the same experiment was successfully carried out, which was to be carried out by the main character - Charlie. Why did the author title the book Flowers for Algernon- I'm not going to tell. Believe that this choice is not accidental, and after reading the book you will definitely find out everything. I cannot deprive the reader of the opportunity to touch the incredibly touching, revealing and, one might say, the key moment of the book.

It is impossible not to feel the fate of the protagonist of the book - Charlie Gordon, a mentally retarded person, a person of incredible fortitude, purposeful, courageous, hardworking, kind, empathetic, caring, a person who passionately longs to be accepted by others, and therefore agreed to an experiment that should help him "become smart". It is from the first person in the form of daily reports that the story is told in the book.

Do not be afraid of the mistakes made by the author on purpose, which will be so many at the beginning of the book. Flowers for Algernon. Overcome the desire to pick up a red pen and fix this "outrage". Let the mistakes play their part in the book, watch them and very soon you will understand how justified, moreover, how necessary this rather unusual method of the author was.

Book Flowers for Algernon- incredibly popular. It was included in the compulsory reading program in American schools. What is her secret? First of all, for sure, in the deepest problems. Let's try to figure it out.

How often do you think about how people around you feel? And how often do you think about how different people feel? But everything is simple: everyone needs love, friendship, happiness, understanding ... And the fact that a person is “not like that” does not mean at all that he is not worthy of it. Will society be ready for the changes that have taken place in Charlie's life after the experiment? What will be the reaction of the people around him? What is better: sincere, simple and understandable stupidity or complex and inaccessible genius?

Can knowledge replace life experience, the experience of live communication with people? “Who said that my light is better than your darkness?” - here it is, one of the most important questions to be answered in the end. Have you ever thought about the absurdity of the very concept of "normality"? Can it be defined at all? Is it possible to forgive a mother for her unwillingness to protect her child, her unwillingness to take his side, his “otherness” to others, and, in general, his unwillingness to accept him as he is? Isn't this the most terrible betrayal, the betrayal of loved ones, their contempt and shame?

"Have you ever noticed that next to a cretin, anyone looks like a genius?" This is a question once asked by Charlie Gordon. And indeed: do people have the right to assert themselves at the expense of others? Where is the kindness, the ability to love, understand and accept? Why does everything “incomprehensible” (whether stupid or brilliant) cause fear? Isn't this the true human inferiority, baseness and weakness?

Another question that cannot be ignored is whether it is possible to go against nature, to challenge it. Can a person take on the role of the Creator? What happens in case of an error? Isn't it too heavy to carry a burden on your own? Here's some food for thought from the author Flowers for Algernon. But that's not all. Do you think there is a proportional relationship between the level of intelligence and happiness? Will a high IQ be a guarantee of getting rid of loneliness?

Here they are, so different, but such important questions. But it is they, and many others, who will appear before you after reading the book. Flowers for Algernon. It will not be easy to return to the bookshelf. This book must be lived, felt the remaining aftertaste, and then for a long time to understand their feelings and experiences. If you are ready for such an excursion, do not waste a minute, let into your life a touching story about a man who is ready to bestow his love on the whole world, and who once wrote down his main desire in the hope of also receiving love in return: “I want to be smart. My name is Charlie Gordon."

Pros:

• issues covered in the book
• revealing the psychology of behavior
• excellent idea disclosure

Minuses:

• maybe not all readers are ready for this book

Justified expectations: 100%

In the texts for preparing for the exam in the Russian language, the problem of loneliness is often raised. All its facets were highlighted by us in the process of painstaking work. Each of them corresponds to the arguments from the literature. All of them are available for download, the link is at the end of the article.

1. Often people cannot understand those who have the opposite opinion. Main character novel by I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons" doomed to loneliness because of his views on the world. Evgeny Bazarov is a nihilist. For his time, such a position was something radical. Even now in modern society love, family, religion, etc. are valued. The denial of such values ​​leads to the fact that a person can be considered crazy. Of course, Bazarov has many followers. But, in the end, we see that even his friend Arkady, in the end, abandons these views. Feeling a misunderstanding, Bazarov leaves for his village, where he dies. And only parents come to his grave.
2. Many writers have tried to cover the theme of loneliness. M.Yu. Lermontov in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" tells us about the fate of a completely lonely person in the soul. Pechorin was born into a rich and well-born family, he was handsome and smart, and also surrounded by many women and fake friends. But he never really tried to get close to them. It seemed to Gregory that his whole existence was meaningless. He did not see interest in the personalities around him, and in the whole world as a whole. Pechorin often thinks about life, trying to understand his suffering. Experiencing pain, he repeatedly caused it to other people, always remaining alone.
3. Many of us are afraid to stand out with something, because sometimes it ends with condemnation from society. Yes, in comedy "Woe from Wit", A. S. Griboyedov talks about the life of a misunderstood person. The protagonist is endowed with the features of an honest, independent thinker and even a prophet: he predicts an inevitable collapse of the world of the Moscow nobility, because it is based on lies and pretense. Alexander Chatsky is trying to fight the injustice of this world. He refuses to build a career in Russia because of the corrupt system and opposes serfdom. However, his views are not accepted in " Famus society where money and social status. The hero is not accepted and considered crazy. And Sophia's betrayal forces him to leave the Famusovs' house forever. And so it happened that the desire for truth and justice led Alexander to the fact that he became a stranger in his homeland.

