Flowers for Algernon

Q4. Which Charlie do you like best- the one with an IQ of 68 or the one with an IQ of 200?

I like the Charlie Gordon who was intelligent. The reason for this is that I find the Charlie Gordon who was stupid is very very saddening. He cannot understand what other people were saying. It is a very sorry scene to see Charlie Gordon being made fun of by his "friends".

Although I agree that he was arrogant at first and was not sociable, he soon learnt that everyone deserves respect. If he did not regress mentally, I think he would have made many new friends. at the same time, the smart Charlie Gordon could research many things for mankind. For example, he could have made a way to triple somone's IQ and not regress. Also, the operation made him more emotionally mature and he is not as childish as before.

Since he has already matured emotionally and mentally, why would we want him to go back to his pityful state before? I don't understand why people like the stupid Charlie. Is it because of sympathy?

Please post comments to help me improve on this post.

Thank you

Taximan's Story Discussion

This is a discussion on the Taximan's story in Little Ironies.



Q1. What is the irony in the story?


The taximan hates the way youngsters behave nowadays but still fetch them around in his taxi.



Q2.What are the themes raised in the story?



The themes are immoral behaviour among youngsters, the society is not as strict as the past.


Q3. how realistic is this story?


This story is realistic as it is very common for people nowadays to go out with their boyfriends/ girlfriends. many youngsters are in a relationship at a younger age and many teenagers lie to their parents about where they are so that they can go out with their friends.

Q4. What do you think of the taximan? Do you feel sympathy for him?



I think that the taximan is a hardworking and honest-to-earth man who only wants the best for his children. He worked as a taxi driver for twenty years to bring up his children. But his favourite daughter, Lay Choo, who had the chance to go to university, did many immoral things like lying to her parents and going out with Caucasians. I feel sorry for the taximan because his daughter did something very wrong as caused hi to be heartbroken.

Q5. Do you agree to his lamenting?



I agree that youngsters of this generation indeed are not as well-behaved as before. They should concentrate on their studies instead of going out and having fun. They do not gain anything from this and I think they should instead spend quality time with their families.


Q6. What about the other characters in the story? Do you feel sympathy for them?

i sympathize with Lay Choo's parents because they spent so much effort to brig up Lay Choo but she turned out to be lacking in moral values.On the other hand, the taximan has double standards. he expects his daughter to be well behaved but he likes the other girls and their caucasian husbands because he can earn money from them.

However, I do not sympathize with Lay Choo even though she was beaten very severely. This is because she did something despicable and thus does not deserve respect.



>>to Ms. Soh: Pls post something in the tag box



Thank you

Dairy Entry Of Mentally Retarded Person, Bean Thomson

Dear dairy,
Today I finaly got to vute. The goverment sent me a notece a few days ago to ask me to vute. i wus veri exited . it was the fist time i goto vute as i turnd 21 onli last year. I lerned from my feind that onli adults who ar 21 years old and abov can vute.

So i went to the vuting center today to vute for our new pressidant of the contry. Actualy before that i dont kno where the center was so i ask mrs meany, my niegbour, where it was. She said I was very shupid but i dont know what she mins. She laffed but i didnt understan, so i also laffed. She then brougt me there becase she was also going. I am lucky to have such a kind niegbour.

When i arived there, a woman with a shirt that says “vote for singapore” (what is singapore?) told me to go to booth numberr 53 to vute. I walk towards that booth and jioned the que at the front of the booth. A big musclar man asked me for the letter and i passed it to he. He loked at me and said i “looked like a total retad”. I asked him what he meant and he stated laffing real hard. What’s so funy? I was bewildered (i learned that from a book. Cool word!) but when he saw me, he laffed until he fell down on the floor. Does he have a stomac ache?

After a while, he stod up and told me to fil up a form. On it were to names, mr lau and mr tan. He paper looked very torn. I circles mr tan and i said “okay, im done” he brougt me in front of a green color bin and told me to put my paper in. i carfuly put it in but there was a horribe smell coming out of the bin. It smell like bananass and roten met. Why is there funy smells in a voting box? I was veri curios and put my head into the bin. Peeyew, it smeled veri veri bad. I tok my head out and i saw mani peple staring at me. i dunno why they star at me but i feel veri quesi so i quikli run out of the center. I dont like peple staring at me.

Suddenly I notice I was veri lost. I ask a tenager where was bukit panjang road. He loked at me wierdly and pointed towards there.i said tank yu and I keep walking strait and finaly fond my house. Yeah!

Today was a veri good day for me

Goodnigt dairy,
Bean Thomson





http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/legalissues/a/vote1000.htm