Published: 6 January 2024
“Maybe that’s why it was so important for me to learn. I thought it would make people like me. I thought I would have friends. That’s something to laugh at, isn’t it?” (Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes)
When intellectual growth outstrips emotional growth, the result can be a heightened sense of loneliness. And no amount of intelligence can truly fill that void.
“Flowers for Algernon” is a book that leaves an enduring impression on readers, immersing them in deep contemplation and introspection long after they turn the final page.
Written by American author Daniel Keyes, this Nebula award-winning novel was originally published in 1966. The story follows Charlie Gordon, a 32 year-old intellectually disabled man who works as a janitor in a bakery by day and attends a college class for developmentally disabled students by night. Charlie becomes the first human to undergo an experimental surgery designed to enhance intelligence. The procedure, previously tried on a laboratory mouse named Algernon, initially shows success. But Algernon’s condition soon begins to deteriorate…
The story unfolds through a series of progress reports written by Charlie as he delves headfirst into self-discovery. As Charlie undergoes mental transformations, the content of the progress reports evolves from one riddled with errors to an eloquent narrative.
“Flowers for Algernon” speaks volumes about prevailing social prejudices in social circles but, most importantly, it explores the intricate interplay between mental capacities, self-awareness and happiness.
Surprisingly, the book holds a considerable number of food references, each playing a purposeful role in shaping the narrative and providing a more immersive read. So what foods can we expect when delving into the mind of Charlie Gordon?
Without further ado, let’s uncover the food references that can be found in “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes.
Did you know? Before becoming a novel, “Flowers for Algernon” was a short story featured in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1959. It won the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960.
Bread, Cake, Sweet Dough, Rolls & Loaves
At Donner’s Bakery, there are all sorts of goodies, from rolls and loaves to a variety of different cakes.
“My name is Charlie Gordon I werk in Donners bakery where Mr Donner gives me 11 dollers a week and bred or cake if I want.”– Progris riport 1 martch 3
“Gimpy hollered at me because I droppd a tray full of rolles I was carrying over to the oven. They got derty and he had to wipe them off before he put them in to bake. Gimpy hollers at me all the time when I do something rong, but he reely likes me because hes my frend. Boy if I get smart wont he be serprised.”– 3d progris riport
“The warm sweet smell, the white walls, the roar of the oven when Frank opens the door to shift the loaves.”– Progress Report 10 April 21
There’s always a good laugh at the bakery, especially for Frank Reilly and Joe Carp, who seem to find Charlie very amusing. Fortunately, Charlie doesn’t mind at all.
“She rote the name down on a paper and Frank laffed and said dont go getting so eddicated that you wont talk to your old frends. I said dont worry I will always keep my old frends even if I can read and rite. He was laffing and Joe Carp was laffing but Gimpy came in and told them to get back to making rolls. They are all good frends to me.”– March 26
In April’s progress report, a poignant chapter from Charlie’s past is unveiled. The bakery was always a place of refuge for Charlie who was severely bullied as a child. Charlie would seek refuge from the cold world in the bakery, letting the warm scents of baking goods fill his heart with relief.
“He relaxes here – squatting against the wall – leaning back in a way that tilts his baseball cap with the D forward over his eyes. He likes the smell of flour, sweet dough, bread and cakes and rolls baking. The oven is crackling and makes him sleepy.”– April 13
At the bakery, Frank and Gimpy are usually the ones making the rolls…
“‘But you know better,’ says Gimpy, clumping over his orthopedic boot, ‘so what the hell you always picking on him for?’ The two men sit down at the long table, the tall Frank and the heavy Gimpy shaping the dough for the rolls that have to be baked for the evening orders.”– Progress Report 10 April 21
..but after his surgery, Charlie is encouraged to give it a shot.
