"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes is required reading in American schools. This is the only story in the science fiction genre, the author of which was awarded twice, first for the short story and then for the novel with the same title, character, and plot. Thirty-three-year-old Charlie Gordon is mentally retarded. At the same time, he has a job, friends and an irresistible desire to learn. He agrees to take part in a dangerous scientific experiment in the hope of becoming smart... This fantastic story has amazing psychological power and makes you think about universal questions of morality: do we have the right to experiment on each other, what results can this lead to and what price are we willing to pay? for becoming the “smartest”. And lonely? To questions that were raised by M. Bulgakov in “Heart of a Dog” and J. London in “Martin Eden”, Daniel Keyes gives his unambiguous answer.
"Flowers for Algernon" - plot
The main character is Charlie Gordon, a 37-year-old floor cleaner, an employee of a plastic container manufacturing company (in the novel, a 32-year-old mentally retarded cleaner in a bakery) - voluntarily participates in an experiment to improve intelligence.
Artificial improvement of intelligence through surgery is the original discovery of two scientists: Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur. After a successful operation on a mouse named Algernon, they decide to perform a similar operation on some mentally retarded person. The choice falls on Charlie, as he shows a desire to learn to read and write better, to become smarter.
The story is written in the form of reports about what is happening on behalf of Charlie. As his intellectual abilities increase, numerous spelling and punctuation errors gradually disappear in the text, and the style becomes more complex.
As a result of the operation, Charlie's IQ rapidly grows from 68 to 200 (in the novel up to 185). In his reports, Charlie notes his changed understanding of what is happening: he realizes the real attitude of people towards him (he understands how those whom he considered his friends laughed at him at work), and gains new knowledge.
Charlie feels a special attachment to Algernon, realizing that Algernon is the only being with a destiny similar to his own. From the very beginning of the experiment on the main character, Algernon and Charlie competed in completing mazes - a mouse in a box, and a man on paper. At first, Algernon won all the time, which made Charlie very angry; he was very happy to finally defeat Algernon. After that, Charlie tried to make friends with the mouse.
Charlie's learning speed is many times greater than that of ordinary people - and after just a few weeks he speaks several languages fluently and enjoys reading technical literature. His former teacher at the school for the mentally retarded, Alice Kinnian, initially rejoices at Charlie's success, but then begins to distance herself from him: she is no longer able to understand him. At his job, Charlie made an improvement proposal that resulted in great savings, but the director’s enthusiasm was not supported by the workers, and they signed a letter to dismiss Charlie. They weren't ready to interact with Charlie after his personality changed; Charlie also realizes that he cannot maintain friendly relations with them.
In the novel, unlike the story, the plotline of the romantic relationship between Charlie and his former teacher is much more developed. There are also memories of Charlie's childhood, his meetings with his parents and sister.
After another month, Charlie's intelligence level becomes higher than the intelligence level of the professors conducting the experiment. Their limitations and delusions are obvious to Charlie. When a test mouse begins to show signs of regression, he decides to continue the research himself and use the full power of his own intelligence to find a solution to the problem.
Despite the apparent initial success of the experiment, the behavior of the mouse gives serious cause for concern - its intelligence begins to fade away as quickly as it grew. After some time, Algernon dies. An autopsy shows that his brain is reduced in size and the gyri are smoothed out. Charlie asked not to burn Algernon's corpse, as was usually done with laboratory animals, and buried him himself.
Charlie's research showed that after the operation developed by Strauss and Nemur, rapid regression is inevitable. Charlie's future fate becomes clear: he is doomed to return to his original mental state.
In the novel, the main character tries to the last, using his still powerful intellect, to find a positive way out of this situation. He has a vague idea of where to start research that could help everyone cope with dementia, but he knows that he doesn't have time to prepare these studies. Charlie's mental level declines as quickly as it rose. Charlie experiences deep depression and contemplates suicide, but the severity of his experiences diminishes along with his intellect. In the novel, his IQ ends up being even slightly lower than it was originally. He returns to his former profession, although he is afraid that now they will laugh at him more than before. His former workmates, who previously always played cruel jokes on him (they even coined the expression “play Charlie Gordon”), and after the operation turned their backs on him, now treat him with kindness and pity. They stand up for Charlie when a new employee begins to bully him.
In the story, Charlie decides to leave his hometown forever after he absent-mindedly visits Miss Kinnian's adult school again and finds her crying. The novel ends on a relatively optimistic note - Charlie tries not to regret anything and wishes well to everyone who tried to help him. He feels grateful: “I learned a lot of different things, and before I never even knew that they existed in the world, and I am grateful that I saw it at least for a minute.” He remembers that he received great pleasure when he read the “blue book with a torn cover,” and decides to “all the time try to become smart so that it will be so good again.”
The title of the story is taken from Charlie's request at the end of his diary - "P.P.S. If you have the opportunity, please put a few flowers on Algernon’s grave which is in the backyard...” (until Charlie left, he put flowers every week after the death of the mouse).
It is noteworthy that in the novel (unlike the story) the development of the plot is linked to the time of year of the story. Spring symbolizes the healing of the main character, summer is a kind of flowering of the main character and his recognition by the world, autumn is a period of intellectual decline. So, the reader meets the main character at the beginning of March, and the operation is performed in the same month. In the spring, his “becoming” as a genius takes place, despite the fact that his final recovery occurs in May and in the same month Charlie leaves the bakery where he was a laborer. In the summer, Charlie Gordon gets used to the life of a genius and goes out into the world, he even leads the scientific work of the doctors who healed him, and surpasses them in August. The decline begins in autumn and ends in November.
