ELA Unit 2 G8

Dr Strauss says its ok. He says my brains are rning when I sleep and that

will help me when Miss Kinnian starts my in the hospitl (only I found

out it isnt a hospitil its a labatory. I think its all ruzy. If yor can get smart

when your sleeping why do people go to school That thing I dont think will

work. I use to watch the late show and the late show on TV all the time

and it never made me smart. Maybe you have sleep while you watch it.

PROGRESS REPORT 9-April 3

Dr Strauss showed me how to keep the TV tur low so now I can sleep. I dont

hear a thing. And I still dont understand what it A few times I play it over

in the morning to find out what I lerned when I sleeping and I dont think

so. Miss Kinnian savs Mavbe its another I or something. But most
!/

times it sounds american. It talks so fast faster t n even Miss Gold who was my

teacher in 6 grade and I remember she talked so t I coudnt understand her.

I told Dr Strauss what good is it to get smart in my sleep. I want to be smart

when Im awake. He says its the same thing a I have two minds. Theres the

subconscious and the conscious6 (thats how you I it). And one dont tell the

other one what its doing. They dont even talk each other. Thats why I
dream. And boy have I been having crazy drea . tWow. Ever since that night

TV. The late late late late late show.

2to I forgot to ask him if it was only me or if eve ybody had those two minds.

(I just looked up the word in the dictionary Strauss gave me. The word is

subconscious. adj. Of the nature of mental o?erdti )/et not ?resent in consciousness;
ds, subcoruscious coffict of daires.) There's more I still dont know what it

means. This isnt ayery good dictionary for du people like me.

Anyway the headache is from the party. My l'ends from the factery Joe
Carp and Frank Reilly invited me to go with t to Muggsys Saloon for
some drinks. I dont like to drink but they sai we will have lots of fun.

I had a good time. out the toilet in the factory
Joe Carp said I shoud show the girls how I ne laffed when I told that Mr
because I like my job and do
220 and he got me a mop. I showed them and eve

Donnegan said I was the best janiter he ever

it good and never come late or miss a day for my operashun.

I said Miss Kinnian always said Charlie be p ofyour job because you o POINT OF VIEW
How does hearing about
do it good. the party from Charlie's
point of view affect
Everybody laffed and we had a good time a they gave me lots of drinks your reaction to his

and Joe said Charlie is a card when hes potted. I dont know what that means coworkers?
but everybody likes me and we have fun. I ca wait to be smart like my best

frends Joe Carp and Frank Reilly. @ I think I went out to buy a
n I came back there was no one
I dont remember how the party was over

newspaper and coffe for Joe and Frank and

the subconscious (silb-k6n'shes) and the conscious (k6n' : psychological lerms. Subconscious
refers to mental activity a person is not aware of; conscious s to mental activity of which a person
is aware.

7. Charlie is a card when he's potted: Charlie is funny when

FLOITERS FOR ALGERNON 205

their. I looked for them all over till late. Then I EXAMINE
dont remember so good but I think I got sleepy STRUCTURE
or sick. A nice cop brot me back home. Thats Note the date on this
journalentry. What
what my landlady Mrs Flynn says. sign ificant changes have
happened in the story
But I got a headache and a big lump on since the first entries
my head and black and blue all over. I think one month ago?
maybe I fell but Joe Carp says it was the coP
they beat up drunks some times. I don't think CHARACTER TRAITS
so. Miss Kinnian says cops are to help people. ln Iines z49-z66,what
zto Anyway I got a bad headache and Im sick and does Charlie's treatment
hurt all over. I dont think Ill drink anymore. of Algernon reveal about
his character?
April6 I beat Algernon! I dint even know I

beat him until Burt the tester told me. Then
the second time I lost because I got so exited
I fell off the chair before I finished. But after
that I beat him 8 more times. I must be getting
smart to beat a smart mouse like Algernon.
But I dontlr/smarter. @

I wanted to race Algernon some more but
zto Burt said thats enough for one day. They let

me hold him for a minit. Hes not so bad.
Hes soft like a ball of cotton. He blinks and
when he opens his eyes their black and pink

on the eges.

I said can I feed him because I felt bad to
beat him and I wanted to be nice and make

frends. Burt said no Algernon is a very
specshul mouse with an operashun like mine,
and he was the first of all the animals to stay smart so ldng. He told me

zeo Algernon is so smart that every day he has to solve a t.r! to get his food. Its a
thing like a lock on a door that changes every time Alggrnon goes in to eat so
he has to lern something new to get his food. That made me sad because if he

coudnt lern he woud be hungry.

I dont think its right ,o -rk. you pass a test to eat. I{ow woud Dr Nemur

like it to have to pass a test every time he wants to eat. I think Ill be frends

with Algernon.(D

l

Aprit 9 Tonight after work Miss Kinnian was at the lrfor.tory. She looked

like she was glad to see me but scared. I told her dont worry Miss Kinnian Im
not smart yet and she laffed. She said I have confidencd in you Charlie the way
z7o yotrstruggled so hard to read and right better than all !h. oth.rr. At werst you
will have it for a littel wile and your doing somthing fol sience.

206 uNrr 2: cHARACTER AND poINT oF vIEw

\7e are reading avery hard book. I never such a hard book before.

Its called Robinsoru Crwsoe about a man who get merooned on a dessert Iland.

Hes smart and figers out all kinds of things so can have a house and food

and hes a good swimmer. Only I feel sorry beca se hes all alone and has no

frends. But I think their must be somebody else the iland because theres a

picture with his funny umbrella looking at rints. I hope he gets a frend

and not be lonly.

April 10 Miss Kinnian teaches me to spell . She says look at a word and

zao close your eyes and say it over and over until yo remember. I have lots of

truble with through that you say threru and eno and tough that you dont say

enew and tew. You got to say enuffand tuff Th how I use to write it before

I started to get smart. Im confused but Miss Ki nian savs theres no reason rn

spelling.

Apr 14 Finished Robinson Crusoe.I want to fi out more about what happens

to him but Miss Kinnian says thats all there rs.

Apr 15 Miss Kinnian says Im lerning fast. She some of the Progress
Reports and she looked at me kind of funny. S
show them all. I asked her why. She said never says Im a fine person and ill
ind but I shoudnt feel bad if

zro I find out that everybody isnt nice like I think. said for a person who god

gave so little to you done more then a lot of peo with brains they never even

used. I said all my frends are smart people but t ere good. They like me and

they never did anything that wasnt nice. Then got something in her eye

and she had to run out to the ladys room. @ @ CHARACTER TRAITS
What can you infer
Apr 15 Today, I lerned, the comma, this is a co ma (,) a period, with a tail, about Miss Kinnian from
Miss Kinnian, says its importent, because, it m her conversation with
writing, better, she said,
sombeody, coud lose, a lot of money, if a com , isnt, in the, right place, I Cha rlie?
ma, keeps you, from losing it,
dont have, any money, and I dont see, how a
se, them too,
But she says, everybody, uses commas, so Ill

no Apr 17 I used the comma wrong. Its punctuat n. Miss Kinnian told me to

look up long words in the dictionary to lern to I them. I said whats the

difference if you can read it anyway. She said i part ofyour education so now
on Ill look up all the words Im not sure how to l. It takes a Iong time to

write that way but I think Im remembering. I ly have to look up once and

after that I get it right. Anyway thats how I got the word punctuation

right. (Its that way in the dictionary). Miss Kin ian says a period is

punctuation too, and there are lots of other ma to lern. I told her I thot

all the periods had to have tails but she said no.

You got to mix them up, she showed? me )w. to mix! them(up,. and

310 now; I can! mix up all kinds" of punctuation, nl my writing? There, are
lots! of rules? to lern; but Im gettin'g them in y head.

FLO\rERS FOR ALGERNON 207

l

One thing I? like about, Dear Miss Kinnian: (thrt, the way it goes in a
business letter if I ever go into business) is she, always giv{s me' a reason"

when-I ask. She's a gen'ius! I wishl I cou'd be smart" like, her;

(Punctuation, is; fun!)

Aprit t8 tWhat a dope I aml I didn't even understand wh[t she was talking

about. I read the grammar book last night.and it explanei the whole thing.
Then I saw it was the same way as Miss Kinnian was tryi]ng to tell me, but
I didn't get it. I got up in the middle of the night, and thf whole thing
:zo straightened out in my mind.

Miss Kinnian said that the TV working in my sleep hflped out. She said
I reached a plateau. Thats like the flat top of a hill.

After I figgered out how punctuation worked, I read qlrer all my old
Progress Reports from the beginning. Boy, did I have cralzy spelling and
punctuation! I told Miss Kinnian I ought to go over the pages and fix all the
mistakes but she said, "No, Charlie, Dr. Nemur wants t$em just as they are.
Thatt why he let you keep them after they were photostated, to see your own

progress. Youte coming along fast, Charlie."
That made me feel good. After the lesson I went down and played with

ro Algernon. \We don't race any more.

April20 I feel sick inside. Not sick like for a doctor, bu( inside my chest it feels

empty like getting punched and a heartburn at the samd time.

I *"rn't ioi"g to *.it. about it, but I guess I got to, b]".rur. its important.

Today was the first time I ever stayed home from work.

]

Last night Joe Carp and Frank Reilly invited me to a party. There were

lots of girls and some men from the factory. I remembfred how sick I got last
time I drank too much, so I told Joe I didn't want anything to drink. He
gave me a plain coke instead. It tasted funny, but I th(,ught it was just a bad
taste in my mouth.
340 \We had a lot of fun for a while. Joe said I should d"rl.. with Ellen and she
would teach me the steps. I fell a few times and I couldir't understand why

because no one else was dancing besides Ellen and me. And all the time I was
tripping because somebody's foot was always sticking ofrt.

Then when I got up I saw the look on Joe's face and lit gave me a funny
feeling in my stomack. "He's a scream," one of the girls] said. Everybody was

laughing.

nr"rrk said, "I ain't laughed so much since we ,.rrt hi- off for the newspaper

that night at Muggsyt and ditched him.--
"Look at him. His face is red."

350 "Het blushing. Charlie is blushing."
"Hey, Ellen, what'd you do to Charlie? I never saw him act like that before."
I didn't know what to do or where to turn. E re.yonf was looking at me and

laughing and I felt naked. I wanted to hide myself. I r{n out into the srreet and

UNIT 2: CHARACTER AND POINT OF VIE\T

I threw up. Then I walked home. It's a funny ing I never knew that Joe and
I the time to make fun of me.
Frank and the others liked to have me around
Now I know what it means when they say " pull a Charlie Gordon."

Im ashamed. @ @ cHARACTER TRATTS

PRO6RESS REPORT'IO Why is Charlie ashamed
now? Why wasn't he
April2l Still didn't go into the factory. I told rs. Flynn my landlady to call
ashamed a couple of
and tell Mr. Donnegan I was sick. Mrs. Flynn at me very funny lately
weeks ago?
aeo like she's scared of me.
o PO]NT OF VIEW
i think it's a good thing about finding out everybody laughs at me. How might your
understanding of
I thought about it a lot. Ir's because I m so du and I don't even know when Charlie's progress be
different if you knew
I m doing something dumb. People think it's fu ny when a dumb person can't what others were
thinking?
do things the same way they can.

Anyway, now I know I m getting smarter day. I know punctuation

and I can spell good. I like to look up all the ha words in the dictionary and
I remember them. I m reading a lot now, and M Kinnian says I read very

fast. Sometimes I even understand what i m ing about, and it stays in my

mind. There are times when I can close my eyes and think of a page and it all

370 comes back like a picture.

Besides history, geography, and arithmetic, Kinnian said I should start

to learn a few foreign languages. Dr. Strauss me some more tapes to play

while I sleep. I still don't understand how that c scious and unconscious

mind works, but Dr. Strauss says not to worry . He asked me to promise

that when I start learning college subjects next k I wouldn't read any books

on psychology-that is, until he gives me permi ion. @
I feel a lot better today, but I guess I m still a ttle angry that all the time

people were laughing and making fun of me b I wasn't so smart. \flhen

I become intelligent like Dr. Strauss says, with t ree times my I.Q. of 68, then

aao maybe I'll be like everyone else and people will I ke me and be friendly.

