Flowers For Algernon Brave New World Analysis
Flowers for Algernon and Brave New World: Science's Influence on Society "That's the thing about human life" said author of Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes, "there is no control group, no way to ever know how any of us would have turned out if any variables had been changed" (Keyes). In two societies where science is used to change the order of the world, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, show the impact of science on society. As one book shows the consequences of altering intelligence, the other deals with the brainwashing used to create a stable community. Flowers for Algernon and Brave New World share the common themes of science being used to perfect society, the incompatibility of truth and
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Charlie tells Alice about his conflicted identity: "'What I mean to say is that Charlie Gordon exists in the past, and the past is real. You can't put up a new building on a site until you destroy the old one, and the old Charlie can't be destroyed. He exists...I was insulted when Nemur said he created me'" (Keyes 201). Charlie struggles to understand who he is, whether he is the Charlie before the operation, the one after, or a mixture of both. He is conflicted because of how different he is after the operation, and whether this change is unnatural and artificial, or something that he possessed inside all along. Charlie feels degraded by Nemur's statement, as the words "he created me" show how Nemur feels he has a right over Charlie's identity because he made him the way he is. The opinions of his doctors confuse Charlie because they make him feel like a fabricated person. Charlie does not know if his thoughts and feelings are his own, or the ideas his doctors have given him. Likewise, in Brave New World, everyone is conditioned to have similar identities so that there is no individuality. The director explains the ways people are conditioned to be
Charlie tells Alice about his conflicted identity: "'What I mean to say is that Charlie Gordon exists in the past, and the past is real. You can't put up a new building on a site until you destroy the old one, and the old Charlie can't be destroyed. He exists...I was insulted when Nemur said he created me'" (Keyes 201). Charlie struggles to understand who he is, whether he is the Charlie before the operation, the one after, or a mixture of both. He is conflicted because of how different he is after the operation, and whether this change is unnatural and artificial, or something that he possessed inside all along. Charlie feels degraded by Nemur's statement, as the words "he created me" show how Nemur feels he has a right over Charlie's identity because he made him the way he is. The opinions of his doctors confuse Charlie because they make him feel like a fabricated person. Charlie does not know if his thoughts and feelings are his own, or the ideas his doctors have given him. Likewise, in Brave New World, everyone is conditioned to have similar identities so that there is no individuality. The director explains the ways people are conditioned to be