“As the bakers set to the task of teaching Charlie, others from the shop gather around. Frank clears an area between them on the table, and Gimpy pulls off a medium sized piece of dough for Charlie to work with. There is talk of betting on whether or not Charlie can learn to make rolls.“- Progress Report 10 April 21
“Charlie hunches over on his stool, intently watching Gimpy pick up the knife and cut off a slab of dough. He studies each movement as Gimpy rolls out the dough into a long roll, breaks it off and twists it into a circle, pausing now and then to sprinkle it with flour.”- Progress Report 10 April 21
“‘Now watch me,’ says Frank, and he repeats Gimpy’s performance. Charlie is confused. There are differences. Gimpy holds his elbows out as he rolls the dough, like a bird’s wings, but Frank keeps his arms close to his sides. Gimpy keeps his thumbs together with the rest of his fingers as he kneads the dough, but Frank works with the flat of his palms, keeping thumbs apart from his other fingers and up in the air.”- Progress Report 10 April 21
Roll-making proves to be rather challenging and frustrating for Charlie, who starts experiencing fuzzy thoughts as a result of his surgery.
“A thousand confusing ideas burst into his mind at the same time and he stands there smiling. He wants to do it, to make Frank and Gimpy happy and have them like him, and to get the bright good-luck piece that Gimpy has promised him. He turns the smooth, heavy piece of dough around and around on the table, but he cannot bring himself to start. He cannot cut into it because he knowns he will fail and he is afraid. “- Progress Report 10 April 21
“He wants it to stick. He frowns and tries to remember: first you start to cut off a piece. Then you roll it out into a ball. But how does it get to be a roll like the ones in the tray? That’s something else. Give him time and he’ll remember. As soon as the fuzziness passes away he’ll remember. Just another few seconds and he’ll have it.”- Progress Report 10 April 21
Bread is also mentioned when Mr Donner, pressured by his own staff, fires Charlie from the bakery.
“‘And I treated you like my own son who gave up his life for his country. And when Herman died – how old were you? seventeen? more like a six-year-old boy – I swore to myself… I said, Arthur Donner, as long as you got a bakery and a business over your head, you’re going to look after Charlie. He is going to have a place to work, a bed to sleep in, and bread in his mouth. When they committed you to that Warren place, I told them how you would work for me, and I would take care of you. You didn’t spend even one night in that place.”– May 20
Cream-Filled Éclairs, Cookies, Buns & Cakes
Donner’s bakery offers a diverse and tempting selection of treats, from decadent cream-filled éclairs and cookies to freshly-baked buns and cream-frosted cakes!
“‘Charlie,’ said a woman behind me, ‘are there any more of those cream-filled éclairs?'”– May 8
“I no longer wanted to know. I kept my eyes averted from the register as I brought out the tray of éclairs and sorted out the cookies, buns, and cakes.”– May 8
Did you know? Marie-Antoine Carême, famous pastry chef of French royalty, is attributed with the creation of éclairs during the 19th century. He also made Napoleon’s wedding cake, cooked for the Prince Regent at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and prepared grand feasts for the tables of Tsar Alexander I of Russia.
Chewing Gum
Burt Selden, a graduate student at the lab, mentions ‘spearamints’ to Charlie but, strangely enough, there is no chewing gum to be found. Instead, the lab is home to a myriad of tests, from projective psychological evaluations like ink blots to maze learning tests.
“Burt said psychology means minds and laboratory meens a place where they make spearamints. I thot he ment like where they made the chooing gum but now I think its puzzels and games because thats what we did.”– progris riport 4
Did you know? A number of scientific papers have delved into the potential impacts of chewing gum on mood and cognitive performance.
Cheese (for Algernon)
When Dr Strauss and Professor Nemur discuss Charlie’s eligibility for the surgery, motivation is brought up. As for Algernon the mouse, it’s as simple as a piece of cheese!
“Algernons motor-vation is the chees they put in his box. But it cant be only that because I dint have no chees this week.”– progris riport 5 mar 6
Did you know? Contrary to popular belief, mice aren’t that crazy about cheese. In fact, they prefer sweeter foods. House mice are also particularly fond of peanut butter.