I'm not sure what an LQ. is. Dr. Nemur said was something that

measured how intelligent you were-like a scale n the drugstore weighs

pounds. But Dr. Strauss had a big arguement wi him and said an I.Q. didn't

weigh intelligence at all. He said an I.Q. showed how much intelligence you

could get, like the numbers on the outside of a asuring cup. You still had to

fill the cup up with stufl

Then when I asked Burt, who gives me my i telligence tests and works

with Algernon, he said that both of them were rong (only I had to promise

not to tell them he said so). Burt says that the Q. measures a lot of different
3e0 things including some of the things you lear abeady, and it really isn't

any good at all.

So I still don't know what I.Q. is except that ine is going to be over 200

soon. I didn't want to say anything, but I don't how if thev don't know
J

wbat it is, or where it is-I don't see how they k horu much of it you ve got.

Dr. Nemur says I have to take a Rorshach Tes tomorrow' I wonder what

that is.

FLO\rERS FOR ALGERNON

Aprit 22 I found out what a Rorshachis. Itt the test I tool before the

operation-the one with the inkblots on the pieces of carpboard. The man

who gave me the test was the same one.

400 I was scared to death of those inkblots. I knew he was !"ing to ask me to
find the pictures and I knew I wouldn't be able to. I was thinking to myself if
only there was some way of knowing what kind of pict,rrf, *.r. hidd.., th.r..

Maybe there weren't any pictures at all. Maybe it was jusi a trick to see if I was

dumb enough to look for something that wasn't there. Just thinking about that
made me sore at him.

'All right, Charlie," he said, "you've seen these .rrd, bLfor., remember?"
"Of course I remember."
The way I said it, he knew I was angry, and he look.dlrr.,rprised. "Yes, of

course. Now I want you to look at this one. 'Sfhat might]this be?'What do you

410 see on this card? People see all sorts of things in these inkblots. Tell me what it

might be for you-what it makes you think of." i

I was shocked. That wasn't what I had expected him {o say at all. "You

mean there are no pictures hidden in those inkblots?"

He frowned and took off his glasses. "\[hat?"

"Pictures. Hidden in the inkblots. Last time you toldtm e that everyone

could see them and you wanted me to find them too."

He explained to me that the last time he had used alrhost the exact same

words h. *r. using now. I didn't believe it, and I still h]ve the suspicion that

he misled me at the time just for the fun of it. Unlessll don't know any

420 more-could I have been that feeble-minded?
L

\7e went through the cards slowly. One of them loo$d like a pair of bats

tugging at something. Another one looked like two mefi fencing with swords.

I imagined all sorts of things. I guess I got carried ,*"y', B,-rt I didn't trust him

any more, and I kept turning them around and even lobking on the back to

see if there *", theie I was supposed to ."t.h.]WhIle he was making
his notes, I peek"e.d,yiohuirtrgof the corner of myr eye to read i[. But it was all in code
that looked like this: 'J

\WF+A DdF-Ad orig. \flF-A SF+obj

The test still doesn't make sense to me. It seems to rhe that anyone could o CHARACTER TRAITS
<ao make up lies about things that they didnt really see. IJow could he know I
How is Charlie's second
wasn't making a fool of him by mentioning things tha{ I didn't really imagine?
experience with
Maybe I'll understand it when Dr. Strauss lets me readt up on psychology. O
the Rorschach test
April25 I figured out a new way to line up the -achiles in the factory, and different from his first
Mr. Donnegan says it will save him ren rhousand doll{rs ayear in labor and
experience?
increased production. He gave me a $25 bonus.
I wanted to take Joe Caip and Frank Reilly out to l]rnch to celebrate, but

Joe said he had to buy some things for his wife, and frank said he was
meeting his cousin for lunch. I guess it'll take a little time for them to get

210 UNIT 2: CHARACTER AND POINT OF VIE'\T

used to the changes in me. Everybody seems
440 be frightened of me. \When I went over to A

Borg and tapped him on the shoulder, he jum
up in the air.

People don't talk ro me much any more or k
around the way they used to. It makes the job
kind of lonely.

April2T I got up the nerve today ro ask Miss

Kinnian to have dinner with me romorrow ni

to celebrate my bonus.

At first she wasn't sure it was right, but I ask

tso Dr. Strauss and he said it was okay. Dr. Strauss

and Dr. Nemur don't seem to be getting along

well. They're arguing all the time. This eveni

when I came in to ask Dr. Strauss about havin

dinner with Miss Kinnian, I heard them shouti bo'
Dr. Nemur was saying that it was his experi

and his research, and Dr. Strauss was shouting

back that he contributed just as much, because

found me through Miss Kinnian and he

performed the operation. Dr. Strauss said that

+oo someday thousands of neurosurgeons8 might

using his technique all over the world.

Dr. Nemur wanted to publish the results of t

experiment ar the end of this monrh. Dr. St

wanted to wait a while longer to be sure. Dr.

Strauss said that Dr. Nemur was more interest in the Chair of Psychology at

Princetone than he was in the experiment. Dr. emur said that Dr. Strauss was
nothing but an opportunist who was trying to to glory on bis coattails.

\When I left afterwards, I found myself tre ing. I don't know why for

sure, but it was as if I'd seen both men clearly the first time. I remember

+zo hearing Burt say that Dr. Nemur had a shrew o a wife who was pushing him

all the time to get things published so that he uld become famous. Burt said @ #R,er\4ein&ffi tru

that the dream of her life was to have a big shot usband. fr#EqT#KT

\7as Dr. Strauss really trying to ride on his ttails? Reread lines 477-478.
Notice that Charlie uses
April28 I don't understand why I neyer not how beautiful Miss Kinnian the comparative form
hair that comes to the top of ("younger" and "more
really is. She has brown eyes and feathery brow beginning I had the feeling
ry old. Now, every time I see lovely") to compare his
her neck. She's only thirty-four! I think from t current impression of
that she was an unreachable genius-and very, Miss Kinnian with his
earlier impression of her
her she grows younger and more lovely. @

8. neurosurgeons (no-or'o-s0r'jenz) : doctors who perform on the brain and nervous system.
9. Chair of Psychology at Princeton: head ofthe psychology rtment at Princeton University.

FLO\rERS FOR ALGERNON

lVe had dinner and a long talk. \When she said that I wls coming along so @ cHARACTER TRATTS

aso fast that soon I'd be leaving her behind, I laughed. What new aspects of
]
"It's true, Charlie. You're aheady a better reader than I dm. You can read Charlie's personality a re
a whole page at a glance while I can take in only a few linls at a time. And
you remember every single thing you read. I'm lucky if I Can recall the main revealed in this scene
with Miss Kinnian?
thoughts and the general meaning."

"I-don't feel intJlligent. There ir. ,o many things I dori't understand."

She took out a cigarette and I lit it for her. "You've got to be a little patient.
Youte accomplishing in days and weeks what it takes norlnal people to do in
half a lifetime. Thats what makes it so amazing. You're like a giant sponge
now, soaking things in. Facts, figures, general knowledgel And soon you'll

+ro begin to connect them, too. You'll see how the different branches of learning
are related. There are many levels, Charlie, like steps on J giant ladder that

take you up higher and higher to see more and more of tfie world around you.

"I can see only a little bit of that, Charlie, and I won't $o much higher
than I am now, but you'll keep climbing up and up, and bee more and more,
and each step will open new worlds that you never even ltnew existed." She

frowned. "I hope . . . I just hope to God-"

"\7hat?"

"Never mind, Charles. I just hope I wasn't wrong to advise you to go into
this in the first place."

500 I laughed. "How could that be? It worked, didn't it? Elven Algernon is

sdll smart."
\7e sat there silently for a while and I knew what she #as thinking about as

she watched me toying with the chain of my rabbit's food and my keys. I didn't
want to think of that possibility any more than elderly pbople want to think
of death. I knew that this was only the beginning. I kneir what she meant
about levels because I'd seen some of them already. The thought of leaving her

behind made me sad.

I m in love with Miss Kinnian. O

PROGRESS REPORT 11

April 30 I ve quit my job with Donnegan's Plastic Box pompany. Mr.
lo Donnegan insisted that it would be better for all concernpd if I left. \What did

I do to make them hate me so?
The first I knew of it was when Mr. Donnegan showgd me the petition.

Eight hundred and forty names, everyone connected wilh the factory, except
Fanny Girden. Scanning the list quickly, I saw at once that hers was the only

missing name. All the rest demanded that I be fired.

L

Joe Carp and Frank Reilly wouldn't talk to me about it. No one else would
either, except Fanny, She was one of the few people I'd l6nown who set her

mind to something and believed it no matter what the rgst of the world

212 uNrr 2: cHARACTER AND poINT oF vrEw

proved, said or did-and Fanny did not belie that I should have been fired.

tzo She had been against the petition on principle despite the pressure and

threats she'd held out.

"\fhich don't mean to sap" she remarked, "t t I don't think there's

something mighty strange about you, Charlie. changes. I don't know.

You used to be a good, dependable, ordinary n-not too bright maybe, but

honest. \Who knows what you done to yourself get so smarr all of a sudden.

Like everybody around heret been saying, Cha ie, it's not right."

"But how can you say that, Fanny? \7hat's w ng with a man becoming

intelligent and wanting to acquire knowledge a understanding of the world

around him?"

530 She stared down at her work and I turned to ve. \Without looking at me,

she said: "It was evil when Eve listened to the s ke and ate from the tree of

knowledge. It was evil when she saw that she naked. Ifnot for that none

of us would ever have to grow old and sick, and ie." "

Once again now I have the feeling of shame rning inside me. This

intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew v f-fIallliYsuzaels

and loved. Before, they laughed at me and despi me for my ignorance and What might the flask
dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge a understanding. \X/hat in in this illustration

God's name do they want of me? symbolize?

Theyve driven me our of the factory. Now I'

s+0 rrlore alone than ever before . . .

May 15 Dr. Strauss is very angry at me for not
having written any progress reports in two
weeks. He's justified because the lab is now
paying me a regular salary. I told him I was too
busy thinking and reading. \7hen I pointed
out thar writing was such a slow process that it
made me impatient with my poor handwriting,
he suggested that I learn ro rype. It's much
easier to write now because I can type nearly
550 seventy-five words a minute. Dr. Strauss
continually reminds me of the need to speak
and write simply so thar people will be able to

understand me.

I'll try ro review all the things that

happened ro me during the last two weeks.
Algernon and I were presented to the American
Psychological Association sitting in convention

10. Itwas evil... die: a referencetothe biblical storyofAdam

and Eve (Cenesis z-3).

FLowERS FoR ALCERNoN 213

with the World Psychological Association last Tuesday. \We freated quite a sensation (sEn-sa'shen)
sensation. Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss were proud of us. n. a state of great
interest a nd excitement
]
specialization
I suspect that Dr. Nemur, who is sixty-ten years oldel than Dr. $11xu55- (spEsh'a-lY-za'shen) n.
a focus on a particular
finds it necessary to see tangible results of his work. Undfubtedly the result of area of study

pressure by Mrs. Nemur. absurd (eb-s0rd')
adj. ridiculously
Contrary to my earlier impressions of him, I realize thpt Dr. Nemur is not un reasona ble
refute (rY-fyoOt') u
at all a genius. He has ayery good mind, but it struggles junder the specter of to prove as false

self,doubt. He wants people to take him for a genius. Thprefore, it is important B EXAMINE

for him to feel that his work is accepted by the world. I lelieve that Dr. Nemur STRUCTURE
was afraid of further delay because he worried that somepne else might make a What do the length

discovery along these lines and take the credit from him. and language ofthe

Dr. Strauss on the other hand might be called a geniup, although I feel that May t5 progress report
reveal about Charlie's
izo his areas of knowledge are too limited. He was educated in the tradition of intelligence? Think
about how this report
narrow specialization; the broader aspects of backgrourfd were neglected far differs from those in
March and April.
more than necessary-even for a neuro-surgeon.

I was shocked to learn that the only ancient language$ he could read were

Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and that he knows almost nlthing of mathematics

beyond the elementary levels of the calculus of variationg.ll -When he admitted

this to me, I found myself almost annoyed. It was as if hle'd hidden this part

of himself in order to deceive me, pretending-as do md.ny people I ve

discovered-to be what he is not. No one I've ever kno#n is what he appears

to be on the surface.

580 Dr. Nemur appears to be uncomfortable around me. bometimes when I try

to talk to him, lr.1".,looks at me strangely and turns #ay. I was angry at fiist

when Dr. Strauss told me I was giving Dr. Nemur an inFeriority complex.l2

I thought he was mocking -. ,id I'ri orr..r.nsitive at b[i"g made ftrn of.