Reviews
Reviews of the book "Flowers for Algernon"
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Lishta Lishta
Woe from mind
A very interesting work, I started reading it completely by accident and couldn’t put it down, you can’t stay away while reading this work, you experience every second with the hero, at first you feel sorry for him, then you rejoice at the success, then you worry and finally realize everything that’s going on The author wanted to bring us, after reading from cover to cover, you understand, to be happy you need to be a fool
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2 / 0
Future sailors
You think there is a door and a key, but there are none. All parallel worlds have always been within me.
Sometimes you look at other people and think (perhaps mistakenly), these guys live for themselves, don’t worry, but I keep thinking, doubting, analyzing. So I should become some kind of superficial fool, laughing at stupid jokes and singing, “Well, where are your hands, well, where are your hands. Let’s raise our hands and dance.” This book just confirms this theory about the harm of the mind. We would live like animals, by instinct alone, and would not know grief. Burning from my mind.
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4 / 0
Irina Popova
A very sad book. On the one hand, it says that our mind, the ability to think and develop is one of the most important gifts for us, on the other hand, it contains our grief.
If you live in your own world, where all the people around are your friends with an honest and pure soul, you do not know anger, envy or feelings of sadness...
But what will happen to your life when science intervenes in it and wants to make you a little smarter?
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0 / 5
Margarita Viktorova
I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time.
This is the story of a mentally retarded man named Charlie Gordon who works in a bakery. Not a clinical idiot, but a fool... quiet and peaceful. He has many “friends” who make fun of him at his expense, pay him pennies - but he is happy. How can only a domestic dog be happy - that is, absolutely and limitlessly.
He lives like this until they decide to conduct a neurosurgical experiment on him, which in a couple of weeks makes him a genius and a luminary of world science. At the same time, reviving all the nightmares from his past and presenting him with problems that ordinary people have been solving for years - a series of ethical choices... love, friendship, self-determination, sex, self-knowledge. And most importantly, the answer to the question “Who am I?”
Only for all this he has not years, but a few months.
The book is touching, deep, wise and scary.
Undoubtedly one of the most powerful books in recent American literature.
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5 / 0
Olga Zyukina
Atchot about a read book.
This is a story about a guy whose IQ is around 60 and who just wants to be smart. Then everyone will like him. Charlie Gordon is sure of it. And he agrees to an experimental operation to increase intelligence...
The book describes a year in Charlie's life, but I still have the feeling that I lived my whole life with him. Yes, he has the body of an adult, but initially in his soul he was a child, who after the operation, one might say, begins to live again. He discovers the world for himself, gets to know it from new sides, begins to see reality... Not the way it was originally imagined. And we walk this path together with him. While reading, I was touched by Charlie's achievements, angry at the professors, happy, hated, sympathized, cried, hoped...
The book was written in 1959, but you can safely imagine that it is 2015. It's relevant. She is modern. She's interesting. She is educational. And it is simply a must read!
I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time!
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4 / 0
Tatiana Alkecheva
I'm afraid. No life, no death, no emptiness, but the discovery that I never existed (c)
An amazing book, read in one sitting. Throughout the entire novel, we have to witness the great rise and terrible fall of a man who had a difficult childhood, full of fear and alienation from the world around him, youth with attempts to finally find his place and maturity with an awareness of the bitter reality of what surrounded the protagonist all these years.
He realized that all the people, all the things that surrounded him from birth were not truly what he imagined them to be. It was as if the prism through which he observed this world had fallen asleep. It turned out that his “friends” simply wanted to look smarter in comparison to him, mocking him in front of everyone around him, that his parents could not come to terms with the fact that he was not like other children.
But, having acquired a rapidly developing intellect, it was as if he had acquired a curse: people began to hate and fear him. And he himself did not fully understand what else could happen to him, and how long it would last.
To be honest, something seemed to prick me when, at the end of the novel, errors appeared in his reports again. I didn't want to think about him going back to where it all started. But I think every reader realized that this would all end.
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4 / 0
Katerina Astapova
A wonderful book, amazing. Touches to the core. It’s hard to find something worthwhile after it, so as not to put it aside again in the far corner. If only all books were like this, if only all authors wrote like this - sensually, truly. I don’t want to go on and on about what it’s about. Everyone will understand it in their own way, everyone will find something here for themselves or from themselves. Well, I won’t forget about the ending - it exceeded all my expectations. Thanks to the author for the masterpiece. And the book smoothly goes to the “favorites” list.
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0 / 0
Vladimir Sychev
Ambiguity.
This book evokes very strange feelings (although that’s the whole point, I think).
Firstly, while reading this book you feel sorry for Charlie Gordon - everyone laughs at him, tries to somehow belittle him, but he doesn’t understand this, and even worse, he perceives people who laugh in his face as friends...
Secondly, my personal opinion of Charlie began to change after he became a Genius. Honestly, I don’t know why, but I didn’t like this character. Of course, one can understand that having grown wiser (and how), he decided to take revenge on, let’s say, his “friends”, but he began to hurt very innocent people who sincerely loved him...
A controversial character in my opinion.
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1 / 1
Anastasia
Accurate conveying of feelings
At the beginning of this novel, I simply could not read the text because of the narrator’s grammatical errors. In the middle, the book began to drag me in like a whirlpool, and at the end I could not help but admire the talent of this writer, the extraordinary feeling that he conveyed. I experienced all the experiences together with Charlie Gordon, I experienced all his emotions, feelings, experiences, I learned love with him. Despite the fact that I am a rather emotionally strong person, while reading the novel I could not hold back my tears at some particularly touching psychological moments But it cannot be said that there is no humor in the book; it is there, further emphasizing the writer’s talent.