Chocolate Cake
Before his operation, Charlie is showered with love and support by his friends and colleagues who believe him to be sick. Joe Carp is the one who delivers the chocolate cake to Charlie.
“Joe Carp from the bakery brot me a chokilat cake from Mr Donner and the folks at the bakery and they hope I get better soon. At the bakery they think Im sick becaus thats what Prof Nemur said I shoud tell them and nothing about an operashun for getting smart. Thats a secrit until after in case it dont werk or something goes wrong.”– progris riport 6th Mar 8
But alas, no cake indulgence pre-operation.
“They dint give me anything to eat today. I dont know what eating got to do with geting smart and Im hungry. Prof Nemur took away my choklate cake. That Prof Nemur is a growch. Dr. Strauss says I can have it back after the operashun. You cant eat before a operashun. Not even cheese.”– progris riport 6th Mar 8
Tea
Most folks aren’t thrilled at the prospect of scientists tinkering with their brains. And Hilda the nurse is no exception. Neuralink anyone?
“She says she would never let them do things to her branes for all the tea in china. I tolld her it wasnt for tea in china. It was to me smart.“-March 12
Apple
After the operation, Hilda, the nurse, expresses her disapproval of Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur’s experiments, drawing a parallel to the biblical tale of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit.
“And she said mabey they got no rite to make me smart because if god wantid me to be smart he would have made me born that way. And what about Adem and Eev and the sin with the tree of nowlege and eating the appel and the fall. And mabey Prof Nemur and Dr Strauss was tampiring with things they got no rite to tampir with.”– March 12
This eventually leads Charlie to experience a profound sense of guilt for going through with the surgery.
“She says mabey I better prey to god to ask him to forgiv what they done to me. I dint eat no appels or do nothing sinful. And now Im skared. Mabey I shouldnt of let them oparate on my branes like she said if its agenst god. I dont want to make god angrey.”– March 12
This biblical reference is also mentioned when Fanny Birden gives her two cents on Charlie getting fired.
“‘If you’d read your Bible, Charlie, you’d know that it’s not meant for man to know more than was given to him to know by the Lord in the first place. The fruit of that tree was forbidden to man. Charlie if you done anything you wasn’t supposed to – you know, like with the devil or something – maybe it ain’t too late to get out of it. Maybe you could go back to being the good simple man you was before.'”– May 20
“She stared down at the bride and groom on the wedding cake she was decorating and I could see her lips barely move as she whispered: ‘It was evil when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge. It was evil when they saw they was naked, and learned about lust and shame. And they was driven out of Paradise and the gates was closed to them. If not for that none of us would have to grow old and be sick and die.”– May 20
Apple are referred to once more at Joe and Frank’s party. Turns out the apple was fake, just like Joe and Frank’s so-called “friendship” with Charlie.
“‘Oh, you were right, Frank,’ choked Ellen. ‘He’s a one man side show.’ Then she said, ‘Here, Charlie, have a fruit.’ She gave me an apple, but when I bit into it, it was fake. Then Frank started laughing and he said, ‘I told ya he’d eat it. C’n you imagine anyone dumb enough to eat wax fruit?'”– April 10
Birthday Cake
Charlie may be a slow learner, but when it comes to delivering cakes, he is on point!
“This morning Gimpy hes the head baker and he has a bad foot and he limps he used my name when he shouted at Ernie because Ernie losst a birthday cake. He said Ernie for godsake you trying to be a Charlie Gordon. I dont know why he said that. I never lost any packiges.”– March 21
Birthday cake is also mentioned when Charlie recalls a strange exchange at the bakery on May 6th. Charlie feels very conflicted and angry when Gimpy handles the cash register.