How was I to know thlt , highly respected pry.ho-.{perimentalist like

Nemur was unacquainted with Hindustanils and Chinlse? It's absurd when

you consider the work that is being done in India and lhina today in the very
field of his study.

I asked Dr. Strauss how Nemur could refute Rahaiarhati's attack on his

method and results if Nemur couldn't.rr.-*rd them ip the first place. That

i90 strange look on Dr. Strauss' face can mean only one of 1wo things. Either he
doesnt want to tell Nemur what they're saying in Indiai or else-and this

worries me-Dr. Strauss doesnt know either. I must bg careful to speak and

write clearly and simply so that people won't laugh. B

May 18 I am very disturbed. I saw Miss Kinnian last rlight for the first time
in over a week. I tried to avoid all discussions of intelle$tual concepts and to

keep the conversation on a simple, everyday level, but slre just stared at me

blankly and asked me what I meant about the mathemhtical variance
equivalent in Dorbermann's Fifth Concerto.

11. calculus (kEl'kye-les) ofvariations: a branch of higher mathematics.

12. inferiority complex: feelings of worthlessness.

lndia.13. Hindustani (hYn'do-o-std'ne): a group of languages used in

l

214 uNrr 2: CHARACTER AND poINT oF vrEw

tu

\fhen I tried to explain she stopped me and hed. I guess I got angry,

eoo but I suspect I'm approaching her on the wron level. No matter what I try
to discuss with her, I am unable to communica . I must review Vrostadt's

equations on Leuels of Semantic Progression. I fi that I don't communicate

with people much any more. Thank God for and music and things I

can think about. I am alone in my apartment a Mrs. Flynnt boarding house

most of the time and seldom speak ro anyone. o cHARACTER TRATTS
How has Charlie's
May 20 I would nor have noticed the new dish asher, a boy ofabout sixreen, attitude toward
at the corner diner where I take my evening ls if not for the incident of the socializing changed?

broken dishes. o cHARACTER TRAITS
Why does Charlie
They crashed to the floor, shattering and se ing bits of white china under defend the dishwasher?
Tell what you can infer
ero the tables. The boy stood there, dazed and frigh ned, holding the empty tray about his personality
based on his behavior.
in his hand. The whistles and catcalls from the ustomers (the cries of "hey,

there go the profits!" . . ."Mdzeltou!". . . and " ll, he didn't work here very

long . . ." which invariably seems to follow the aking of glass or dishware in

a public restaurant) all seemed to confuse him. was about, the boy cowered
\When the owner came to see what the exci

as if he expected to be struck and threw up his s as if to ward off the blow.
ner, "don't just stand there!
'All rightlAll right, you dope," shouted the

Get the broom and sweep that mess up. A ...abroom,youidiot!

It's in the kitchen. Sweep up all the pieces."

620 The boy saw that he was not going to be pu ished. His frightened

expression disappeared and he smiled and hu as he came back with

the broom to sweep the floor. A few of the ier customers kept up the

remarks, amusing themselves at his expense.

"Here, sonny, over here there's a nice piece be

"C'mon, do it again . . ."

"He's not so dumb. It's easier to break'em t to wash 'em . . ."

As his vacant eyes moved across the crowd of used onlookers, he slowly

mirrored their smiles and finally broke into an ertain grin at the joke

which he obviously did not understand. smile, the wide, brighr eyes

630 I felt sick inside as I looked at his dull, vacu

of a child, uncertain but eager to please. They laughing at him because

he was mentally retarded.

And i had been laughing at him too.

Suddenly, I was furious at myself and all t who were smirking at him.

I jumped up and shouted, "Shut upl Leave him ! It's not his fault he can't

understandl He can't help what he is! But for 's sake . . . he's still ahuman

beingl" @
The room grew silent. I cursed myself for losi control and creating a

scene. I tried not to look at the boy as I paid my heck and walked out without

e+o touching my food. I felt ashamed for both of us.

FLo\rERS FoR ALGERNoN 215

How strange it is that people of honest feelings and serisibility, who

would not take advantage of a man born without arms orLlegs or eyes-how
such people think nothing of abusing a man born with lofv intelligence. It

infuriated me to think that not too long ago I, like this bpf, had foolishly

played the clown.

And I had almost forgotten.

I'd hidden the picture of the old Charlie Gordon from myself because now

that I was intelligent it was something that had to be p,ts[red out of my mind.

But today in looking at that boy, for the first time I saw fuhat lhadbeen. I was

eso just like hirn!

Only a short time ago, I learned that people laughed "Tthrarfte.hNurotswmI ocsatnosfeaellt.hat
unknowingly I joined with them in laughing at myselfl

I have often reread my progress reports and seen the il[iteracy, the childish

naiVetd, the mind of low intelligence peering from a darlt' room, through the

keyhole, at the dazzhnglight outside. I see that even in my dullness I knew

that I was inferior, and that other people had something]I lacked-something

denied me. In my mental blindness, I thought that it wds somehow connected

with the ability to read and write, and I was sure that if I could get those skills
I would automatically have intelligence too.

660 Even a feeble-minded man wants to be like other men.

A child may not know how to feed itself, or what to .]rt, yet it knows

of hunger.

This then is what I was like. I never knew. Even withlmy gift of intellectual

awareness, I never really knew.
]

This day was good for me. Seeing the past more clearly, I have decided to use

my knowledge and skills to work in the field of increasin[ human intelligence i COMIAONCORE RL3
levels. \Who is better equipped for this work? \ilZho else hfs lived in both worlds?
o INTERNAL CONFLICT
These are my people. Let me use my gift to do something for them. @ An internal conflict is
Tomorrow, I will discuss with Dr. Strauss the manner]in which I can work in a struggle that occurs
within a character.
ezo this area. I may be able to help him work out the problerhs of widespread use of Reread lines 64r-668.
As Charlie thinks about
the technique which was used on me. I have several good ideas of my own. his past behavior, he
feels angry at the people
There is so much that might be done with this technifue. If I could be made who used to make fun
into a genius, what about thousands of others like myself? \What fantastic levels of him, and he also feels
ashamed of the way he
might be achieved by using this technique on normal pelple? On geniases? played along with them.
What new character trait
There are so many doors to open. I am impatient to]begin. or traits are revealed in
this passage? How do
PROGRESS REPORT 12 they help Charlie resolve
conflicted feelings about
May 23 It happened today. Algernon bit me. I visited the lab to see him as I do his past?

occasionally, *h.r, I took hi- orr, of his cage, he s.,lapped at my hand. I put
him back and"rwrdatched him for a while. He was unusua.fly disturbed and vicious.

eeo May 24 Burt,who is in charge of the experimental alimals, tells me that

Algernon is changing. He is less cooperative; he refusts to run the maze any
more; general motivation has decreased. And he hasn't been eating. Everyone
is upset about what this may mean.

215 uNrr 2: cHARACTER AND poINT oF vIE\r

May 25 They've been feeding Algernon, who now refuses to work the shifting- 'tr"$lH:,"
lock problem. Everyone identifies me with Algennon. In a way we're both the
ln what way does this
first of our kind. They're all pretending that Alfiernon's behavior is not
necessafily significant fo. m.. But it's hard to hide the fact that some of the illustration represent the
other animals who were used in this experimenf are showing strange behavior.
actions Charlie describes
Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur have asked me nPt to come to the lab any more.
in his May z9 entry?
I know what they're thinking but I can't accept it. I am going ahead with my
ero plans ro carry their research forward. \X/ith all {u. tespect to both of these fine

scientists, I am well aware of their limitations. !f there is an answer, I'11 have to
find it out for myself. Suddenly, time has become very important to me.

May 29 I have been given a lab of my own and]permission to go ahead with

theresearch. I'm on to something. \Working day and night. I've had a cot
moved into the lab. Most of my writing time is spent on the notes which I
keep in a separate folder, but from time to time I feel it necessary to put down
my moods and my thoughts out of sheer habit.

I find the calculus of intelligence tobe a fascirpating study. Here is the place
for the application of all the knowledge I have lcquired. In asense it's the
zoo problem I've been concerned with all my life.

FLO\rERS FOR ALGERNON

May 31 Dr. Strauss thinks I'm working too hard. Dr. Nerhur says I'm trying

to ir"r., a lifetime of research and thought into a f.* *e"!s. I know I should

rest, but I m driven on by something inside that won't let rhe stop. I ve got to

find the reason for the sharp regression in Algernon. I ve lot to k.,o* if and

when it will happen to me.

June 4
LBrrBn ro Dn. Srneuss (cap7)

Dear Dr. Strauss:

Under separate cover I am sending you a copy of my [.pott entitled, "The
710 Algernon-Gordon Effect: A Study of Structure and Fulnction of Increased

Int-.llig.n..," which I would like to have you read and irave published.
As you see, my experiments are completed. I have inbluded in my report

all of my formulae, as well as mathemaiical analysis in ]the appendix.
Of course, these should be verified.

Because of its importance to both you and Dr. Nentur (and need I say to

myself too?) I have checked and rechecked my results h dozen times in the

hope of finding an error. I am sorry to say the results rirust stand. Yet for the

sake of science, I am grateful for the little bit that I hede add to the

knowledge of the funition of the human mind and of]the laws governing

the artificial increase of human intelligence.

I recall your once saying to me thaian experiment |oilurc or the

disprouing of a theory was as important to the advanc^dNment of learning as a

,,ri..r, would be. I know no* rh", this is true. L- ,frry, however, tliat my

own contribution to the field must rest upon the ashe$ of the work of two
men I regard so highly.
i

Yours trfuly,

Charles Gordon !f g EXAMTNE

encl.: rept. STRUCTURE
What is different about
June 5 I must not become emotional. The facts and the rbsults of my theJune4entry? Tell
what you learn about
zao experiments are clear, and the more sensational aspects od*y own rapid climb Charlie and his future
cannot obscure the fact that the tripling of intelligence b/ rhe surgical technique from this section.
developed by Dr.t Strauss and Nemur must be viewed as jhaving little or no
impair (Ym-p6r') v.
practical applicability (at the present time) to rhe increasl of human intelligence. to weaken; damage

As I review the records and data on Algernon, I see tfiat although he is still
in his physical infancy, he has regressed mentally. Moto]r activity'a is impaired;
there is , g.rr.r"l reduction of glJndula, ,ctirityi th.r. if an accelerar.d lors of

coordination.

There are also strong indications of progressive ,-.r.[i"."
As will be seen by -y reporr, these and other physic{l and mental

z<o deterioration syndromes can be predicted with statistic4lly significant results

by the application of my formula.

14. motor activity: movement produced by use of the muscles.
I

15. progressive amnesia (pra-grEs'Yv 5m-ne'zhe): a steadily worsening lods of memory.

218 uNrr z: cHARACTER AND porNT oF vrEw

The surgical stimulus to which we were both iected has resulted in an

intensification and acceleration of all mental The unforeseen

development, which I have taken the liberty of lling the Algernon-Gordon

Effict, is the logical extension of the entire intell speed-up. The

hypothesis here proven may be described simply n the following terms:

Artificially increased intelligence deteriorates at rate of time directly

proportional to the quantity of the increase. proportional
(pre-p6r'she-nel) adl.
I feel that this, in itself is an important disc record my thoughts in these having a constant
r, by all indications, my relation in degree or
750 As long as I am able to write, I will continue number
progress reports. It is one of my few pleasures.

own mental deterioration will be very rapid.

I have aheady begun to notice signs of emoti nal instability and

Forgetfulness, the first symptoms of the burn-o

June 10 Deterioration progressing. I have beco absent-minded. Algernon
died two days ago. Dissection shows my predict ns were right. His brain had

decreased in weight and there was a general s ing out ofcerebral

convolutions as well as a deepening and broade ng of brain fissures.'6

I guess the same thing is or will soon be h ning to me. Now that it's

zoo definite, I don't want it to happen. him in the back vard.
I put Algernon's body in a cheese box and bu

I cried. @ @ EXAMTNE

June 15 Dr. Strauss came to see me again. I ldn't open the door and I told STRUCTURE

him to go away. I want to be left to myself. I ha become touchy and irritable. What does Charlie's

I feel the darkness closing in. It's hard to throw thoughts of suicide. I keep language in the June
to entry tell you about
telling myself how important this introspective urnal will be. what is happening to
his intelligence? Think
It's a strange sensation to pick up a book that youve read and enjoyed just a about how this might
affect Cha rlie's attitude
Few months ago and discover that you don't re ber it. I remembered how
toward Algernon's
great I thought John Milton was, but when I pi ked up Paradise Lostl couldn't
zzo understand it at all. I got so angry I threw the I across the room. death.