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"Flowers for Algernon"(Flowers for Algernon) is a science fiction story by Daniel Keyes ("soft" science fiction). Originally published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Hugo Award for Best Short Science Fiction Story (1960)
Keyes subsequently expanded the story into a full-length novel (under the same title), which won the Nebula Award for best novel in 1966.
Plot
The main character is Charlie Gordon, a 37-year-old floor cleaner, an employee of a plastic container manufacturing company (in the novel - a 32-year-old mentally retarded cleaner in a bakery) - voluntarily participates in an experiment to improve intelligence.
Artificial improvement of intelligence through surgery is the original discovery of two scientists: Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur. After a successful operation on a mouse named Algernon, they decide to perform a similar operation on some mentally retarded person. The choice falls on Charlie, as he shows a desire to learn to read and write better, to become smarter.
The story is written in the form of reports about what is happening on behalf of Charlie. As his intellectual abilities increase, numerous spelling and punctuation errors gradually disappear in the text, and the style becomes more complex.
As a result of the operation, Charlie's IQ rapidly grows from 68 to 200. In the reports, Charlie notes his changed understanding of what is happening: he realizes the real attitude of people towards him (he understands how those whom he considered his friends laughed at him at work), and gains new knowledge.
Charlie feels a special attachment to Algernon, realizing that Algernon is the only being with a destiny similar to his own. From the very beginning of the experiment on the main character, Algernon and Charlie competed in completing mazes - a mouse in a box, and a man on paper. At first, Algernon won all the time, which made Charlie very angry; he was very happy to finally defeat Algernon. After that, Charlie tried to make friends with the mouse.
Charlie's learning speed is many times greater than that of ordinary people - and after just a few weeks he is fluent in several languages and enjoys reading technical literature. His former teacher at the school for the mentally retarded, Alice Kinnian, initially rejoices at Charlie's success, but then begins to distance herself from him: she is no longer able to understand him. In the novel, unlike the story, the plotline of the romantic relationship between Charlie and the teacher is much more developed.
At his job, Charlie proposed a new model for placing machines, which would save 10 thousand dollars annually, but the director’s enthusiasm was not supported by the workers, and they signed a letter of resignation for Charlie. They weren't ready to interact with Charlie after his personality changed; Charlie also realizes that he cannot maintain friendly relations with them.
TRAGICOMEDIA I 16+
EFFECT
CHARLIE GORDON
DIRECTION: IGOR SERGEEV I VARYA SVETLOVA
THE CHARLIE GORDON EFFECT
TRAGICOMEDY
The play is based on the story of a young mentally retarded man, Charlie Gordon, who is offered an operation to increase his intelligence, which turns his whole life upside down.
Reimagined and told by young directors, this story takes on a new, relevant sound. The creators of the play talk about the search for meaning, about dreams and the collapse of illusions, about the clash of our ideas with reality and provoke viewers to many questions: What is the norm? What can push us out of our comfort zone and stereotypes of perception? And do we need it? Can one person influence reality?
DIRECTORS: IGOR SERGEEV AND VARYA SVETLOVA
ARTIST: ELENA BECKER
SOUND DESIGNER: DMITRY MADERA
LIGHTING DESIGNER: ANASTASIA KUZNETSOVA
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: KSENIA ZHURAVLEVA
CAST: ALEXANDRA BOSTON/NIELE MEILUTE, IGOR GRABUZOV, YULIA GRISHAEVA, ANNA KOCHETKOVA/NIELE MEILUTE, VLADIMIR KUZNETSOV/LEON SLOVITSKY, LIDIA MARKOVSKIKH, ALEXANDER KHUDYAKOV
TRAGICOMEDY I DURATION: 3 HOURS WITH ONE INTERRUPTION I 16+
ART MAGAZINE
PETERSBURG THEATER MAGAZINE
“The play accumulates the problems of loneliness and the authenticity of life in the world of people obsessed with the concept of normality. The creators of the play invite the viewer to determine what the norm is...”
“Everything that is happening is a conventional blank sheet of paper, on which the history of the conventional Charlie Gordon will be written over the next three hours. And each version of it, like each performance, is unique!”
“The Charlie Gordon Effect” should be shown to teenagers, as it talks about the need to be more tolerant of people who are different from you, and to help those who are weaker. And, despite what IQ you have, remain human..."
A tragicomedy based on the novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. The novel took 14 years to form, it changed following the changing events in the life of Keyes, who wanted to become a writer, but was sent to medical courses by the will of his parents (in 1957 Keyes taught English at a school for children with limited intellectual abilities, one of the students asked him, whether he will be able to transfer to a regular school if he studies diligently and becomes smart. This student will ultimately become the prototype of the central character of the novel - Charlie Gordon).
The novel shocks the reader with its depth and the themes touched upon in the pages of the book (every line of the work is imbued with existential meanings), perhaps that is why this book is so difficult for film adaptations and directors. In my opinion, the three films that were released did not even one iota convey the full tragedy of Charlie Gordon's life situation. The same failure befell the production of the Alexandrinsky Theater.
But this kind of theater succeeded. They not only did not lose the meaning of Charlie's story, so carefully described by Keyes, they supplemented it. This is not just the best staged from the book, it can rightfully be considered a breakthrough in the theater world in 2015.