“Even now that I have learned what has been going on behind Mr. Donner’s back, I find it hard to believe. I first noticed something was wrong during the rush hour two days ago. Gimpy was behind the counter wrapping a birthday cake for one of our regular customers – a cake that sells for $3.95. But when Gimpy rang up the sale the register showed only $2.95.”– May 8
After getting fired, Charlie grapples with a profound sense of abandonment that plunges him into an anxious episode. Even the cake figurines mercilessly taunt him in his nightmares…
“I am pursued down the empty streets at night by ghostly figures. Though I always run to the bakery, the door is locked, and the people inside never turn to look at me. Through the window, the bride and groom on the wedding cake point at me and laugh – the air becomes charged with laughter until I can’t stand it – and the two cupids wave their flaming arrows. I scream. I pound the door, but there is no sound.”– Progress Report 12 June 5
Whisky
Charlie isn’t fond of alcohol but he eventually gives in to peer pressure and joins Joe and Frank for some drinks and nonsensical fun at Hallorans Bar on March 28th.
“Joe Carp and Frank Reilly invited me to go with them after work to Hallorans Bar for some drinks. I dont like to drink wiskey but they said we will have lots of fun. I had a good time. We played games with me doing a dance on top of the bar with a lampshade on my head and everyone laffing.”– March 28
“Anyway thats the dream and I got a headake and a big lump on my head and black and blue marks all over. Joe Carp says mabye I got rolled or the cop let me have it. I dont think poleecmen do things like that. But anyway I dont think Ill drink wiskey anymore.”– March 28
Lollipop
Following Joe and Frank’s party, Charlie dreams he is wandering through a large department store where he meets a stranger who hands him a lollipop.
“I was crying because we were in a big departmint store and I was losst and I couldnt find them and I ran up and down the rows around all the big cownters in the store. Then a man came and took me in a big room with benches and gave me a lolypop and tolld me a big boy like me shoudnt cry because my mother and father woud come to find me.”-March 28
Coke
At one of Joe and Frank’s parties, Charlie is served a Coca-Cola with a very odd taste.
“I remembered how sick I got last time I drank too much, so I told Joe I didn’t want to drink anything. He gave me a plain coke instead. It tasted funny, but I thought it was just a bad taste in my mouth.”– April 10
Roasting Chestnuts
Charlie begins exploring old memories as the effects of the surgery start to kick in.
It was at Christmas time, in a chestnut-scented street, that Charlie first discovered Donner’s bakery…
“A little old man with a baby carriage made into a pushcart with a charcoal burner, and the smell of roasting chestnuts, and snow on the ground.”– April 13
Coffee
Feelings of loneliness start to overwhelm Charlie as his work colleagues slowly distance themselves from him after his operation.
“Everyone seems frightened of me. When I went over to Gimpy and tapped him on the shoulder to ask him something, he jumped up and dropped his cup of coffee all over himself. He stares at me when he thinks I’m not looking. Nobody at the place talks to me any more, or kids around the way they used to. It makes the job kind of lonely.”– Progress Report 10 April 21
Coffee and students are inseparable companions so, of course, coffee comes to mind when Charlie talks about his love for the college campus life.
“I know I shouldn’t hang around the college when I’m through at the lab, but seeing the young men and women going back and forth carrying books and hearing them talk about all the things they’re learning in their classes excites me. I wish I could sit and talk with them over coffee in the Campus Bowl Luncheonette when they get together to argue about books and politics and ideas.”– April 26
Coffee is also a commonly shared drink between Charlie and Alice Kinnian, who becomes a very important source of comfort for Charlie as he experiences massive changes in his life.