I ve got to try to hold on to some of it. Some the things I've learned. Oh,

God, please don't take it all away.

June 19 Sometimes, at night, I go out for a w . Last night I couldn't
remember where I lived. A policeman took me me. I have the strange feeling
time ago. I keep telling myself
that this has all happened to me before-a lon what's happening to me.

I m the only person in the world who can

June 21 \7hy can't I remember? I ve got to I lie in bed for days and I
don't know who or where I am. Then it all back to me in a flash.

16. cerebral convolutions (s6r'e-brel kbn -ve-loT'shen) .. . brain (fish'erz): cerebral convolutions are

ridges or folds on the brain's surface; fissures are grooves divide the brain into sections.

FLowERS FoR ALGERNoN 219

FugueslT of amnesia. Symptoms of senility-second childfrood. I can watch 8) POTNT OF VrEW

780 them coming on. Itt so cruelly logical. I learned so muchiand so fast. Now What effect does

my mind is deteriorating rapidly. I won't let it happen. I'l| fight it. I can't help learning about Charlie's

thinking of the boy in the restaurant, the blank expressioh, the silly smile, feelings through his
own words have on you?
the people laughing at him. No-please-not that againi. . . @

June 22 I'm forgetting things that I learned recently. I, rJ.*, to be following

the classic pattern-the last things learned are the first things forgotten. Or is

that the pattern? I'd better look it up again. . . . l

I reread my paper on the Algernon-Gordon Effect and I $et the strange feeling
that it was written by someone else. There are parts I don't even understand.

Motor activity impaired. I keep tripping over things, {nd it becomes

zso increasingly difficult to type.

June 23 I've given up using the typewriter complet.ly. My coordination is bad.
I feel that I'm moving slower and slower. Had a terrible $hock today. I picked
up a copy of an articie I used in my research, Kruegert tJber psychischi
Ganzheit, to see if it would help me understand what I flad done. First I
thought there was something wrong with my eyes. Ther[ I realized I could
no longer read German. I tested myself in other languages. All gone.

June 30 A week since I dared to write again. It's slipping hway like sand through tanguageCoach
my fingers. Most of the books I have are too hard for meinow. I get angry with
them because I know that I read and understood them j(st a few weeks ago. Similes A simile is
a comparison using
800 I keep telling myself I must keep writing these repords so that somebody the words like or as.
Notice the simile in
will know what is happening to me. But it gets harder to form the words and lines797-798. What
does Charlie's writing
remember spellings. I have to look up even simple *o.{r in the dictionary now have in common with
sand slipping through
and it makes me impatient with myself someone's fingers?
Dr. Strauss comes around almost every day, but I told him I wouldnt see or

speak to anybody. He feels guilty. They all do. But I d{n't blame anyone.

I knew what might happen. But how it hurts.

]

J"b 7 I dont know where the week went. Todays Sun{ay I know because I

can see through my window people going to church. I think I stayed in bed
all week but I remember Mrs. Flynn bringing food to rne a few times. I keep
sro saying over and over Ive got to do something but then I forget or maybe its

do.just easier not to do what I say Im going to
]
I think of my mother and father a lot these days. I found a picture of

them with me taken at a beach. My father has a big bdfl under his arm and
my mother is holding me by the hand. I dont remembpr them the way they
are in the picture. All I remember is my father drunk tnost of the time and

arguing with mom about money.

17. fugues (fyotgz): psychological states where people seem to act constiously but later have no memory
of the action.

220 UNIT 2: CHARACTER AND POINT OF VIE'W'

He never shaved much and he ^ [-Itatlliyszueals
used to scratch my face when he
hugged me. My morher said he died What can you
azo but Cousin Miltie said he heard his infer about what is
mom and dad say that my father happening to the man
ran away with another woman. in the picture?
\When I asked my mother she
slapped my face and said my father

was dead. I dont think I ever found
out which was rrue but I dont care

much. (He said he was going to
take me to see cows on a farm once
but he never did. He never kept his
aaopromises...)

July l0 My landlady Mrs Flynn is

very worried about me. She says the
wayllay around all day and dont do
anything I remind her of her son

before she threw him out of the

house. She said she doesnt like

loafers. If Im sick irs one thing, but if

Im a loafer thats another thing and
she wont have it. I told her I think
sao Im sick.

I try to read a litde bit every day,
mostly stories, but sometimes I have
to read the same thing over and
over again because I dont know
what it means. And its hard to
write. I know I should look up all
the words in the dictionary but its
so hard and Im so tired all the time.

Then I got the idea that I would
aro only use the easy words instead of

the long hard ones. That saves time. I put flowJrs on Algernons grave about
once a week. Mrs Flynn thinks Im crazy ro purlflowers on a mouses grave but

I told her that Algernon was special.

]

July 14 Its sunday again. I dont have anythi.,g fo do to keep me busy now
because my television set is broke and I dont ha[,e any money ro get it fixed.
(I think I lost this months check from the lab. t dont remember)

I get awful headaches and asperin doesnt helf me much. Mrs Flynn knows
Im really sick and she feels very sorry for me. Slires a wonderful woman

whenever someone is sick.

FLowERs FoR ALGERNoN 221

aeo July 22 Mrs Flynn called a sffange doctor to see me. She #as afraid I was going
to die. I told the doctor I wasnt tJo sick and that I only f"rf,., sometimes. He
asked me did I have any friends or relatives and I said no I ]dont have any. I told

him I had a friend called Algernon once but he was a mouie and we used to run
races together. He looked at me kind of funny like he tho{ght I was crazy.

He smiled when I told him I used to be a genius. He tplked to me like I was
a baby and he winked at Mrs Flynn. I got mad and chas{d him out because he

to.was making fun of me the way they all used

i

luly 24 I have no more money and Mrs Flynn ,"y, I got]to go to work
somewhere and pay the rent because I havent paid for ov]er two months. I dont
azo know any work but the job I used to have at DonneganslPlastic Box Company.
I dont want to go back there because they all knew me 1,{rhen I was smart and
maybe they'll laugh at me. But I dont know what else tq do to get money.

July 25 I was looking at some of my old progress report+ and its very funny I EXAMINE
but I cant read what I wrote. I can make out some of thb words but they dont STRUCTURE
Compare the July z5
make sense. progress report to those
from previous months.
Miss Kinnian came to the door but I said go away I {ont want to see you. How does it help you
She cried and I cried too but I wouldnt let her in becaule I didnt want her to understand what has
laugh at me. I told her I didn't like her any more. I told ]her I didn't want to be happened to Charlie?
smart any more. Thats not true. I still love her and I stifl want to be smart but
sso I had to say that so shed go away. She gave Mrs. Flynn jnoney to pay the rent.
I dont want that. I got to get a job.

gPlease . . . please let me not forget how to read and i{rite . . .

July 27 Mr. Donnegan was very nice when I came bacl[ and asked him for my
old job of janitor. First he was very suspicious but I tol( him what happened to

me then he looked very sad and put his hand on my shpulder and said Charlie

Gordon you got guts.
i
Everybody looked at me when I came downstairs and started working in the

toilet.*..pirrg it out like I used to. I told myself Char{e if they make fin of

you dont get sore because you remember their not so sinart as you once thot

,ro ,h.y *.r.]Arrd besides th.y *.r. once your friends ,rr{ if ,h.y laughed at you

that doesnt mean anything because they liked you tooJ

One of the new men who came to work there after { went away made a
nasty crack he said hey Charlie I hear your a very sma{t fella a real quiz kid.

Say something intelligent. I felt bad but Joe Carp camp over and grabbed him
by the shirt and said leave him alone you lousy crackei or Ill break your neck.
I didnt expect Joe to take my part so I guess hes reallyimy friend.

Later Frank Reilly came over and said Charlie if anirbody bothers you or
trys to take advantage you call me or Joe and we will get em straight. I said
thanks Frank and I got choked up so I had to turn ar{und and go into the

too supply room so he wouldnt see me cry. Its good to haye friends.

222 UNIT 2: CHARACTER AND POINT OF VIEW

July 28 I did a dumb thing today I forgot I wasnt in Miss Kinnians class at the o cHARACTER TRATTS
adult center any more like I use to be. I went in and sqt down in my old seat in
the back of the room and she looked at me funny and she said Charles. I dint What does Charlie's
remember she ever called me that before only Charlie so I said hello Miss attitude toward his
Kinnian Im redy for my lesin today only I lost my reader that we was using.
She startid to cry and run out of the room and everybody looked at me and I experience suggest
about the kind of person
saw they wasnt ih. ,r-. pepul who use to be in -y .l"rt.
he is?
Then all of a suddin I rememberd some things abo[rt the operashun and me
gerring smart and I said holy smoke I reely pulled a Qharlie Gordon that time.

sto I went away before she come back to the room.

Thats why Im going away from New York for goo{. I dont want to do
nothing like that agen. I dont want Miss Kinnian to Feel sorry for me. Evry

body fe"els sorry at Ih. f".,.ry and I dont want that .Jth.r ro i- going

someplace where nobody knows that Charlie Gordoriwas once a genus and

now he cant even reed a book or rite good.

Im taking a cuple of books along and even if I canlt reed them Ill practise
hard and maybe I wont forget every thing I lerned. I{ I try reel hard maybe Ill
be a littel bit smarter then I was before the operashurl. I got my rabits foot and

my luky penny and maybe they will help me.
]

e2o If you ever reed this Miss Kinnian dont be sorry For me Im glad I got a
second chanse to be smart becaus I lerned a lot of tl"rings that I never even
new were in this world and Im grateful that I saw id all for a littel bit. I dont
know why Im dumb agen or what I did wrong may[e its becaus I dint try
hard enuff. But if I try and practis very hard maybg Ill get a littl smarter and
know what all the words are. I remember a littel biq how nice I had a feeling
with the blue book that has the torn cover when I rgd it. Thats why Im
gonna keep trying to get smart so I can have that fdeling agen. Its a good
feeling to know things and be smart. I wish I had it rite now if I did I woud
sit down and reed all the time. Anyway I bet Im thb first dumb person in the

qao world who ever found out somthing importent for gience. I remember I did
somthing but I dont remember what. So I gess its like I did it for all the

dumb pepul like me. @

Goodbye Miss Kinnian and Dr. Strauss ,r,d.r,..ybJdy. And P.S. please tell

Dr Nemur not to be such a grouch when pepul laff 5t him and he woud have
more frends. Its easy to make frends if you let pepul laff at you. Im going to
have lots of frends where I go.

P.P.S. Please if you get a chanse put some flowrs qn Algernons grave in

the bak yard.. . c\,

FLOITERS FOR ALGERNON

ffipff ffiLw

STIRLING ILLIPHANT

CHARACTERS Dr. Nemur Alice Kinnian

Charlie Dr.Strauss

Charlie. Boy! (Charlie turns bach to the cage, rubs the trp of

(He yraightens, loohs atDr. Nemur andDr. his fingers along the mesh and baby-talhs to the
Strauss who stand at one end of the cage. Nice ril.ouse. Algernon twitches its nose and wagles
Kinnian is just t0 lne side of Charlie in a its whiskers.)

laboratory around which cages containing mice, (fauoringDr. Nemur)
rats, and rnonheys are ananged. Here and there zo Dr.Nemur (to Nice). How much does Charlie

in the bachground lab assistants Are at work. Dr. understand about the operation?
Strauss reaches in apiece of cheese, reu.,ards the
Alice Kinnian. Charlie?
mouse,)
(Charlie looks up.)
ro Dr. Strauss.\Well, Charlie, what do you think
ofAlgernon? Charlie.Yeh?
Charlie (grinning). Pretry fanq, name for
Alice Kinnian. \7h.at do you remember about
a mouse!
the operation we discussed? The reason I
Dr. Strauss.Algernon's a pretty special mouse.
brought you here?

1. Charly: The screenwriter might have chosen to misspell Char name as "Charly" to convey the main Movie still from the
character's struggle with spelling. 1969film Charly

224 uNIT 2: cHARACTER AND porNT oF vrEw



l*i}iiifr-

ffiffi

tffrffii

;:f
tBn

-l

w"4

,i
"c
W
*
&$t
i&:rr

(Charlie straightens, looks the two d.octors rt aighl (She causes Charlie's hand to touch the wall
of a cul-de-sac. Charlie reacts.)
in the ele-this is his big mlment-And the
zo words come nou tumbling.) zo Dr. Strauss. Did that hurt?

