Daniel Keyes 'Flowers For Algernon'

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“Flowers for Algernon” is a deep and compelling story. Written in 1959 by Daniel Keyes, this fascinating story has been read over and over by people of all ages. It was so read that there are two movie remakes of it. One was made in 1968, and another made in 2000. While both follow the plot line, there are some differences from the book that aren’t just simple things. The films are great, but they don’t have some connections that are in the book. There is without fail always optimistic and pessimistic sides to having a movie. There is even more if there is two movies like “Flowers for Algernon” has. In the book, it is written in Charlie’s perspective by having him tell the story through a journal full of progress reports. If the directors of the movie were to do this, it wouldn’t of been a satisfying film, so instead they made it in third person. There is downsides and advantages to this. You can see well that before Charlie’s surgery that his ‘friends’ aren’t very cordial to him. In the book you can’t see it clearly until he realizes it himself. While that is an upside, the book does a better job at showing his desperation to stay intelligent. The only way to really show this is to show his thoughts. Movies have the reputation to add nonessential romance. “Flowers for Algernon” is not an exception to this reputation. In the…show more content…
I didn’t feel like the 1968 movie didn’t capture the essence of the plot. The 2000 movie did a little better job, but I feel like the only way to feel the powerful and magical connection to this story is to read the book. I believe that you should see both of the movies and read the book, but read the book first. I’ve always been a sucker for books, but this was an astonishing, captivating book. It teaches valuable lessons in the wise words of Charlie Gordan. You may not see them right away, but if you look, they are always
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