Students can create a storyboard capturing the narrative arc in a novel with a six-cell storyboard containing the major parts of the plot diagram. For each cell have students create a scene that follows the novel in the sequence using: Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.
Charlie Gordon, 32 years old and developmentally disabled with an I.Q. of 68, has been chosen for an experimental surgery to increase his intelligence. The doctors have told him to begin keeping a journal to record his thoughts and progress. The procedure has already worked on a mouse called Algernon, and the doctors are optimistic that it will be successful for Charlie, too.
The surgery is a success, and Charlie’s intelligence skyrockets. However, he finds that his emotional intelligence hasn’t kept pace with his intellect. He also begins to realize the cruelty with which his “friends” have been treating him. Charlie develops feelings for Alice Kinnian, but he can’t seem to find himself on the proper emotional level with her. Charlie is also plagued by disturbing childhood memories of his mother mistreating him.
Charlie leaves his job at the bakery because the others treat him strangely now, and with fear. They don’t understand the change that is happening in Charlie. Charlie begins to read voraciously and absorbs so much information that he quickly surpasses his doctors. He develops a sense of affinity with Algernon, and feels increasingly alienated from the people he interacts with, including Alice.
Charlie is taken to a scientific convention in Chicago where he and Algernon are being showcased. Charlie becomes increasingly perturbed as they show films and pictures of him in early interviews, which he had not been aware of. He also realizes that there is a mistake in the scientific process, and that they cannot say with certainty how permanent the change will be. He lets Algernon escape from his cage and takes him back to New York City, where he rents an apartment and lies low for a month. In the meantime, Algernon begins to regress, and Charlie realizes he doesn’t have much time left.
Charlie and Algernon return to the lab, where Charlie continues his research round-the-clock. Charlie finally submits his report, which concludes that, “Artificially-induced intelligence deteriorates at a rate of time directly proportional to the quantity of the increase.” Algernon dies, and Charlie goes to visit his mother and sister. He finds his mother is senile, and his sister Norma is her caretaker. He discovers how much Norma resented him, and has since resented her life as a caretaker for her mother. He and Norma reconcile, as Charlie knows he won’t be able to play the “big brother” role for much longer.
Charlie and Alice finally consummate their relationship before Charlie’s regression begins to worsen. They spend a few weeks living together before Charlie’s moods finally drive her away. His coordination, spelling, and grammar begin to worsen, He gets his job back at the bakery, but he decides to leave because he doesn’t want people to feel sorry for him. His final wish before going to live at the Warren Home is for someone to put flowers on Algernon’s grave, a symbolic gesture of remembering Algernon’s importance, along with Charlie’s.
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Student Instructions
Create a visual plot diagram of Flowers for Algernon.
Create a character map for Charlie and key figures from Flowers for Algernon to help students analyze traits, motivations, and changes throughout the story. Character maps visually organize important details, making it easier for students to track growth and relationships over time.
Start by asking students to recall or predict what they know about Charlie and other main characters. Discuss their roles and relationships to set a foundation for mapping character traits and changes.
Distribute blank character map worksheets or provide digital templates. Have students note each character’s personality, motivations, important actions, and relationships as the story unfolds.
Encourage students to revisit and revise their maps after key events (e.g., the surgery, Algernon’s regression, Charlie’s relationships). Highlight how these moments impact character development and interactions.
Group students to share and discuss their maps. Ask them to explain differences in interpretation and support ideas with text evidence. This deepens understanding and creates opportunities for peer learning.
Flowers for Algernon follows Charlie Gordon, a man with an intellectual disability who undergoes experimental surgery to increase his intelligence. As his IQ rises, Charlie faces emotional challenges, discovers difficult truths about his relationships, and ultimately experiences a tragic reversal as the effects of the surgery prove temporary.
To make a plot diagram for Flowers for Algernon, divide the story into six parts: Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution. For each part, summarize key events and consider using visuals or storyboards to represent important scenes.
The main events include Charlie being chosen for surgery, his rapid intelligence growth, struggles with relationships, discovering flaws in the experiment, Algernon's regression and death, and Charlie's own decline, ending with his wish for someone to remember Algernon.
Algernon is the mouse who first undergoes the intelligence surgery. His progress and eventual regression serve as a parallel and warning for Charlie, highlighting the risks and impermanence of the experiment.
The novel explores themes of human dignity, the limits of science, the importance of empathy, and the value of self-acceptance. It questions whether intellectual ability alone leads to happiness and fulfillment.