Charlie.All my life I wantid to be smart nor Charlie. Naw.
]
Dr. Strauss. That shock is a signal . . . it
dumb. It'r re.y hard to be smart. It's-kind
tells you to back up the stylus and go down
oF--slow. I mean, I try-but itt-slow Even another row.

when I learn something in Miss Kinnian's class Alice Kinnian. You understand, Charlie?

at the Training Center where I try the hardest (Charlie nods reassuringly smiles broadly. This
is FUN. Dr. Nemur mzu€s Ngernonfrom the
it's slow-and I ferget. I used to think maybe finish box to the start box.)

I say, hey, Charlie-and stuff like that-but Dr. Strauss. Ready?

that dont slow me down-because I don't ao (Charlie, edger to begin, nods. He holds up his
lefi hand, exhibiting the rabbit's foot. Nrce smiles
ao listen to myself. at him reassuringly.)

(He stops, out of breath, discouers that Nice- Dr. Strauss. Start.

and the two doctors-still seem to ex?ect more (Dr. Strauss waits until she sees that Charlie
has already begun to guide the s4tlus, then she
fom him.) hrts the hatch and releases Algernon. Camera
Charlie. Oh-the operashun! The operashun shots alternate between Charlie and Ngernon
as eaclt "runs" his race. Charlie's race is hardly
will make -. ,-rr,. (a beat-then to Nrrr) yxan-is is actually one shock afier another, one

Is that what you told me? n bafflement piled 0n tzp anzther, one dead end

Alice Kinnian (tortD.We hope it will, Charlie. afier anothsy-lfrsza all too quichly Algernon's
telbale uictory squeak is heard. Charlie looks
But nobody kro*, for rrrr.. Anyway . . . zuer at Algernon in the finish box. Dr. Strauss
is feeding him a small piece of cheese. Close-up
(looking at the doctors). . . the doctors have to on Chailie as he considers ut/tat has just
happened. He looks up at Nice, who is smiling
50 talk to a lot of other people too-before they reassuringly. Dr. Nemur's face is utithout
expression. Charlie brings the stylus out of the
,
mAze. He shrugs.)
decide who'll be the first to have this operatior|.
roo Charlie.Anybody so stoopid even a little mouse
(fauoringDr. Strauss) can beat him you sure dont want to give him
no operashun. I dont blame you!
Dr. Strauss. Charlie . . . how would you like to
(He pu* down the stylus, leans closer to the cage,
race Algernon? and smiles in ruonder at Ngernon.)

Charlie (grinning).Sure, but . . .(He tooh, do*L Charlie.I dint know mice was so smart.
at the cage.)

Charlie.I cant fit in there.

(Dr. Strauss bands Charlie a long metal rod.)

Dr. Strauss. \We call this an electric srylus. L

in|eo (She guidesCharlie 's hand holding the stylus

the operu space between the walls of a maze whicp

sits next to Ngernon's cage on the long bench

before which ihry,tord.l

Dr.Strauss. \Mhen I say STARf-move the

pencil along this line until you come to . . .

that place there-the FINISH. If you move

the wrong way, you'll get a shock.

226 uNrr 2: cHARACTER AND poINT oF vIE\r

After Reading

Comprehension i COMMONCORE

l. Recall What type of operation does Charlie undergol RL 3 Analyze how lines of
dialogue and incidents in a
2. Clarify Why does Charlie decide to leave New York ,{ tft. end of the story? story reveal aspects ofa
character. RL 5 Compare and
3. Cfarify ln Charly,what is the purpose of the electric rrl contrast the structure oftwo
ltVf or more texts and analyze how
the differing structure of each
Text Analysis text contributes to its meaning
and style. RL6 Analyze how
O 4. ldentify Character Traits If you haven't done this yet]fill in the bottom of your differences in the points of view of
the characters and the audience or
Y-chart with traits that Charlie showed throughout tl]re story. Use notes on
your chart to support your answer. reader create effects. RL7 Analyze
the extent to which a filmed
5. Understand Plot Elements The technique of hinting]about something that production of a story stays faithful
to or departs from the text.

will occur later in a story is called foreshadowing. Eiplain how Algernon's

death is an example of this technique. t%re ]

fialidt! 6. Examine Structure This story covers

a period of five months. Analyze the

progress reports from each of these

months to determine the change in
a ltssCharlie's abilities. Track your results on
didgraph like the one shown. How quickly l

ltrtelligdat

fall?Charlie Gordon's intellipgenrcee rise and fall? ** April tfuq June Jrlrl
|
7. Analyze Parallel Episodes A parallel episode is a repgated element in a story's

plot. For example, Charlie races Algernon both befol,e he has the operation

and after. ldentify at least three other parallel episldes in this story. What is

the purpose of repeating these elements? ln your opinion, are these parallel

episodes good additions to the structure of the stor[? Cive reasons foryour

answer.

L

8. Compare Texts Think about the ways that the shorf story and the screenplay

present the scene in which Charlie meets Algernon. What are the similarities

and differences? Considerthe amount of detaileach selection provides.

Extension and Challenge

9. Text Criticism A literary critic wrote that "Flowers f[r Algernon" has "one of

the most perfect and perfectly controlled narrative arcs in the entire history

of the short story . . . ." A narrative arc is the shape { story's plot takes as it
slowly rises, reaches a high point, and then falls to lfeach a resolution. What

do you think the critic meant by this comment?

I[Ihen is it better not to KNOWi

Would Charlie have been better off if he had never gained the knowledge
he did? Consider how he feels at different points ir| the story.

FLovERS FoR ALCERNoN / cnnuv 227

Vocabulary in Context de if each

A VOCABUTARY PRACTICE

Show that you understand the boldfaced words.
statement is true or false.

l. Something that causes a sensation is not of i nterest.

2. A specialization means a Iittle knowledge a lot of things.

3. lf something is absurd, it's unusual or ridiculo

4. To refute something is to agree with it wholeh a rted ly.

5. Lack of sleep can impair your ability to stay a

6. When two things are proportional,they are at all related
to each other.

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY IN WRITING
. appropriate . assess . intelligence . motive

Were the doctors right to try such a risky experiment o improve Charlie's
intelligence? Write a paragraph that states and sup s your opinion. Use at least
one of the Academic Vocabulary words in your res

VOCAB U LARY STRATEGY: SPECIAtI Z ED VOCA ULARY i COMMONCORE

Many of the words used in this selection are speci lized terms that relate to L 4a Use context as a clue to the
the study of psychology. Knowing the meanings these words can help you meaning of a word. L 4c Consult
understand more about this field of study.When come across a word that general and specialized
you do not know try to use context clues to help figure out its meaning. Use reference materials to find the
a dictionary or a specialized dictionary for that fiel of study to find the exact pronunciation of a word or
determine or clarify its precise
meaning. meaning. L 6 Acquire and use
domain-specific words.
PRACTICE Match the word in the first column wi its definition in the second
column. Use a dictionary if you need help. Go to thinkcentral.com.

1. hypothesis a. symptoms that ze a disease or disorder KEYWORD: HML8-228
2. syndrome
3. regression b. a return to a less devel condition

4. introspective c. an assumption used as t e basis for research

d. examining one's own th ghts, feelings, and sensations

228 uNIT 2: cHARACTER AND PoINT oF vIE$r

Language i COMMONCORE

I cnlmrvtAR lN coNTExT: connpare correctly W lb Write arguments to

Review the Grammar in Context note on page ztt. The form of a support claims with logical
reasoning and relevant
modifier is used to compare only two people or things. most one-syllable
evidence. Ll Demonstrate
modifiers, add -er (brighter, closer) to form the compara For most modifiers
command of standard English
with two or more syllables, use the word more (more im rtant, more easily). grammar and usage when
writing.

The superlative form is used to compare three or people or things.

For most one-syllable modifiers, add -est (brightest, cl For most modifiers

with two or more syllables, use the word most (most im most easily).

Example: Dr. Strauss is closer to being a genius t Dr. Nemur.
has one syllable.)
(Two things are being compared, and

Example: Even the most intelligent person in the rld must be

unhappy sometimes. (More than two are being

compared, and intelligent has more one syllable.)

PRACTICE Choose the correct form to complete each he was before.
bright) doctors in
1. Charlie Gordon becomes (smarter, more smart)
than at the lab.
2. Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur might be the (brightest, Charlie's well-being.
their field, but they do not always make good deci

3. At first, Charlie is (more content, contenter) at his

4. Miss Kinnian is the person (more, most) worried

For more help with comparative and superlative see poge R58 in the
Grammor Hdndbook.

READING.WRITING CONNECTION

YOUR Explore the issues raised in "Flowers for A on" by responding to
this prompt. Then use the revising tip to im your writing.
@

TURII

Extended Constructed Response: Reflection Review your response. Go to thinkcentral.com.

After reading this story, do you think having Haveyou used any KEYWORD: HML8-229

orknowledge makes a person happier, kinder, ts comparative or

generally better? Write a two- or three-paragraph superlative modifiers? lf

response, citing as evidence two or more characters. not, revise your writing.

FLowERS FoR ALGBRNoN / cnanlv 229

Before Reoding

Rules of th Game I'4r.-Aq Video link at
thinkcentral.rom
Short Story by Am Tan HISTORY

S€I BE

tuffiffi ffi&g #ffi fuw

OPPO ENTS?

i COMMONCORE Family, friends, coac hese are people who usually want the best

RL I Citetextual evidence to for you. Then why can feel like they're always giving you a hard time?

support inferences drawn from Understanding people' intentions can be challenging, and it
the text. RL 6 Analyze how
differences in the points ofview of may even feel like your upporters aren't on your side. ln "Rules of the
the characters and the audience
or reader create effects. Came," find out why a ung girl sees her mother-who is her biggest

fan-as her main

QUICKWRITE Think of or two people in your life who want you
to be the best you can . Then write a brief journal entry about your
relationship with them. n what ways does their support help you?
ln what ways does their upport make things harder for you?

o TEXT ANALYSIS: FIRST.PERSON POINT OF VIEW AmyTan

When a writer uses the first-person point of view, the borntg5z

narrator is a character in the story-usually the main Change of Heart
The daughter of Chinese immigrants,
r] AmyTan grew up in California having little
interest in her heritage. When she was a
character. A story is told in the first-person point of vie[,v teenager, her father and older brother died.
I Their deaths devastated her, and her rocky
relationship with her mother became worse.
when the narrator Tan's mother wanted her to become a doctor
or a concert pianist, but Tan became a
. describes people and events as he or she experiences ]them business writer instead. She later turned to
. uses the pronouns / and me to talk about himself or herself fiction writing, which helped her express
. doesn't know what other characters are thinking and feeling her emotions about her family and embrace
her Chinese heritage as an important part
As you read, notice how the narrator's subjective, or. p{rronrl, of her identity.
observations affectyour understanding of the selectiofl.
Mother-Daughter Ties
a READING SKITL: DRAW CONCLUSIONS Tan wrote "Rules of the Ca me" for a
writing workshop in t985. She later used
In reading and in life, you often have to draw conclusilns,
or make logicaljudgments, about things that are not directly it as part ofherfirst novel,Theloy Luck
stated. Follow these steps to draw a conclusion:
Club,which is a series of interconnected
. Cather evidence from the literature. stories about four Chinese mothers and
. Consideryour own experience and knowledge. their Chinese-Amerlcan daughters. Tan's
. Make a judgment that combines both. family stories have inspired her writing. She
once said of her mother, "My books have
As you read, use a chart like the one shown to help youl form
conclusions about Waverly's relationship with her moiher. amounted to taking her stories-a gift to
me-and giving them back to her."
Evidence tlttl Thoughts Conelusiott
BACKGROUND TO THE STORY
scolds trqMrs. Jong
) know parents Mrs Jong wa-nts An Old Game Lives On
Waverlq for crt1rnq to teach their kids Waverlq to lea-rn Although the game of chess is hundreds
: out for sa-lted pluus, , how to behave. ' self-control. of years old, competitive chess remains a
popular pastime today. A specialclass of
Review: Visualize players strives for the title of grand master,
which only the top o.oz7o of tournament
A VOCABUTARY tN CONTEXT players worldwide earn. A player must
accumulate at least z,5oo points in
Amy Tan uses the words listed to help her describe ont girl's tournament play to be recognized as a grand
conflicts with her mother. ln your Reader/Writer Not{book, master by the World Chess Federation.
write a sentence for each of the vocabulary words. U1e a
dictionary or the definitions in the following selectio4 pages
to help you.

wORD adversary impart pungdnt
LIST benefactor
concession malodorous retort
foresight
ponder tactic

ffi complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebookl

ArnY Tan

I was six when my mother taught me the art of i isible strength. It was a P$lIi3,"'
L.rr,.gy for *i.rnirrg arguments, respect from c hers, and eventually, though
Note which details of
neither of us knew it at the time, chess games. this photograph are in
focus and which are
"Bite back your tongue," scolded my mother n I cried loudly, yanking blurry. What effect
does this have on you,
her hand toward the store that sold bags of salted lums. At home, she said, the viewer?