“I paced up and back in front of the cafeteria until the policeman began to eye me suspiciously. Then I went in and bought coffee. Fortunately, the table we had used last time was empty. She would think of looking for me back there. She saw me and waved to me, but stopped at the counter for coffee before she came over to the table. She smiled and I knew it was because I had chosen the same table. A foolish, romantic gesture.”– May 10
“She sipped her coffee and listened quietly as I explained how I had found out about Gimpy’s cheating, my own reaction, and the conflicting advice I’d gotten at the lab. When I finished, she sat back and shook her head.”– May 10
“‘I’ve got a pot of fresh coffee on the stove. Go ahead and dry yourself and then we can talk.‘ I looked around while she went to get the coffee. It was the first time I had ever been inside her apartment. I felt a sense of pleasure, but there was something disturbing about the room.”– May 25
“‘Come in the kitchen. I’ll make some coffee. What have you been doing?’ ‘Days – I’ve been thinking, reading, and writing; and nights – wandering in search of myself. And I’ve discovered that Charlie is watching me.”– June 25
“We had coffee and we talked late. I knew that Fay had gone out dancing at the Stardust Ballroom, so I didn’t expect her home so early. But at about one forty-five in the morning we were startled by Fay’s sudden appearance on the fire-escape.”– July 16
On one particular occasion, Alice serves coffee with some cookies.
“She set the tray in the center of the coffee table – the napkins folded into triangles, and the cookies laid out in a circular display pattern. ‘You mustn’t take it so hard, Charlie. It has nothing to do with you.'”– May 25
Charlie always greets Fay Lillman, his neighbor across the hall, with a warm cup of coffee when she stops by unexpectedly.
“‘I don’t have any beer, but I can make you a cup of coffee.‘ But she was looking past me, her eyes wide in disbelief. ‘My God! I’ve never seen a place as neat as this. Who would dream that a man living by himself could keep a place so orderly?'”– June 19
“‘Cream and sugar in your coffee?’ When she didn’t answer, I looked back into the living room. She wasn’t there, and as I started towards the window, I heard her voice from Algernon’s room.”– June 19
“I tried to keep my composure. ‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘I’ll keep that in mind. Can I get you a cup of coffee?‘”– June 23
Surely, no gathering or convention is complete without a coffee station! For the dedicated researchers attending the International Psychological Association Convention, caffeine becomes a vital companion.
“Burt paused and let out a long stream of breath. We turned into a luncheonette for coffee, and I didn’t see his face, but the sound revealed his exasperation. ‘You think I’m wrong?’ ‘Just that you’ve come a long way kind of fast,’ he said. ‘You’ve got a superb mind now, intelligence that can’t really be calculated, more knowledge absorbed by now than most people pick up in a long lifetime. But you’re lopsided. You know things. You see things. But you haven’t developed understanding, or – I have to use the word – tolerance.'”– June 11
Last but not least, when Charlie visits the Warren State Home, he is offered a cup of coffee as he reflects on his future.
“Back at Winslow’s office, we had coffee as he talked about his work. ‘It’s a good place,’ he said. ‘We have no psychiatrists on our staff – only an outside consulting man who comes in once every two weeks.”– Progress Report 16 July 14
Butter
Butter is mentioned during Alice and Charlie’s dinner at the forty-fifth street cafeteria after their movie date.
“‘Why should I get hurt? I couldn’t be any worse off than I was before. Even Algernon is still smart, isn’t he? As long as he’s up there I’m in good shape.’ She toyed with her knife making circular depressions in a part of butter and the movement hypnotized me.”– Progress Report 11 May 1
Water
After professing his love for Alice, Charlie becomes overwhelmed with shyness and accidentally spills a glass of water on his date’s dress.
“I dropped a fork, and when I tried to retrieve it, I knocked over a glass of water and it spilled on her dress. Suddenly, I had become clumsy and awkward again, and when I tried to apologize I found my tongue had become too large for my mouth. ‘That’s all right, Charlie,’ she tried to reassure me. ‘It’s only water. Don’t let it upset you this way.'”– Progress Report 11 May 1
Pitchers of water also go flying when Algernon is let loose by Charlie at Nemur’s conference.