I advise everyone to go
| P E R E Y T I |
"PETERSBURG THEATER MAGAZINE"
Sterile operating room space. The light is too bright and glaring. Loud pulsating ticking sounds. In the center is a long narrow table at which the actors sit. Behind is a huge white wall that serves as a screen from time to time. The spectators quickly, fussing and jostling, take their seats. The actors' faces do not express anything. They are not yet in images, but are already in the grip of total abstraction and detachment: they seem to be looking intently, monitoring our actions, but it seems they are not. The only creature that communicates with the public, counts the number of calls, pronounces the familiar text about “turn off the phones” is Algernon (Anna Kochetkova). First you hear a voice - mechanical, cold. Only then do you notice Algie alive. A white creature with eyes lined with purple shadows sits at the back of the stage: white makeup is applied to her face and hands, and her hair is straightened. The entire process is broadcast on the screen. Thus, directors Igor Sergeev and Varya Svetlova already in the introduction set the motive of open theatricality - they have nothing to hide: because everything that happens is a conditional blank sheet, on which the story of the conditional Charlie Gordon will be written over the next three hours. And each version, like each performance, is unique.
The idea, frankly speaking, is not new - understandable, elementary, seemingly banal. But here she finds freshness - she works on the text. The creators of the play adapt the story about a mentally retarded boy who undergoes brain surgery and who subsequently becomes a brilliant scientist to the specifics of the stage: in addition to the openly theatrical beginning, the question is raised about the boundaries of the entrusted image when one actor plays several roles; literally - on the screen - questions are written about the significance of the figures of the director and playwright; Overtly theatrical techniques and stunts constantly appear. No mouse labyrinths, cages or other laboratory nonsense, which is given in abundance in the novel. Charlie's intellectual rivalry with the mouse is resolved through children's games: they quickly grab sticks, try to simultaneously carry a full glass of water without spilling a drop, etc.
Moreover, without changing the place and time of action (America, late 50s), Sergeev and Svetlova find connections with the current socio-political situation in Russia. Having preserved the plot, the main event backbone, they give “Flowers...” a different form. This is not a literal adherence to the text - it is a fantasy on the topic. Not violent and stormy - limited by the logic of the author of the book. This is not a story “about mice and men” - this aspect has been removed: we have all been mice for a long time, and Elgie the rat, who has now taken on human form, is the main manager, the host of the talk show “Mouse Eyes”.
“The Charlie Gordon Effect” is rather a story about a person’s interaction with himself, his own nature, the desire to become different, to live more than one life - several. And at the same time, not to lose, not to fragment oneself - to preserve the integrity of nature. This is a story about what is the “norm” today, what is it and what are its boundaries? And here we also mean the norms of social behavior, the criteria of “normal” and “abnormal” in politics, religion, and art.
As a result, the performance acquires a complex, branched plot structure with many references, quotes and motifs. Its structure begins to resemble the very inkblots that psychiatrist Charlie Gordon presents to him, wanting to test the boy: each viewer sees and reads his own. Some are looking at the specific adaptation of Daniel Keyes' text, some are watching the metamorphoses of the actors, and some are laughing at the insert numbers that parody all sorts of "talk shows" endlessly multiplied by the emptiness. And yet, despite the cunning structure, the main story remains Charlie's.
Alexander Khudyakov with his open face, naive look, and half-blissful smile is touching and defenseless. You believe him from the first second. Unhurried angular movements, confused speeches, interspersed with sudden long pauses, the readiness to break down at any moment and not scream - to remain completely silent - create a convincing, completely “Kizovsky” image. Another thing is that this - primarily through language - in Keyes's novel the process of progress and regression of the hero does not look exactly like a “process” in the play. This is rather an acting wandering from point to point: here I play Charlie the fool, and here I play Charlie the smart one. The most valuable things - transitions, rebirths, changes in all their completeness and extent - are missing. The exceptions are the monologue in the first act and the finale of the play. In the end, without words, without uttering a sound, the hero, having long ago recognized his own regression, runs in a circle in an effort to catch up with his former self, smart, brilliant, with all the thoughts and ideas, friends that have appeared, memories of relatives. The scene of the chase for the rapidly losing “I” is reminiscent of an episode from John Neumeier’s ballet “Death in Venice,” when the elderly Aschenbach runs either after his younger self or after the retreating young Tadzio. In both cases, in these pushes and jerks, slips and falls of the artists, there is a kindred despair and fear.
The solution to Elgie’s image is also interesting. Anna Kochetkova plays both a monster and a frightened, at times offended creature. But even in those moments when she is extremely cruel (the episode with the shooting of talk show participants), Algernon does not lose his charm. Terrible things happen easily, as if for fun, as a joke, and the audience finds it funny, sad, and scary. Tragicomedy - everything is as indicated in the program.
The world created by Igor Sergeev and Varya Svetlova is a world of crazy and sick people. Everyone has their own quirks and “cockroaches”: Charlie’s mother Rosa (Yulia Grishaeva) is “addicted” to mopping floors, washing and peeling fruits and vegetables; artist Faye Lilman (Niele Meilute) is an alcoholic; Alice Kinnian (Lydia Markovskikh) painfully loves order and “things on shelves”; Professor Nemur (Igor Grabuzov) is a former psycho, etc. Charlie is quite in place on this list of insane people. Or rather, not so: it is much better and cleaner. He is a white sheet on which these strange people, with distorted consciousness and destiny, write and draw. But no matter how hard others try to imprint themselves in him, nothing comes of it. It's still bright. As he dies, Charlie reaches absolute zero. Tabula rasa.
| P E R E Y T I |
ART MAGAZINE "ABOUT"
Such a theater and the Laboratory of Dramatic Art presented the premiere - the play "The Charlie Gordon Effect" based on the novel by Daniel Keyes "Flowers for Algernon" - on the stage of the Dostoevsky Literary and Memorial Museum. Directors: Igor Sergeev and Varya Svetlova.