"\7ise guy, he not go against wind. In Chinese say, Come from South, blow @ POrNT OF VIEW

with wind-pooml-North will follow. Stron wind cannot be seen." ldentify who is telling
this story. What has she
The next week I bit back my tongue as we ente the store with the suggested about her
relationship with her
forbidden candies. Y/hen my mother finished her ping, she quietly mother so far?

10 plucked a small bag of plums from the rack and t it on the counter with the impart (Ym-pairt')v.
to make known; reveal
rest of the items. @

My mother imparted her daily truths so she ld help my older brothers
and me rise above our circumstances. \Me lived in n Francisco's Chinatown.

Like most of the other Chinese children who in the back alleys of

restaurants and curio shops,l I didn't think we poor. My bowl was

always full, three five-course meals every day, beg ning with a soup full of

mysterious things I didn't want to know the na of.

\We lived on \Taverly Place, in a warm, clean, t -bedroom flat that sat

above a small Chinese bakery specializing in stea pastries and dim sum.2

1. curio shops: shops that sell curious or unusual objects.
2. dim sum: small portions of a varietyof Chinesefoods and dum

232 UNIT 2: CHARACTER AND POINT OF VIE\r



zo In the early morning, when the alley was still qu I could smell fragrant

red beans as they were cooked down to a pasty s ness. By daybreak, our

flat was heavy with the odor of fried sesame balls nd sweet curried chicken

crescents. From my bed, I would listen as my fat r got ready for work, then

locked the door behind him, one-two-three clicks

At the end of our two-block allev was a small ndlot playground with

swings and slides well-shined down the middle wi :h use. The play area was

bordered by wood-slat benches where old-country [e sat cracking roasted

watermelon seeds with their golden teeth and scat ing the husks to an

impatient gathering of gurgling pigeons. The best ayground, however, was

:o the dark alley itself. It was crammed with daily eries and adventures. Mv

brothers and I would peer into the medicinal h shop, watching old Li3 dole

out onto a stiff sheet of white paper the right amo nt of insect shells, saffron-

colored seeds, and plrnggqt leaves for his ailing mers. It was said that pun gent (pin' jent) a dj.
sharp or intense
he once cured a woman dying of an ancestral cu that had eluded the best
o VISUALIZE
of American doctors. Next to the pharmacy was a rinter who specialized in Reread lines z5-36.
What words help
gold-embossed wedding invitations and festive banners. @ you picture the
Farther down the street was Ping Yuena Fish neighborhood?
The front window
o PO|NT OF VIEW
displayed a tank crowded with doomed fish and t struggling to gain
Reread lines 49-6o.
footing on the slimy green-tiled sides. A hand-wri sign informed tourists, What do the narrator's
<o "\Tithin this store, is all for food, not for pet." Insi ,, tLhrr! e buquLvrtrcv hers with their words and actions tell
you about her attitude
bloodstained white smocks deftly gutted the fish lle customers cried out toward taking risks?

their orders and shouted, "Give me your freshest," which the butchers always

protested, 'All are freshest." On less crowded mark t days, we would inspect

the crates of live frogs and crabs which we were wa not to poke, boxes of

dried cuttlefish, and row upon row of iced prawn squid, and slippery fish.

The sanddabs made me shiver each time; their lay on one flattened side

and reminded me of my mother's story of a care girl who ran into a crowded

street and was crushed by a cab. "\7as smash flat," mv mother.

At the corner of the alley was Hong Sing's, a fo r-table cafe with a recessed

io stairwell in front that led to a door marked "T men. My brothers and I

believed the bad people emerged from this door a night. Tourists neYer went
to Hong Sing's, since the menu was printed only in inese. A Caucasian man

with a big camera once posed me and my play in front ofthe restaurant.

He had us move to the side of the picture window the photo would capture

the roasted duck with its head dangling from a jui rope. After he took

the picture, I told him he should go into Hong Sin '.s and eat dinner. \When he

smiled and asked me what they served, I shou "Guts and duck's feet and

octopus gizzardst" Then I ran off with my friends, rieking with laughter as we

scampered across the alley and hid in the ent grotto5 of the China Gem

eo Company, my heart pounding with hope that he uld chase us. @

3. Li (le).
4. Ping Yuen (bYng yu'En).

5. grotto (grbt'o): an artificial structure made to resemble a cave

234 UNIT 2: CHARACTER AND POINT OF VIEW'

y mother named me after the street that we lived on: -Waverly Place ^*.$lg;:,"

#WH Jong, my official name for important Americad documents. But This photograph shows
my family called me Meimei,6 "Little Sister." I was thJ youngest, the only a Chinese market in San
Francisco. How would
dr,rght"r. Each morning bsehfeorheadscfhooroml,emd ytwmoottihghetrl,y"9lv"foauntd#rptig"traridlsy. aOnnkeodnay, you describe the setting?
my thick black hair until
o DRAW CONCLUSIONS
as she struggled to weave a hard-toothed comb through my disobedient hair, How does Waverly feel
about her mother fixing
I had a sly thought. her hair?
I asked het "Ma, what is Chinese torture?" My mdther shook her head.

A bobby pin was wedged between her lips. She wetted her palm and smoothed

the hair above my ear, then pushed the pin in so that lt nicked sharply against

my scalp. ]

"\7ho say this word?" she asked without a trace of jknowing how wicked

I was being. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "SomE boy in my class said

Chinese people do Chinese torture."

"Chinese people do many things," she said simply. "Chinese people do
business, do medicine, do painting. Not lazy likeAmErican people. \We do

ser.''ffi;,:::;::',TJ;t?.enr was the one who actuauf so, ,h. chess

\We had gone to the annual Christmas party held at the First Chinese Baptist
Church at the end of the alley. The missionary ladies had put together a Santa
bag of gifts donated by members of another church. None of the gifts had
names on them. There were separate sacks for boys ahd girls of different ages'

6. Meimei (ma'ma).

RULES OF THE GAME 235

One of the Chinese parishioners had donned a a Claus costume and a

stiff paper beard with cotton balls glued to it. I thi k the only children who

thought he was the real thing were too young to that Santa Claus was not
Chinese. \7hen my turn came up, the Santa man
me how old I was. i

thought it was a trick question; I was seven accordi g to the American formula

and eight by the Chinese calendar. I said I was on March 17,l95l.That

ifseemed to satisfy him. He then solemnly asked had been aYery, very good

ro girl this year and did I believe in Jesus Christ a obey my parents. I knew the

only answer to that. I nodded back with equal nity. $ * GRAi\nrwAR !N
EOruTTXT
Having watched the other children opening t ir gifts, I already knew that Notice that the verb
nodded in the last
the big gifts were not necessarily the nicest ones. ne girl my age got a large sentence of line 9r is
in the indicative mood.
coloring book of biblical characters, while a less y girl who selected a The mood of a verb
conveys the status of
smaller box received a glass vial of lavender toilet ater. The sound of the box the action or condition it
descri bes. The indicative
was also important. A ten-year-old boy had chose a box that jangled when mood is used to make
statements.
he shook it. It was a tin globe of the world with a lit for inserting money. He
benefactor
must have thought it was full of dimes and nickel , because when he saw that (bEn'e-f5k'ter) n. a person
it had just ten pennies, his face fell with such un uised disappointment that who gives monetary or
other aid
roo his mother slapped the side of his head and led hi out of the church hall,
tr DRAWCONCLUSTONS
apologizing to the crowd for her son who had suc bad manners he couldn't Why does Mrs. Jong
want Vincent to throw
appreciate such a fine gift. away his chess set?

As I peered into the sack, I quickly fingered t remalnlng Presents, testlng

their weight, imagining what they contained. I a heavy, compact one

that was wrapped in shiny silver foil and a red sat ribbon. It was a twelve-

pack of Life Savers and I spent the rest of the pa arranging and rearranging

the candy tubes in the order of my favorites. My ther \Tinston chose

wisely as well. His present turned out to be a box f intricate plastic parts; the

instructions on the box proclaimed that when were properly assembled he

rro would have an authentic miniature replica of a rld \Var II submarine.

Vincent got the chess set, which would have avery decent present

to get at a church Christmas party, except it was bviously used and, as we

discovered later, it was missing a black pawn and white knight. My mother

graciously thanked the unknown benefactor, say g, "Too good. Cost too

much." At which point, an old lady with fine whi , wispy hair nodded toward

our family and said with a whistling whisper, " , merry Christmas."

'S7'hen we got home, my mother told Vincent t throw the chess set away.

"She not want it. \7e not want it," she said, tossin her head stiffly to the side

with a tight, proud smile. My brothers had deaf e rs. They were already lining
120 up the chess pieces and reading from the dog-ea instruction book.6

I watched Vincent and \Tinston play during ristmas week. The

chessboard seemed to hold elaborate secrets waiti to be untangled. The

chessmen were more powerful than Old Li's mag herbs that cured ancestral
curses. And my brothers wore such serious faces t
at stake that was greater than avoiding the t t I was sure something was

n's door to Hong Sing's.

"Let mel Let me!" I begged between games w one brother or the other

would sit back with a deep sigh of relief and vi ; the other annoyed, unable

236 uNrr 2: cHARACTER AND poINT oF vIEw

to let go of the outcome. Vincent at first refused ,o 1., lt. play, but when I (a 50crA!- STUDrES

off.r.J my Life Savers as replacements for the buttons {hat filled in for the A CONI\'ECTION
rao missing pi...r, he relented. He chose the flavors: wild fherry for the black Waverly's mother
might be suggesting
pawn and peppermint for the white knight. \Tinner cquld eat both. something larger
As our morher sprinkled flour and rolled out small doughy circles for the about American rules.
Between the years
steamed dumplings that would be our dinner that nig{rt, Vincent explained r88z and 1965, Chinese
immigration to the U.5.
the rules, pointing to each piece. "You have sixteen piepes and so do I' One was restricted. Those
who were let into
king and queen, two bishops, two knights, two castlesl and eight pawns. The the country were not
pawns can only move forward one step, except on the first move. Then they granted the same rights
can move two. But they can only take men by moving crossways like this, as other Americans.

except in the beginning, when you can move ahead arid take another pawn."
"\fhy?" I asked as I moved my pawn. "tVhy can't they move more steps?"

r40 "Because they're pawns," he said.

"But why do they go crossways to take other men? ffihy aren't there any

women and children?"
"\Vhy is the sky blue? \Why must you always ask slupid questions?" asked

Vincent. "This is a game. These are the rules. I didnt pnake them up. See. Here.
In the book." He jabbed a page with a pawn in his hand. "Pawn. P-A-\7-N.

Pawn. Read it yourself,"

My mother patted the flour off her hands. "L., -lsee book," she said

quietly. She scanned the pages quickly, not reading the foreign English
symbols, seeming to search deliberately for nothing irl particular.

150 "This American rules," she concluded at last. "Every jtime people come out

from foreign country, must know rules. You not know, judge say, Too bad, go

back. They not telling you why so you can use their waf go forward. They say,

Dont know why, you find out yourselfl But they kno#ing all the time. Better you

take it, find out why yourself" She tossed her head bacf with a satisfied smile.

I found out about all the whys later. I read the rules and looked up all the tactic (tEk'tYk) n.
I Uig words in a dictionary. I borrowed books from the Chinatown library. a maneuver to achieve
a goal
I studied each chess piece, trying to absorb the powef each contained.
I learned about opening moves and why it's imporiant to control the center adversary (5d'ver-sEr'e)
n. an opponent
early on; the shortest distance between two points is ltraight down the middle.
foresight (f0r'sit)n.
reo I learned about the middle game and why tactics b.{*e.n two adversaries perception ofthe
significance of events
are like clashing ideas; the one who plays better has dhe clearest plans for both before they have
occu rred
attacking and getting out of traps. I learned why it is]essential in the endgame

to have foresight, a mathematical understanding of pll possible moves, and

patience; all weaknesses and advantages become evident to a strong adversary

,nd ,r. obscured to a tiring opporr.r,i. I discovered t[rt fo. the whole game one

must gather invisible strengths and see the endgame jbefore the game begins.