“At first, he was lost against the damask tablecloth, a blur of white on white, until a woman at the table screamed, knocking her chair backwards as she leaped to her feet. Beyond her, pitchers of water overturned, and then Burt shouted. ‘Algernon’s loose!’ Algernon jumped down from the table, onto the platform and then to the floor.”– June 11
And when Charlie visits his father at the barbershop in June, he finds himself breathless and searching for a way to conceal the flood of emotions washing over him.
“‘Water…some water, please…’ Not so much for the drink as to make him turn away. I didn’t want him to see me like this after all these years. By the time he returned with a glass, I felt a little better. ‘Here, drink this. Rest a minute. You’ll be okay.’ He stared at me as I sipped the cool water, and I could see him struggling with half-forgotten memories. ‘Do I really know you from somewhere?’ “– June 20
Pretzels & Beer
After leaving the convention early, Charlie moves into a furnished apartment with Algernon for some much needed solitude (complete with pretzels and beer).
“Algernon is a pleasant companion. At mealtimes he takes his place at the small gateleg table. He likes pretzels, and today he took a sip of beer while we watched the ball game on TV. I think he rooted for the Yankees.”– June 16
Beer, Ale, Cooking Sherry & Gin with lemon
When Charlie encounters Fay Lillman, his quirky neighbor, for the first time, she extends a warm invitation with a selection of alcoholic beverages.
“‘Beer or ale? Nothing else in the place right now except cooking sherry. You don’t want cooking sherry, do you?‘”– June 19
“When she insisted again on my having a beer with her, I accepted. While she was getting it from the kitchen, I looked around the room again. “-June 19
” When I heard her coming back with the beer, I spun away from the easel quickly, stumbled over some books, and pretended to be interested in a small autumn landscape on the wall. “– June 19
“She set the beers on the hardwood floor, curled up beside them in front of the sofa, and motioned for me to do the same. ‘I find the floor more comfortable than chairs,’ she said, sipping the beer from the can. ‘Don’t you?'”– June 19
“After a while, I said I’d better be getting over to my own apartment. She pushed a pile of books away from the window – and I climbed over newspapers and paper bags filled with empty quart beer bottles. ‘One of these days,’ she sighed, ‘I’ve got to cash them in.’“– June 19
After getting into an argument with Leroy on June 23rd, Fay heads to Charlie’s apartment for a smoke and a drink.
“‘Got any gin?’ she asked. ‘No, I don’t drink much.’ ‘I’ve got some in my place. I’ll bring it over.’ Before I could stop her she was out the window and a few minutes later she returned with a bottle about two-thirds full, and a lemon. She took two glasses from my kitchen and poured some gin into each. ‘Here,’ she said, ‘this’ll make you feel better.”– June 23
Over time, Fay and Charlie cultivate a habit of drinking together, whether it be at home or on the dance floor.
“The other day I discovered a stack of parking tickets in a corner behind a chair – there must have been forty or fifty of them. When she came in with the beer, I asked her why she was collecting them. ‘Those!’ she laughed. ‘As soon as my ex-husband sends me my goddamned check, I’ve got to pay some of them. You have no idea how bad I feel about those ticket.”– June 29
“My tolerance for liquor must have increased because I was pretty far gone before Charlie made his appearance. I can only recall him doing a silly tap dance on the stage of the Alakazam Club. He got a great hand before the manager threw us out, and Fay said everyone thought I was a wonderful comedian and everyone liked my moron act.”– July 8
“I went down to Murray’s Bar and had a few drinks. And then I called Fay and we made the rounds. Fay is annoyed that I’ve stopped taking her out dancing, and she got angry and walked out on me last night. She has no idea of my work and no interest in it, and when I do try to talk to her about it she makes no attempt to hide her boredom.”-July 15
But, as things get harder for Charlie, liquor quickly becomes a coping mechanism for his emotions…
“Heading toward the crosstown bus, I passed a liquor store, and without thinking about it, I went in and bought a fifth of gin. While I waited for the bus, I opened the bottle in the bag as I had seen bums do, and I took a long, deep drink. It burned all the way down, but it felt good. I took another – just a sip – and by the time the bus came, I was bathed in a powerful tingling sensation. I didn’t take any more I didn’t want to get drunk now.”– June 25
…which ultimately leads Alice to voice concern about Charlie’s alcohol intake.