Forced loneliness

1. We never want to feel alone. However, circumstances often decide for us. Yes, and in the work M. Sholokhov "The fate of man" Andrey Sokolov remains alone against his will. Members of his family die in the war. First, the wife and daughters are killed by a shell that fell on their house. Then, at the end of a terrible, tragic war, his son also dies, shot by a sniper's bullet. On the ninth of May, when for many the carnage was over. Eventually, main character left without relatives and without a home. Alone in this world. At the end of the story, Andrei is given strength for life by Vanya, a little boy left without parents. Sokolov takes him into his care, saving another lonely soul.
2. Loneliness is inherently scary, especially when it is forced. Samson Vyrin, main character stories by A.S. Pushkin " Stationmaster» , lives happily with her daughter until Dunya runs away from home, leaving her poor father. For four years, loneliness instantly ages the hero, turns him from a lively and vigorous man into a frail old man. The desire to see his daughter makes Samson walk to St. Petersburg. But there he receives only the contempt of the groom. Seeing her father, the girl faints. Because of this, the old caretaker is driven out of the new life of his own daughter. So without seeing his daughter again, Samson dies. And Dunya realizes the gravity of his act, only standing on his father's grave.

Loneliness as a lifestyle

1. Sometimes a person creates an atmosphere of loneliness for himself. Central characternovel by I.A. Goncharov "Oblomov" is one of the brightest characters in Russian literature. His life is limited to the aisles of one room. Ilya prefers to lie on the couch, sleep and occasionally call his servant, rather than rotate in society in search of profitable connections and pleasant entertainment. Many people visit the hero, including his friend Stolz, who is trying to get Oblomov out of the house. But does the hero need it? For himself, Ilya Ilyich had long decided that a lonely, unencumbered existence was much more convenient and calmer for him.
2. “Whoever lived and thought, he cannot but despise people in his soul” - this is what the main character said novel by A. S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin". He sees no point in his existence. For a secular rake, the life of other people is not interesting, but his own does not give much pleasure either. He has all the resources to live happily: money, friends, going to the theater and the attention of ladies. However, instead, the hero prefers to suffer and still hopes to find a worthy entertainment. Over the years, Eugene lost the feeling of love for his neighbors. By his behavior, he destroys Lensky and Tatiana, not suspecting that by doing so he destroys himself.

Loneliness in fame

1. Often we hear from the stars of show business that they are lonely. But this is hard to believe when a person has fame and money, when a lot of people love you. Tried to raise this issue Jack London in Martin Eden. Until the main character became famous and got rich, no one wanted to communicate with him. Many did not believe in him, considered the hero a loser. No one supported him in his creative endeavors. Even the hero's lover, Ruth, turned her back on him. However, when fame came to Martin, and everyone began to talk about him, they immediately began to invite him to visit, to show attention. Even Ruth tried to return to him with a plea for forgiveness. But Martin understood that it meant nothing to him anymore. He knew that he had not changed since that time and continued to feel lonely. And the world around him became disgusting.
2. Great opportunities do not save a person from loneliness. Thinking about it D. Keyes in "Flowers for Algernon". Charlie Gordon at the beginning of the novel appears before the reader as a feeble-minded person whom everyone ridicules. Scientists offer him an operation to improve his intellectual abilities. After her, Charlie Gordon becomes smarter and smarter. As he develops, he realizes that his work friends were actually bullying him, and not showing friendly concern, as he previously thought. Moreover, “smart” Charlie is still misunderstood by people, exposing envy and resentment at his new opportunities. Now colleagues consider the hero an egoist and an upstart. The hero becomes even more lonely. Paradoxically, it is much more difficult for Charlie the intellectual to live in society. Although initially it seemed to Gordon that society is more willing to find a common language with an educated person. However, in reality, everything turned out to be the opposite.