I also found out why I should never reyeal "*hy" td others. A little knowledge
withheld is a great advantage one should store for funlre use. That is the power of

chess. It is a game of secrets in which one must show {nd never tell.

t7o I loved the secrets I found within the sixty-four b[ack and white squares.

I carefully drew a handmade chessboard and pinnef it to the wall next to my

RULEs oF THE GAME 237

bed, where at night I would stare for hours at imaginary battles. Soon I no

longer lost any games or Life Savers, but I lost my fdversaries. \Tinston and
Vincent decided they were more interested in roan]ring the streets after school

in their Hopalong Cassidy cowboy hats. @ o PO|NT OF V|EW
On a cold spring afternoon, while walking hom( from school, I detoured What do Waverly's
descriptions of her
through the playground at the end of our alley. I {aw a group of old men, thoughts and actions
reveal about her?
two seated across a folding table playing a game of chess, others smoking
retort (rY-tOrt') n. a quick,
pipes, eating peanuts, and watching. I ran home a[d grabbed Vincent's sharp, witty reply

tso chess set, which was bound in a cardboard box wifh rubber bands. I also

carefully selected two prized rolls of Life Savers. I came back to the park

and approached a man who was observing the Banfe.

"\(/ant to play?" I asked him. His face widene{ with surprise and he

grinned as he looked at the box under my arm.

"Little sister, been a long time since I play wit! dolls," he said, smiling

benevolently. I quickly put the box down next to him on the bench and

displayed my retort.

Lau Po,7 as he allowed me to call him, turned ouf to be a much better player

than my brothers. I lost many games and many i.]ife Savers. But over the

reo weeks, with each diminishing roll of candies, I new secrets. Lau Po gave

me the names. The Double Attack from the East arid \7est Shores. Throwing

Stones on the Drowning Man. The Sudden Meetinfi of the Clan. The Surprise

from the Sleeping Guard. The Humble Servant Kills the King. Sand in

the Eyes of Advancing Forces. A Double Killing $ithout Blood.

7. Lau Po (lou bo)

'E"$llf:,"

How does the angle at
which this photograph

^*- was taken affect what

you first notice in the

pictu re?

238 uNrr 2: cHARAcTER AND poINT oF vlErr

l

There were also the fine points of chess etiquette. f."p ."p,ured men in o DRAW CONCLUSIONS
Why does Waverly start
neat rows, as well-tended prisoners. Never announce i'Check"8 with vanity, winning more chess
lest someone with an unseen sword slit your throat. Never hurl pieces into games?
the sandbox after you have lost a game, because then you must find them
again, by yourself after apologizing to all around you. By the end of the o POrNT OF V|EW
200 summer, Lau Po had taught me all he knew, and I hdd become a better Reread lines zoS-ztt.
How are Waverly's
chess player. thoughts and words
i different from each
A small weekend crowd of Chinese people and touqists would gather as other? What does this
tell you about her?
I played and defeated my opponents one by one. My rrrother would join the

crowds during these outdoor exhibition games.e She s{t proudly on the bench,
telling my admirers with proper Chinese humility, "Iq luck." @

A man who watched me play in the park suggested that my mother allow

me ro play in local chess tournaments. My mother srriiled graciously, an answer
that meant nothing. I desperately wanted to go, but I ]bit back my tongue.

I knew she would not let me play among strangers. Sq as we walked home I
zro said in a small voice that I didn't want to play in the llocal tournament. They

would have American rules. If I lost, i would bring s$ame on my family. @

"Is shame you fall down nobody push you," said (y mother.

During my first tournament, my mother sat with {ne in the front row as
I waited for my turn. I frequently bounced my legs td unstick them from the
cold metal seat of the folding chair. \When my name fias called, I leapt up. My
mother unwrapped something in her lap. It was her qhang, a small tablet of red
jade which held the sun's fire. "Is luck," she whispered, and tucked it into my

dress pocket. I turned to my opponent, a fifteen-yea{old boy from Oakland.

He looked at me, wrinkling his nose.

220 As I began to play, the boy disappeared, the color tran out of the room, and
I saw only my white pieces and his black ones waitin! on the other side. A light
wind began blowing past my ears. It whispered secreis only I could hear.
"Blow from the South," it murmured. "The wind leaves no trail." I saw

a clear path, the traps to avoid. The crowd rusded. "Shhh! Shhh!" said the

.orrr.r, of th" .oo-. The wind blew stronger. "Throlv sand from the East

to distract him." The knight came forward ready foq the sacrifice. The wind
hissed, louder and louder. "Blow, blow, blow. He caflnot see. He is blind now.

Make him lean away from the wind so he is easier t{ knock down."

"Check," I said, as the wind roared with laughter.jThe wind died down to

z:o little puffs, my own breath.

My mother placed my first trophy next to a newlplastic chess set that the

neighborhood Tao society had given to me. As she r,yiped each piece with a soft
cloth, she said, "Next time win more, lose less."

"Ma, it's not how many pieces you lose," I said. "Sometimes you need to lose

pieces to get ahead."
l

8. check: a move in chess that places an opponent's king under diregt attack RULEs oF THE GAME 239
9. exhibition games: public showings or demonstrations.

*,. .,s*;i{l

"Better to lose less, see if you really need."

At the next tournament, I won.again, but it w my mother who wore the

triumphant grin.

"Lost eight pieces this time. Last time was e \7hat I tell you? Better o DRAW CONCLUSIONS
Why does Waverly feel
zao off lose lessl" I was annoyed, but I couldn't say irg.ll she can't correct her
mother?
I attended more tournaments, each one farther ay from home. I won all
LanguageCoach
games, in all divisions. The Chinese bakery downs irs from our flat displayed my
lnformal Language ln
growing collection of trophies in its window, amids the dust-covered cakes that the dialogue in lines
z5r-252, notice
were never picked up. The day after I won an i regional tournament, the grammatical errors
such as missing
window encased a fresh sheet cake with whipped am frosting and red script pronouns and
saying, "Congratulations, tWaverly Jong, Chinato n Chess Champion." Soon verbs that do not
agree with their
after that, a flower shop, headstone engrayet and fu lparlor offered to sponsor subjects. The author
intentionally included
me in national tournaments. Thatt when my mot r decided I no longer had to these errors to reflect
Mrs. Jong's struggle
do the dishes. \Tinston and Vincent had to do my res. with the English
language. Rewrite
z5o "tVhy does she get to play and we do all the ?" complained Vincent. the dialogue in
standard English.
"Is new American rules," said my mother. "Mei i play, squeeze all her
malodorous
brains out for win chess. You play, worth squeeze (mEl-o'der-es) adi.
having abadodor
By -y ninth birthday, I was a national chess mpion. I was still some 429

points away from grand-master status, but I was t uted as the Great American

Hope, a child prodigy and a girl to boot. They ra a photo of me in Life

magazine next to a quote in which Bobby Fische/ said, "There will never be a

woman grand master." "Your move, Bobby," said caption.

The day they took the magazine picture I wore eatly plaited braids clipped

with plastic barrettes trimmed with rhinestones. I as playing in a large high

zeo school auditorium that echoed with phlegmy s and the squeaky rubber

knobs of chair legs sliding across freshly waxed n floors. Seated across

from me was an American man, about the same as Lau Po, maybe fifty.

I remember that his sweaty brow seemed to weep t my every moYe. He wore

a dark, malodorous suit. One of his pockets was ffed with a great white

kerchief on which he wiped his palm before swee ng his hand over the chosen

chess piece with great flourish.

In my crisp pink-and-white dress with scratchy ace at the neck, one of two

my mother had sewn for these special occasions, I ld clasp my hands under

my chin, the delicate points of my elbows poised I ly on the table in the

270 manner my mother had shown me for posing for press. I would swing my

patent leather shoes back and forth like an impati child riding on a school

bus. Then I would pause, suck in my lips, twirl m chosen piece in midair

as if undecided, and then firmly plant it in its threatening place, with a

triumphant smile thrown back at my opponent fo good measure.

ffi no longer played in the alley of \Taverly Place. I visited the playground
school, then direcrly home
ffi where the pigeons and old men gathered. I went
to learn new chess secrets, cleverly concealed adva more escape routes.

10. Bobby Fischer: a well-known chess player who, at t5, was the s youngest grand master.

24O uNrr 2: cHARACTER AND poINT oF vIEw

But I found it difficult to concentrate at home. My rfother had a habit of o POINT OF VIEW
standing over me while I plotted out my games. I think she thought of herself Reread lines 278-285.
280 as my protective ally. Her lips would be sealed tight, and after each move I How does knowing only
made, a soft "Hmmmmph" would escape from her noNe. Waverly's point of view
affect your impression
"Ma, I can't practice when you stand there like that," I said one day. She of her mother?
rerreated to rhe kitchen and made loud noises with the fots and pans. \fhen the concession (ken-sEsh'en)
crashing stopped, I could see out of the corner of my ey( that she was standing in n. the act of yielding or
the doorway. "Hmmmph!" Only this one came out of her tight throat. @ concedi ng

-.My parents mad. -any concessions to allow to]ptr.tice. One time ts DRAWCONCLUSTONS

I compiained that the bedroom Lhared was so ,toiry t[rrt I couldn't think. Why is Waverly
Thereafter, my brothers slept in a bed in the living roohn facing the street. embarrassed by her
mother's behavior?
I said I couldnt finish my rice; my head didn't work right when my stomach

2e0 was too full. I left the table with half-finished bowls aqrd nobody complained.
But there was one duty I couldn't avoid. I had to accoftrpany my mother on

Saturday market days when I had no tournament to play. My mother would
proudly walk with me, visiting many shops, buying vqry little. "This my

daughter'Wave-ly Jong," she said to whoever looked hbr way.

One day, after we lJft , rhop I said unde, -y br."td, "I *ish you wouldn't

do that, telling everybody I'm your daughter." My mother stopped walking.

Crowds of people with heavy bags pushed past us on fhe sidewalk, bumping
into first one shoulder, then another.

'Aiii-ya. So shame be with mother?" She grasped n[y hand even tighter as

aoo she glared at me.

I Iooked down. "Itt not that, it's just so obvious. I.f lrrrt so embarrassing."

"Embarrass you be my daughter?" Her voice was ctacking with anger.
"That's not what I meant. That's not what I said."
"\7hat you say?"
I knew it was a mistake to say anything more, but I heard my voice

speaking. "tWhy do you have to use me to show off? {f you want to show off,
then why don't you learn to play chess." @

My mothert eyes turned into dangerous black slitj. She had no words for

me, just sharp silence.

310 I felt the wind rushing around my hot ears. I jerked my hand out of my
mothert tight grasp and spun around, knocking int! an old woman. Her bag

of groceries spilled to the ground.
'Aii-ya! Stupid girl!" my mother and the woman dried. Oranges and tin

cans careened down the sidewalk. As my mother rtopp.d to help the old

woman pick up the escaping food, I took off.

I raced down the street, dashing between people, hot looking back as my
mother screamed shrilly, "Meimei! Meimei!" I fled {own an alley, past dark
curtained shops and merchants washing the grime oFf their windows. I sped

into the sunlight, into a large street crowded with tofrrists examining trinkets

no and souvenirs. I ducked into another dark alley, doqn another street, up
another alley. I ran until it hurt and I realized I had nowhere to go, that I was
not running from anything. The alleys contained nf escape routes.

RULES oF THE GAME 241

My breath came out like angry smoke. It was :.ilx
cold. I sat down on an upturned plastic pail next
to a stack of empty boxes, cupping my chin with ^*"$ll1ir"
my hands, thinking hard. I imagined my mother,
first walking briskly down one street or another What is the mood of
Iooking for me, then giving up and returning this photograph?
home to await my arrival. After two hours, I stood
tr VISUALIZE
330 up on creaking legs and slowly walked home.
Reread lines 33t-338.
The alley was quiet and I could see the yellow What images help
lights shining from our flat like two tiger's eyes in you picture Waverly's
the night. I climbed the sixteen steps to the door, walk home?

advancing quietly up each so as not to make any ponder (p6n'der) v. to
think or consider carefully
warning sounds. I turned the knob; the door was
locked. I heard a chair moving, quick steps, the
locks turning-click! click! clickl-and then the

door opened. !

