Muffin+Stufferz-5th+hour

Muffin Stufferz-5th hour Kelly Pettit Nick Fulton Juliet DeGain Romeo DeLoss

As I read the notorious novel //Flowers for Algernon//, by Keyes, I noticed that the author used many symbols to form connections throughout the story. Charlie is like the mouse, Algernon, in many ways. They are both the "guinea pigs" of the experiment, undergoing procedures, having to take tests, and being recorded daily. In a way, they are also both trapped. I think in some ways Charlie felt like Algernon; like an animal trapped in a cage while others on the outside just watched. They're stuck inside worlds far beyond their level of comprehension, not knowing what to do or where to go. Looking at the mouse makes Charlie realize how people in the outside world look at him. I think Algernon also gives Charlie motivation; motivation to prove to the doctors that he could be as intelligent as they wanted him to be, and motivation to prove to the world that he was a human being, just like everyone else. -Kelly Pettit

Throughout the novel, Charlie is given many tests to evaluate his progress before and after his procedure. Among these tests was the Rorschach Test, which is simply an inkblot test in which you describe the images or thoughts you perceive from the ink-blotted paper. These help to describe personalities and levels of imagination of individuals. Take the test and see what you're like! []

//"I wasn’t his son. That was another Charlie. Intelligence and knowledge had changed me, and he would resent me—as the others from the bakery resented me—because my growth diminished him. I didn’t want that."//
 * Important Quotes**

In this quote, Charlie makes a point of his split identity. He refers to the "other" Charlie as his formally disabled self, rather than the same person ever since his intelligence has sky rocketed. This shows that the "new " Charlie is almost embarassed of the "other" Charlie, and is too afraid to reveal himself to Matt.

The Rorschach Inkblot Test is a projective psychological test consisting of 10 inkblots printed on cards created in 1921 by Hermann Rorschach. The Rorschach Inkblot test was not originally intended to be a projective measure of personality. Instead, it was meant to produce a profile of people with schizophrenia (or other mental disorders) based upon score frequencies.
 * Examples of a Rorschach Test (ink blot)**

__Mistreatment of the mentally disabled__ Throughout the novel, it is made prominent that people treat Charlie differently, and look down on him based upon the fact that he is cognitively impared (mostly the bakery workers). Once Charlie out smarts all of the people that always thought they were surperior to him, they start to resent him, which is not fair at all.
 * Themes**

-Juliet DeGain