When you watch the play “The Charlie Gordon Effect,” for some reason a phrase emerges from your subconscious, the authorship of which is attributed to Mr. Freud: “Before diagnosing yourself with depression and low self-esteem, make sure that you are not surrounded by idiots.” Charlie Gordon's entourage (the plot of a weak-minded young man who undergoes an experimental operation to increase his intelligence) includes robot doctors, a neurotic teacher, a soulless blind mother and father, an echidna sister, an idiot waiter, and a drug-addicted neighbor. Each character in the play can be assigned a "diagnosis" of psychological disorder or moral deficiency. Directors Igor Sergeev and Varya Svetlova construct this world of “smart” people, as Charlie thinks, who also dreams of becoming smart, with the help of bright colors and fast rhythms: the actors dance their roles like puppets, led by the mad Hatter, and play in a caricatured, cinematic manner. Chopped phrases are pronounced mechanically, at the speed at which words begin to lose their meaning. The viewer seems to be looking at everything that is happening through the eyes of Charlie himself, whose bright face - the only face among the “masks” - with clear eyes and a naive gentle smile is contrasted with the chaos and madness of life.
Alexander Khudyakov has a difficult, looped role: from a weak-minded boy he needs to gradually degenerate into a genius and again, due to an unsuccessful scientific experiment, mentally degrade, in a word, to play a complex and not entirely realistic character. Slow but meaningful speech, nervous fingering - hands seem to live their own lives, and a surprisingly calm face - this is how the hero appears at the beginning. People in white coats torture him with “psychic tests” - all kinds of psychological and intellectual tests, forcing him to compete with his mental abilities with a mouse that has already undergone surgery to increase his intelligence.
All the action takes place in a vacuum laboratory space, where there is nothing else except a long glass table and a white screen. Many mise-en-scenes are built frontally, so that the characters conducting a dialogue with each other simultaneously face the viewer - this creates a cinematic close-up, and the actors masterfully withstand it. The process of Charlie's transformation into a genius is solved metaphorically: after each success, the hero dances with a glass of water, trying to synchronously repeat the movements of Algernon's mouse and not spill the water.
Algernon - the conductor of the performance - commentator, videographer and the hero himself - is an interesting acting work by Anna Kochetkova, stylistically related to her Lyusa Smirnova from the musical "Lenka Panteleev" (Youth Theater). It is curious that almost all the participants in the play, and these are Igor Grabuzov, Yulia Grishaeva, Anna Kochetkova, Vladimir Kuznetsov, Lidiya Markovskikh, Niyole Meilute, Alexander Khudyakov - actors from different schools and from different St. Petersburg theaters, aesthetically distant from each other, came together for the first time and formed a common puzzle It is necessary to talk about each separately, but the format does not allow it, since the significance of these acting individuals for the “Charlie Gordon Effect” is great. And sometimes it even seems that the dramatic material itself and the scene-place-time-space, despite the three-hour duration of the performance, is not enough for all of them. This is why some episodes of the play seem very interesting in themselves, but somewhat alien “links”.
The play accumulates the problems of loneliness and the authenticity of life in a world of people obsessed with the concept of normality. The word "normality" comes from "norm" - by the way, Norma is the name of Charlie's sister. The creators of the play invite the viewer to determine what the norm is. In the TV show format, Algernon shoots “babies” sitting along the walls who do not conform to generally accepted ideas about life with a stunning fake pistol. The last of them will be killed by the viewer, who independently made a choice in favor of the norm. There is no place in this “normal” world of “smart” people for Charlie Gordon, whose clear face at the end of the play looks from the screen into the auditorium.
Over time, "The Charlie Gordon Effect" will lose some of its rough edges and theatrical excess. But it is already clear that the experiment of the young directors of such a theater, who found and united the brilliant seven actors, in contrast to the experiment of Professor Nemours, is truly successful!
The asceticism of the design (all the action takes place in the almost empty space of the stage, on it, except for a long glass table, several chairs and a white cubic wall, which also serves as a screen), is more than compensated by the powerful energy coming from the actors. The three-hour plot, based on the work of Daniel Keyes "Flowers for Algernon", does not let go of the viewer's attention for a minute, although there is no action as such - the development of events is quite smooth.
Based on the plot of a young man Charlie Gordon, suffering from mental retardation, through the efforts of directors Varia Svetlov and Igor Sergeev, it takes on a different form. Leaving the heroes in the same America of the 50s, the directors bring modern realities into the action. And the viewer sees an undying story about the life and struggle of a person with himself, becomes an accomplice in thinking on the topic “What is the norm,” while simultaneously questioning established concepts.
The plot of Keyes's novel becomes multifaceted; many diverse characters appear on stage, but all of them are played by only seven actors. The colossal transformation cannot but captivate and the viewer believes absolutely every character. But still, the central character is Charlie Gordon and his story runs like a red thread through the plot. This man with an extremely low intellectual level decides to undergo an operation that will give him intelligence. The experiment is successful, Charlie gains the ability to think, but here the main drama of his life unfolds - is he ready for such changes, was this really his deepest desire...
Alexander Khudyakov, who plays Charlie Gordon, very accurately matches the character of Daniel Keyes. Defenseless and touching, from the first minutes he wins the sympathy of the viewer. Together with his only friend, the mouse Algernon, who underwent such an operation to increase his intelligence, he lives his life in front of the audience - honestly and without embellishment. He is surrounded by people who, according to the laws of society, are considered normal, but the action reveals the fact that this concept is very conditional and deceptive. And where is that line, and most importantly - who is the judge who determines the concept of the norm - this is the main question, experimentally solved on stage by a team of young actors.
NEVSKIE NEWS visited the performance and asked Alexander Khudyakov, the leading actor of Charlie Gordon, a few questions.
