English Literature - Flowers for Algernon
Though Flowers for Algernon is a fictionalized account, it addresses genuine issues, many of which are universal. Published in 1966, the novel reflects the less sensitive treatment of mentally disabled people during that time period. Allowing a unique perspective through the eyes of a man who lacks, gains, then loses genius, the novel is both tragic and inspirational, making definitive statements about high intelligence's great impact in some areas and lack of impact in other areas of human life.
How Has the Treatment of Individuals with Mental Disabilities Changed since Flowers for Algernon was Written?
Flowers for Algernon (Keyes, 1966) was published in 1966. In the 56 years since that novel's publication, the treatment of individuals with mental disabilities has dramatically changed in several ways. For purposes of this paper, the change regarding the word "retarded" will be considered. The attitude expressed through language has changed significantly. As the assignment pointed out, Charlie often speaks of himself as "retarded." For example, a journal entry about his mother says, "Why is it so important for me to say to her: 'Mom, look at me. I'm not retarded any more. I'm normal'" (Keyes, 1966, p. 156). What's much worse is the fact that a mental health professional -- Miss Kinnian -- apparently also calls Charlie retarded: reporting his March 30 conversation with Miss Kinnian, Charlie writes that she said, "At werst you will have it all for a little wile and your doing something for other retarded pepul" (Keyes, 1966, p. 31). Even official titles included the term "retarded": Charlie writes, "Then we're at the Adult Center for the Retarded" (Keyes, 1966, p. 48). Fortunately, there is now a greater sensitivity to the impact of words such as "retard." The most striking change has fittingly occurred in the professional area of Psychology, as the 2010 manual used by psychologists use for diagnosis eliminates the term "Mental retardation" and substitutes it with "Intellectual disability" (Chandler, 2010). This enlightenment...
Romanticism No other period in English literature displays more variety in style, theme, and content than the Romantic Movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Furthermore, no period has been the topic of so much disagreement and confusion over its defining principles and aesthetics. Romanticism is often described as a large network of sometimes competing philosophies, agendas, and points of interest. These philosophies are often very contentious and controversial, as
Ford's most accomplished novel, the Good Soldier, was published when he was forty-two. This famous work features a first person narrative and tells the story of two couples, the English Ashburnhams and the American Dowells. John Dowell is the narrator, through whom we learn of Florence and Edward Ashburnham's affair, which culminates in the suicide of the former, John's wife (Edward is the "good soldier" of the title.) it is
Drama Is the Importance of Being Earnest a serious examination of the idea that people wear masks and have multiple identities, or is it just a farce with no serious content? The idea that people wear masks is the central metaphor in the play "The Importance of Being Earnest," but ultimately, the play is a farce that author Wilde uses to poke fun at the general tolerance for hypocrisy in conventional
" (Eksteins, 1994) Eksteins writes that Britain had "in the last century...damned her great poets and writers, Byron had been chased out of the country, Shelley forbidden to raise his children, and Oscar Wilde sent to prison." (1994) Pearce (2003) states that Wilde "was a major symbol of the sexual anarchy that threatened the purposive and reproductive modes of the bourgeois family. Algy mocks the utilitarian nature of modern marriage thus:
Jack proceeds to let the audience know "…the vital importance of Being Earnest." Distortion, Moral Conduct, and Restoration Comedy Of course, deception and frivolity are part of a farce, and the way that Wilde has written the play characters switch identities as a way for the theme to be deliberately distorted. So this bothers critic Mary McCarthy, who complained that the play has the character of a "…ferocious idyll" and insists
One of the best examples in the play is that of the name of Ernest, with which both Gwendolyn and Cecily seem to fall in love in the most superficial manner. Wilde ironically points out that his age is one of ideals, but to this Gwendolyn gives her commentary about the importance of names: We live, as I hope you know, Mr. Worthing, in an age of ideals. The fact
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