“‘Only one thing I’m worried about, Charlie. The drinking. I’ve heard about some of those hangovers.‘ ‘Tell Burt to confine his observations and reports to the experimental data. I won’t have him poisoning you against me. I can handle the drinks.’ ‘I’ve heard that one before.’ ‘But never from me.’ ‘That’s the only thing I have against her,’ she said. ‘She got you drinking and she’s interfering with your work.’“– July 16
Milk
Milk is referenced only once, specifically when Fay recounts the story of being locked out of her apartment and resorting to tearing off the door lock.
“‘Stepped out to get the milk, and the god-damned door swung shut behind me. I ripped the god-damned lock off and I haven’t had one on my door since.'”-June 19
Roasts
Thoughts of roasts resurface for Charlie as he recalls his mom, Rose, unsettlingly using a carving knife to threaten him in his early years.
” On the way out, Charlie sees on the kitchen table the long carving knife she cuts roasts with, and he senses vaguely that she wanted to hurt him. She wanted to take something away from him, and give it to Norma.”– June 20
Sandwiches & Coffee
While Charlie focuses on his independent study for the Welberg Foundation, Alice takes on a caring role, making sure he eats well. Sandwiches and coffee make for a good study break.
“Alice is a great help to me now. She brings me sandwiches and coffee, but she makes no demands.”– July 27
Peanuts
Having been an experiment himself, Charlie truly empathizes with the caged monkeys. He wants them to be happy too. Maybe a peanut will cheer them up?
“Can I feed him a peanut?... No, the man’ll holler. That sign says do not feed the animals. That’s a chimpanzee. Can I pet him? No. I want to pet the chip-a-zee. Never mind, come and look at the elephants.”– July 27
Martini
Corporate events can be such a drag! At Mrs. Nemur’s cocktail party, Charlie opts for a Martini as a way to numb his feelings while navigating frustration and discomfort.
“‘That,’ I said, ‘is not at all what I was going to say.’ ‘I didn’t think you were,’ he whispered, holding onto my elbow. ‘But I could see by that gleam in your eye you were ready to cut them to pieces. And I couldn’t allow that, could I?’ ‘Guess not,’ I agreed, helping myself to another martini. ‘Is it wise of you to drink so heavily?’ ‘No, but I’m trying to relax and I seem to have come to the wrong place.'”– August 11
“‘Here in your university, intelligence, education, knowledge, have all become great idols. But I know now there’s one thing you’ve all overlooked: intelligence and education that hasn’t been tempered by human affection isn’t worth a damn.’ I helped myself to another martini from the nearby sideboard and continued my sermon.”– August 11
Sweets
Two weeks after Algernon’s passing, Charlie pays a visit to his mother, Rose. As he walks towards the apartment, a wave of nostalgia and fond memories washes over him.
“The people who lived on the second floor – our landlord and landlady, the Meyers – had always been kind to me. They gave me sweets and let me come to sit in their kitchen and play with their dog.'”– September 27
Hot Chicken Soup & Chicken
As Charlie’s condition deteriorates, Mrs. Mooney, the landlady, provides solace through frequent visits and homemade meals. Hot chicken soup and chicken become a source of comfort for Charlie as he awaits the unfolding of uncertain and inevitable changes.
“This morning the landlady, Mrs. Mooney, came up with a bowl of hot chicken soup and some chicken. She said she just thought she would look in on me to see if I was doing all right. I told her I had lots of food to eat but she left it anyway and it was good.”– October 25
“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.” (Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes)