NN: The format of the performance, although not new, is quite rare. How comfortable is it for an actor to play in such close contact with the audience, when in a small hall those present practically become participants in the action?
A.Kh.: In fact, it’s even more comfortable than in a large hall. Here everything is much more honest, closer, everything is real. You see the viewer's eyes and feel the viewer much more subtly.
NN: In your opinion, is there a great demand for this format of the performance?
A.Kh.: It seems to me yes, maybe even more than usual. In any case, our halls are always full.
NN: Based on the viewer's reaction, how would you determine: who is more sympathetic - Charlie before the operation or Charlie who has acquired intelligence?
A.H.: Of course, Charlie before the operation! He is pure, kind, genuine. They sympathize with him much more, I want to believe it.
NN: Your personal opinion, as an actor who plays this character - should Charlie have left his comfort zone and agreed to the operation?
A.Kh.: Of course, it was necessary to go out. The question here is whether something will come of it or not. But in any case, you have to go out, you have to try, you have to do it, because anything can happen in life. This is a matter of motivation and those who have it always try to leave their comfort zone to see what comes of it.
"THEATRAL"
And again the Dostoevsky Museum was sold out - on February 19, this theater presented the premiere of its play “The Charlie Gordon Effect,” based on Daniel Keyes’ bestseller “Flowers for Algernon.”
It’s great that the city has such unusual venues for theatrical experiments. And everyone chooses for himself what is closer to him: beautiful but soulless theaters - palaces, or chamber halls in which a different, underground art is born, for a limited circle of spectators.
I would like to say right away that before going to the performance it is better to read the book - it describes in more detail the features of the experiment on the main character, Charlie Gordon, a guy with developmental delays. From the novel we learn that the good old methods of psychiatry are a thing of the past: lobotomy and shock therapy. Science is moving forward, and now it is possible to “make” a stupid person smart by enlarging the brain.
But that's not all Charlie wants: he dreams of having friends who would love him, and so that his mother no longer has to lock him in the basement when guests come. Daniel Kesey raised an important social issue in his amazing book. Society imposes certain standards: you must be sociable, successful, ambitious and achieve something. It is a shame to be “abnormal”, and in this vein, the name of Charlie’s sister, Norma, looks like a mockery. She met her parents' expectations, because she was immediately able to distinguish a goose from a cow, and learned to recite a poem about a mouse.
However, life will show that it is better to be “stupid” like Charlie than to be emotionally crippled like his family and friends. It turned out that high intelligence does not bring happiness, and it is much more important to find a common language with people, to be able to love and not betray those who trust you. The main character will understand all this later, and upon learning that the experiment was unsuccessful, he will only dream of not forgetting how to read and write.
On the backstage, various phrases kept popping up. For example, “Don’t you think that in modern theater form is often substituted for content?” Fortunately, in the performance of Such a theater, form and content exist in harmony, thanks to the attention to detail and excellent direction of Igor Sergeev and Varya Svetlova. Their names are not yet household names, but it is quite possible that this will soon change: “The Charlie Gordon Effect” is an excellent start to their creative career. It is worth saying a few words about the cast of the play: for example, the beginning actor Alexander Khudyakov was emotional and sincere in the role of Charlie Gordon. The role of Charlie's mother and nurse Hilda was played by Yulia Grishaeva, NDT actress L.B. Ehrenburga is funny and charismatic.
“Such a theater succeeded. Not only did they not lose the meaning of Charlie’s story, so carefully described by Keyes, they complemented it. This is not just the best staged from the book, it can rightfully be considered a breakthrough in the theater world in 2015. I advise everyone to go !"
The novel “Flowers for Algernon,” a brief summary of which will be discussed, has been considered a fantastic work all over the world for more than forty years.
You can put John Nash's story from A Beautiful Mind or the film story of Good Hunting on a par with it. All these stories require serious analysis and are not suitable for fun family viewing.
We are starting a story about people with fantastically trained minds. Let's see how beautiful science is.
Book Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
In English the name is: “Flowers for Algernon”. The central theme of the book of “flowers” is the attitude of people towards psychologically inferior subjects of society, their treatment and adaptation.
How can past events affect an individual for the rest of his life? An example from a story that is presented as a work of science fiction.
The story was written in 1958 during a trip to America, and published in 1960 in the magazine Fantasy & Science Fiction. After its next publication in 1966, the novel made its author a laureate of the prestigious “Best Novel” award.
Daniel Keyes' book Flowers for Algernon is just over 300 pages. You can read it in a week or in one day if you get really carried away.
Main characters
Main characters:
- Charlie Gordon- an adult suffering from phenylketonuria. Lives and works in New York. The main character (the narrator of the story) who voluntarily undergoes surgery to enhance his mental abilities.
- Alice Kinnian- a female teacher from the Beekman center, where Charlie studies. She recommends her student as a volunteer.
- Fay Lillman- an unusual neighbor. Artist by profession. He is in a romantic relationship with Charlie, while the hero's IQ is at the level of a genius.
- Rose Gordon- Charlie's mother. Appears for the first time as a memory (flashback) of a troubled childhood. By the end of the work, an older woman becomes obsessed.
- Norma Gordon- younger sister. A “mirror” reflection of a mother in relation to her brother. A selfish and spoiled girl.
- G. Nemours and D. Strauss- a psychiatrist and neurosurgeon of the senior group of experimenters, whom Charlie initially respects, and then suspects of self-interest.
Minor characters
Also present:
- Bert Selden- laboratory assistant and junior member of the research team. Charlie considers him a friend for a while. As it turns out later, there was no devotion in their friendship.
- Mr Donner- owner of a bakery. Becomes the main character's guardian. Charlie treats him like a father. The only one in the novel who cared about a psychologically disabled guy.
