Flowers for Algernon

This is what made me think about getting help.

I have read Flowers for Algernon many times. It is one of my favorite books. I want to watch the movie one day, but I worry that it will disappoint me. I have in my mind how the story goes, and I don't want my idea to be ruined by a stranger's interpretation.

This ficitional story is about a man (Charlie) who is mentally retarded. His IQ (eye-Q as he writes it) is around 68. That is very low considering "average" is right at 100. The whole story is written with him as a narrator, so at the beginning it is horribly misspelled with countless grammatical errors. His childlike innocence is perfectly portrayed in his own words. Yet there is hope! He is a candidate for a surgery that will enhance his mental capacity. The surgery is a success, but the downside is that the effects of the surgery do not last. So even though he gains extreme intelligence and wonderful insights, he is doomed to go back to where he came from intellectually.

The reason this story effected me so much is because as the main character (Charlie) gains intelligence, he also regains his memories from his childhood. He remembers his mother trying to force him to learn something he wasn't capable of learning. He remembers being afraid and punished without really understanding what he was being punished for.

So, it was in this way, I realized (or maybe I should say that in this way God showed me) that I was trying to force Lane to be something he either can't be or would take extra time to become. I would become exasperated at Lane for his lack of response when people would talk to him and lecture him on manners. I would try to make him stop rubbing his face or force him to sit still, or answer my questions....which would only make him act worse.

In Flowers For Algernon, Charlie said his mother was always trying to make him be smart when what he really needed was her love. He needed her support. Reading those words I realized what I need to do. Lane needs my love and my support above all else. If there is no one in this world who can identify with him or understand him, then he needs his family here to be the ones who can. It is not so important that Lane be this or that. It is so important that he has a safe place to fall when he needs it. That will ensure his success more than anything else.

My only concern now is that it took me this long to figure that out.