Flowers for Algernon Characters

Charlie's about to take us on a wild ride. It's a tough task to pin down which Charlie is speaking throughout the book: pre-surgery sweet and simple Charlie, or post-surgery super genius Charlie. I...

Hey now—don't discount the little guy just because he's fuzzy and likes his cheese. There's a lot going on in Algernon's head, though we'll just have to guess what it is. We know he's a gourman...

Alice is the ultimate cool teacher—she wants her favorite student to succeed, and she's willing to make big sacrifices to get him there. That is, she's super intense about making sure Charlie tak...

Burt wears a white coat and works at Beekman Lab, but his heart is in the right place. Charlie's spidey-sense tells him Burt is a nice guy even before the operation, which is right on the money:...

Mr. Donner is happy to employ Charlie… as long as the rest of his employees are happy with that decision. We don't see much of the man, but he seems a little wishy-washy. As a good friend of C...

Throw on some groovy tunes and put that paint smock on—Fay has been taking chill pills her whole life, and she's pretty much down with whatever life throws her. A handsome neighbor next door with...

These two are basically the same people, which is to say that they're basically bad news. They pretend to be Charlie's friends while they secretly make fun of him behind his back, and they love get...

As the head baker with the bad foot, Gimpy seems like he's looking out for Charlie. But he's got some nasty habits, like telling people who mess up that they're pulling "a Charlie Gordon" (23). Oh...

We don't see much of Charlie's dad, but he's usually trying to talk Rose off a ledge in Charlie's childhood flashbacks. He's one harried man who vaguely has an idea that Rose is going about raising...

He's not the super-villain scientist of your nightmares, but he doesn't exactly have Charlie's back, either. See Nemur's not really into valuing human lives—or animal lives, for that matter. He's...

Is Norma the sweet little sister or a cold-hearted meanie? It's not easy to put her in one or the other categories, although she sure doesn't go out of her way to take care of Charlie. Even when Ne...

Oh, Rose—this is one dame you want to keep away from kitchen knives and small children. On one hand, Rose is fiercely defensive of her most vulnerable child. "He's not a dummy. He's normal. He'll...

Let's at least give Dr. Strauss props for encouraging Charlie to write his story down—he's well-meaning, if not a little clueless about what's going on emotionally with his patient. And unlike Ne...