- lame- a baker with a leg injury. He takes a liking to Charlie and becomes not just a protector, but also a friend. Afterwards, the friendship is broken by betrayal.
- Fanny Berdin is the worker who is the first to sense that the changes could be dangerous for Charlie. Soon her fears will be confirmed.
- Mrs Mooney- at the stage of regression and complete isolation, Charlie plays the role of a housewife.
- Ray Winslow & Thelma is a psychologist and housekeeper at the Warren State Institution. The main consolation for Charlie is meeting them.
Brief retelling of "Flowers for Algernon"
Charlie Gordon is a 32-year-old man with an intelligence level of 68 (IQ) and suffers from phenylketonuria (a hereditary disease). He spends most of his time working in the bakery.
The desire to deepen his knowledge and understand the world around him forces him to attend reading and writing classes at the Beekman training center. There he meets teacher A. Kinnian.
From a quote from the novel itself, it is clear that education weighs heavily on the hero:
“I now understand that one of the important reasons for going to college and getting an education is to realize that the things you have believed all your life are not true, and that nothing is what it seems.”
Two talented researchers at the training center, Nemours and Strauss, performed surgery on a mouse named Algernon (Algernon or Algernon). As a result, the animal's mental abilities improved.
In search of a volunteer for a new operation, they turn to Alice. Based on her recommendations and the student's current performance, Charlie is selected for the procedure.
After a successful operation, Charlie’s intellectual quotient approached 185. However, the jump in intelligence provoked an internal conflict: understanding the world and further studying the world around him worsened the hero’s relationships with people.
Fear arises among the employees of the bakery where Charlie works. Accustomed to having fun at the expense of a mentally retarded man, his colleagues persuade their boss to fire him.
Charlie begins to confront his scientific mentors. He suspects that Dr. Nemours' condescending attitude is a concern for a laboratory object, and not for the person he was before the operation.
Another quote illustrates what the increase in IQ brought him:
“Intelligence is one of the greatest human gifts. But too often the search for knowledge supersedes the search for love... Intellect without the ability to give and receive affection leads to mental and moral disorder, to neurosis and perhaps even psychosis.”
Algernon lives in the apartment of the main character, becomes an object of observation and a reason for reports. Charlie uses the time allotted to him to find flaws in the theories of both scientists. The improvement in the mind may be short-lived and the patient will soon return to his original psychological state.
This conclusion is confirmed by the mouse's unusual behavior, loss of intellectual development and death.
When the hero’s abilities begin to degrade, he has no choice but to try to restore relations with his parents. He remembers how, as a boy, he lost his father and mother due to his illness. Charlie's mother lives in an old Brooklyn house for a long time, where she develops dementia and recognizes her son, briefly.
All that remains for him is to establish contact with his younger sister, who disliked him due to a psychological deviation. At this point, her attitude towards her brother is changing, and she invites him to stay with the family. Charlie refuses, paying her off.
The life of a genius is over, and the hero of the novel returns to his former life, leaving only memories. The pity of friends and colleagues becomes unbearable and leads him to the government-sponsored Warren School.
In the last report, Charlie asks to bring flowers to the grave of the mouse Algernon.
Analysis of the work “Flowers for Algernon”
The analysis of the book was based on reviews from people in the United States and Russia.
The text of the original story, which later took the form of a novel, is extremely difficult to read.
Keyes, being a philologist, describes the changes associated with Charlie's psyche in the form of reports that are riddled with errors. Subsequently, the intelligence of the protagonist is reflected in the quality of the text.
Flowers for Algernon is a book that says, “I want you to question everything you know.” The important point is the fact of the search.
The hero is looking for an irrefutable, crystal-honest message about humanity, measured not by IQ, but by kindness.
With an IQ of 185, Charlie feels more lonely than when he scored just 68 on the test. He withdraws from his friends and becomes depressed. However, isolation helps him understand himself as a person, and not as a laboratory animal. He is still the same, no matter whether he is smart or stupid.
The desire to improve your inner world, to become someone else in many ways better than before - this can be called the “C. Gordon effect.”
What's wrong with Keyes' novel? You need to sort through the shortcomings by defining the genre. Daniel's Flower is the first and only book that should not be recommended for your school's required reading list. For several years this work was withdrawn from American programs and stores.
Unscientific fiction, as the genre is defined on the Internet, in which throughout the entire book there is not a single serious theory, not a single interesting experiment from a scientific point of view.
The Library Association of America included "Flowers" on its list of the most controversial books from 90 to 99. The main factor for the removal of the book from school libraries was a fragment of the novel where Charlie tries to express his sexual fantasies and desires.
Screen adaptation of the novel by D. Keyes
There were a little less than twenty possible adaptations of this novel. Popularity came in the 60s:
- 1968 film "Charlie". The leading actor was K. Robertson, who received an Oscar for Best Actor.
- 1969 play directed by David Rogers.
The most interesting film based on the novel “Flowers for Algernon” (2000) with a rating of 6.8 according to imdb was directed by D. Bleckner(known for the movie Hill Street Blues).
Here's what the abstract sounds like:
“Charlie Gordon is mentally retarded and all he wants in life is to be a genius. When he is chosen for an experimental operation, it seems to him that his dream will finally come true.”
Conclusion
When you buy another book in a bookstore, the first thing you do is read the description. Mentioning a weak-minded character may turn off the reader. Better to watch the film version.
Don't look for rare tapes from the 60s. Pay attention to the latest adaptations. For example, the series “The Flowers of Algernon”, filmed in Japan in 2015.
32-year-old mentally retarded Charlie Gordon lives in New York and works as a cleaner in a private bakery where his uncle got him a job. 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 takes him to Professor Nemours and Doctor Strauss. They are conducting an experiment to increase intelligence and need a volunteer. Miss Kinnian nominates Charlie, the brightest student in her group. Charlie has dreamed of becoming smart since childhood and willingly agrees, although
The experiment involves 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 early reports.
Charlie begins to take standard psychological tests, but he fails. Charlie is afraid that he won't fit in with the professor. Gordon meets the mouse Algernon, who has already undergone surgery. The test subjects race through the maze, and Algernon is faster every time.
On March 7th, Charlie undergoes surgery. For some time nothing happens. He continues to work in the bakery and no longer believes that he will become smart. Bakery workers
They mock Charlie, but he does not understand anything, and laughs along with those whom he considers friends. He doesn’t 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 prank on Charlie and force him to turn on the dough mixer. Suddenly, Charlie succeeds, and the owner promotes him to his position. Gradually, Charlie begins to understand that for his “friends” he is just a clown, at whom they can make evil jokes with impunity.
I have reached a new level of development. But anger and suspicion were the first feelings I experienced towards the world around me.
He remembers the most offensive incidents, becomes embittered and stops trusting people. Dr. Strauss conducts psychotherapy sessions with Charlie. Although Gordon's intelligence increases, he knows very little about himself and is still emotionally a child.
Charlie's past, previously hidden from him, begins to become clear.
I look like a man who slept for 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 remembers his mother. She did not want to admit that her son was born mentally retarded, she beat the boy and forced him to study in 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 a relationship with a woman terrifies Charlie. This is due to the mother, who was afraid that her mentally retarded son would harm his younger sister. She got it into the boy's head that he shouldn't touch women. Charlie has changed, but the ban ingrained in his subconscious is still in effect.
Charlie notices that the bakery's head cook is robbing the owner. Charlie warns him, threatening to tell the owner, the theft stops, but the relationship deteriorates completely. This is the first important decision Charlie has made on his own. He learns 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 his uncle, he 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.
My mind drove a wedge between me and everyone I knew and loved, driving me out of my home. I have never felt so alone.
Charlie hasn't worked for two weeks. He tries to escape from loneliness in the arms of Alice, but nothing works out. Gordon seems to see himself and Alice from the outside, through the eyes of the old Charlie, who is horrified and does not allow them to finally get closer. Gordon remembers how his sister hated and was ashamed of him.
Charlie is getting smarter. Soon those 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, Professor Nemours and Dr. Strauss fly to a medical symposium in Chicago. The main “exhibits” at this major event will be Charlie and Algernon the mouse. On the plane, Charlie remembers how his mother tried to cure him, to make him smarter, to no avail. She spent almost all the family savings, with which her father, a seller of hairdressing equipment, wanted to open his own hairdresser. Charlie's mother left her 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 start with a small ripple overwhelm me with a ten-force storm.
At the symposium, Charlie reveals such vast knowledge and high intelligence that professors and academics pale in comparison. This does not stop Professor Nemours from calling him “his creation,” equating Charlie to Algernon the mouse. The professor is sure that before the operation, Charlie was an “empty shell” and did not exist as a person. Many people consider Charlie arrogant and intolerant, but he simply cannot find his place in life. At a report on intelligence enhancement surgery, Gordon feels like a laboratory animal. As a sign of protest, he lets Algernon out of 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 the orphanage. After the birth of a healthy daughter, her mentally retarded son evoked only disgust in her.
Charlie rents a four-room furnished apartment near the library. In one of the rooms he arranges a three-dimensional labyrinth for Algernon. Charlie does not even tell Alice Kinnigan about his whereabouts. Soon he meets his neighbor, a freelance 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 old 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 his father, who divorced his wife and opened a hair salon in a poor neighborhood. He does not recognize his son, and he does not dare to open up. Gordon discovers that after drinking heavily, he turns into the mentally retarded Charlie. Alcohol releases his subconscious, which has still not 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 takes long walks and goes to cafes. One day he sees a waiter, a mentally retarded guy, drop a tray of plates, and the customers begin to make fun of him.
It's amazing how people have high moral principles. never allowing themselves to take advantage of a person born without arms, legs or eyes. they easily and thoughtlessly make fun of a person born without reason.
This motivates Gordon to continue his scientific work to benefit such people. Having made a decision, he meets with Alice. He explains that he loves her, but between them comes a little boy, Charlie, who is afraid of women because his mother beat him.
Charlie starts working in the laboratory. He has no time for his mistress, and she leaves him. Algernon begins to have strange attacks of aggression. At times he cannot get through his labyrinth. Charlie takes the mouse to the laboratory. He asks Professor Nemur what they were going to do with him if he failed. It turned out that a place was intended for Charlie at the Warren State Social School and Asylum. Gordon visits this establishment to know what awaits him.
Algernon gets worse and refuses to eat. Charlie reaches the peak of mental activity.
It was as if all the knowledge I had acquired in recent months came together and lifted me to the pinnacle of light and understanding.
On August 26, Gordon finds an error in Professor Nemours' calculations. Charlie realizes that he will soon experience a mental regression just like Algernon's. September 15 Algernon dies. Charlie buries him in the backyard. On 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 sake. Gordon promises to help them as long as he can.
Gordon's IQ is rapidly declining and he becomes forgetful. Books that he 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 several weeks, caring for 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 continues to write. Eventually they become the same as before the operation.
November 20 Charlie returns to the bakery. The workers who used to bully him now look after and protect him. However, Charlie still remembers that he was smart. He doesn't want to be pitied and goes to Warren. He writes a farewell letter to Miss Kinnian, in which he asks to put flowers on Algernon's grave.