'About time you got home," said Vincent.
340 "Boy, are you in trouble."

He slid back to the dinner table. On a platter

were the remains of a large fish, its fleshy head

still connected to bones swimming upstream in vain escape. Standing there
waiting for my punishment, I heard my mother speak in a dry voice.

"We not concerning this girl. This girl not harre concerning
for us."

Nobody looked at me. Bone chopsticks clinked against the insides of bowls
being emptied into hungry mouths.

I walked into my room, closed the door, and lay down on my bed. The
350 room was dark, the ceiling filled with shadows from the dinnertime lights of

neighboring flats.

In my head, I saw a chessboard with sixty-four black and white squares.

Opposite me was my opponent, two angry black slits. She wore a triumphant
smile. "strongest wind cannot be seen," she said.

Her black men advanced across the plane, slowly marching to each
successive level as a single unit. My white pieces scrgamed as they scurried and
fell off the board one by one. As her men drew closer to my edge, I felt myself

growing light. I rose up into the air and flew out the window. Higher and

higher, above the alley, oyer the tops of tiled roofs;where I was gathered up
:eo by the wind and pushed up toward the night sky until everything below me

disappeared and I was alone.

I ilos.d my eyes and ppndgrgd my next move. c\,

242 uNIT 2: cHARACTER AND poINT oF vIE\r

After Reading

Comprehension i COMMONCORE
l. Recall How does Waverly's family get a chess set?
RLI Citetextual evidenceto
2. Clarify What does Waverly learn from the old man irlt the park? support inferences drawn from
thetext. RL6 Analyze how
3. Clarify What events cause Waverly to run away froni her mother differences in the points ofview of
at the market? the characters and the audience
or reader create effects.

Text Analysis

I 4. Visualize What scene in this story can you picture n]ost vividly? Reread that

part of the selection, noting at least three words or phrases that help you

events.visualize the people, places, or
l

5. Compare and Contrast Use a Venn diagram like the tne shown to before Chess After Chess
compare and contrast Waverly before she learns cheis and after she

learns chess. Howdoes she change? How does she staythe same? pla4s wth

Oo. Analyze First-Person Point of View How would "Rulbs of the Game" friends

be different if you knew what Waverly's mother *a] tf intingl

It. Draw Conclusions Review the chart you made ,r rJu read. Why

does Waverly view her mother as her opponent? U$e evidence

from the story and your own ideas to support your tonclusion.

8. Evaiuate Conflict Give one or two reasons why Wa],rerly and her mother

might be in conflict with each other. Do you think they treat each other

fairly? Explain.
I

Extension and Challenge

9. Text Criticism Amy Tan once mentioned in an interMiew that even though
"Rules of the Game" is fiction and she never play{d chess, it is the closest
she has come to describing her own life with her inother. She spoke of the
"invisible force" her mother taught her. Tan uses lthe image of the wind
throughout the story to represent this invisible f{rce. Look for specific

passages in the story in which Tan writes about thelwind. With a small group,
discuss the wind's effect on Waverly and her chesr]game.

,0. socrAl sruDrEs coNNEcnoN what chaileilges did chinese

Ol" immigrants face when they moved to the United States in the r94os

and t95os, as Waverly's mother probably did? Resfarch what it was like for
newly arrived people to find jobs and housing andl how the government
responded to immigration from China. Share youifindings with the class.

Can allies he OPPONENTS?
l

Do you think that Waverly and her mother will sof n end their quarrel and
become allies again? Why or why not?

RULES oF THE GAME 243

Vocabulary in Context adversary : malodorous ,
ponder :
A VOCABUTARY PRACTICE benefactor
concession tactlc
Answer each question to showyour understand
vocabulary words. ;,

1. ls a retort a high-pitched sound or a sharp rep foresight

2. When you ponder, do you think carefully or wa der around

a pond?

3. Which is an adversaty-an opponent or an ad

4. Would a tactic help you more in playing sports watching

a movie?

5. ls a pungent smellfaint or sharp?

5. lf a person has foresight, is she likely to make a ista ke

or avoid one?

7. ls a concession more like giving in or letting I

8. When you impart something, do you hide it or al it?

9. What is more likely to be malodorous-flowers garbage?

IO. ls a benefactor someone who gives money or it away?

ACADEMIC VOCABUTARY IN SPEAKING role i COMMONCORE
. appropriate . assess . intelligence . motive
L4b Use common,grade-
ls it appropriate for Mrs. Jong to show off her daug r in public? Explain why or appropriate affixes as clues to
why not in a paragraph in a discussion with your cl mates. Use at least one of the meaning of a word.
the Academic Vocabulary words in your response. L 6 Acquire and use accurately

academic words; gather
vocabulary knowledge when
considering a word important to
com prehension and expression.

VOCABUTARY STRATEGY: THE PREFIXESy' AND MOI.

The prefixesfore- and mal- are used in the vocabu ry words foresight and
malodorous. The prefix fore- means "in front" or " fore," and the prefix mal-
means "bad" or"badly."

PRACTICE Decide which prefix,fore- or mal-, sh be added to each word
to make it match the definition provided.
elbow
_1. cast: to predict the weather conditions in ffi@l
content: dissatisfied with existing condi k
2. function: to function improperly I Go to thinkcentral.rom. I
arm: part of the arm between the wrist a
3. _ word: a preface or introductory note in a Irrvwono,HnnLa-2aa e\J
4. _ practice: improper treatment of a patient
5. _
6. _

244 uNrr 2: cHARACTER AND poINT oF vIEw

La nguage i COMMONCORE
I cpannmAe lN eoN?EXT: UseVerbMoods
L lc Form and use verbs in
1
the indicative, imperative,
Review the Grammar in context note on page ,f u. ,n. mood of a verb conveys interrogative, conditional, and
subjunctive mood.
the status of the action or condition it describes.The five possible moods of a
verb are indicative, imperative, interrogative, co{ditional, and subjunctive.

The indicative mood is used to make a statemerlt.
Example: Waverly plays chess.

The imperative mood is used to make , .orrrrf d or a request.

Example: Play chess.
The interrogative mood is used to ask, qr"rtioJ.

Example: Willyou take your turn already?
The conditional mood is used to refer to an evenfi that may or may not happen
depending on another set of circumstances. lt uies would, could,or should.

Example: lf she lost the tournament, she wofld bring shame to her family.
The subjunctive mood is used to express a wish o[ recommendation, an imaginary
state, or a condition contra ry to fact. The subjunclive form is identical to the past
form.The subjunctive of beiswere-even when tfre subject is singular.

Examples: She wished she were a better plajrer.
As if it were the wind, her mind wofrH whisper chess strategies.
As if Waverly were not there, everfone just ignored her.

PRACT!?E ldentify the mood of the boldfaced ,"fUr in the following sentences.

l. Waverly tearns the rules of chess.

2. "Want to ptay?" she asks Lau Po.

3. After that, if she came to the park, Lau eo *of ta play with her.

4. As if she were the chess champion, Mrs. Jong fuould swell with pride.
5. Waverly's mother: tells her, "Next time, win mirre, lose less."

RgAD! N6.WRITI NG CGN N ECTION

YOUR Explore Mrs. Jong's thoughts and feelin by responding to this
prompt. Then use the revising tip to your writing.
@

TURII

Extended Constructed Response: Point of rly's ts Reviewyour
response. Have
lf Waverly's mother were telling the story, what n5 you used the
she say? ln two or three paragraphs, retell from subjunctive mood?
mother's point of view the scenes in which Waverly lf not, revise. Go to thinkcentral.com.
away from the market and then returns home.
KEYWORD: HMLSN-245

RULES OF THE GAME 245

The Medicine Bag +*Y Video link at

,f*r6p' thin kcentra l.com

Short Story by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

Who Are You Today' Maria?

Vignette by Judith Ortiz Cofer

ti
rHINK KEYWORD: HML8-246

.pntral

Wfuffi% mfumwm ffi'€rufuffiffi

WHO ffiffi ffitrffiP

I COMMONCORE TheclothesWewear,thewaywespeak,andthetraditionswefollow
are just a few of the ways we show others who we are' Our families
RLt Cite textual evidenceto and our heritage can also play important roles in shaping our identity'
support inferences drawn from which is how we see ourselves dnd how we want others to see us'
thetext. RL3 AnalYze how ln the stories you are about to read, two young people must decide
dialogue or incidents in a storY whichpartsoftheiridentitiestheywanttosharewiththeworld.
reveal aspects of character.
PtcTURElrCreateacollageordrawingthatreflectsyouridentity.
Think of ways to visually represent your background' the beliefs that
are important you, and the meaningful activities and relationships in
your life.

r-,lllltl@

;:i,lto11r€@, -

o TEXT ANAIYSIS: CENTRAL CHARACTER Virginia Driving
Hawk Sneve
Short stories usually focus on one central cha The plot
and central conflict of the story generally revol around this born r933
person. As you read each of the following stori , get to know
the central character just as you would get to k Sioux Storyteller
person. Ask questions like these: a real Born at the height of the Creat Depression,
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve grew up on
. Where does the character live, and how does t place affect the Rosebud Sioux reservation in South
Dakota. Since her parents often had to leave
him or her? the reservation to find work, Sneve spent a
great deal of time with her grandmothers,
With whom does the character have importa relationships? whose tales inspired many of her books.
What conflicts develop in these relationships? Sneve has said that her goal in writing is to
present accurate portrayals of Native
What is the character's social background or heritage? American life. "The Medicine
How does the character feel about who he or Bag" describes a tradition in
which Native American boys
I nenorruG STRATEGy: sET A puRposE FoR EADING create medicine bags, small
pouches that hold items
ln this lesson, your purpose for reading is to are two of religious significance
and that symbolize
central characters. As you read, begin filling in rt like the the wearer's
transition to
one shown. You will be asked to add to this cha later. adulthood.

l Y,: Judith Ortiz Cofer

',, How does hls or her born r95z

:' environment affect hin A Rich ldentity
or her? Judith Ortiz Cofer was born in Puerto Rico,
but she spent much of her childhood in
lNhat is his or her New Jersey after her father joined the U.S.
relatonshrp with Navy. When her father was at sea, the
grandparent like? family returned to Puerto Rico for
extended visits with Cofer's
: What is his or her grandmother. At times,
: atttude towa.rd cultural Cofer felt that she did not
fit in either culture-
heritage?
American or Puerto
A VOCABUTARY IN coNTExT ase with Rican. She uses her
writing to explore
The words in the box help tell two stories of fa the difficulties
relationships. Match each numbered word or p and rewards of her
a vocabulary word. dual identity.

WORD authentic consprracy ly
commotion descendant seemly
LI Sf

l. excitement 3. son or daughter 5. me
4. not fake 6. idly
2. improper

fb
{;p Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer

K-km A.

"Bm"!8ffi EB'w,iG.#

&u"H,s&

ffieffi

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

y kid sister Cheryl and I always bragged about our Sioux grandpa, Joe *tlli3,' 'What details of the
Iron Shell. Our friends, who had always lived in the city and only knew
about Indians from movies and TV, were impressed by our stories. Maybe man's face tellyou the
most about him?
we exaggerated and made Grandpa and the reservation sound glamorous, but
when we'd return home to Iowa after our yearly summer visit to Grandpa we authentic (0{hEn'tYk)
adj. having a verifiable
always had some exciting tale to tell. origin; not counterfeit
\7e always had some authentic Sioux article to show our listeners. One year
CENTRAL
Cheryl had new moccasins that Grandpa had made. On another visit he gave CHARACTER
me a small, round, flat, rawhide drum which was decorated with a painting of Why did the narrator
to a warrior riding a horse. He taught me a real Sioux chant to sing while I beat a nd his sister exaggerate
the drum with a leather-covered stick that had a feather on the ind. Man, that when they talked about
really made an impression.O their grandfather?

\7e never showed our friends Grandpa's picture. Not that we were ashamed o CENTRAL
of him, but because we knew that the glamorous tales we told didn't go CHARACTER
with the real thing. Our friends would have laughed at the picture, because What conclusions
Grandpa wasn't tall and stately like TV Indians. His hair wasn'r in braids, but can you draw about
hung in stringy, gray strands on his neck and he was old. He was our great- the narrator's
grandfather, and he didnt live in a tipi, but all by himself in a part log, pafi. tar- neighborhood?
paper shack on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. So when Grandpa
20 came to visit us, I was so ashamed and embarrassed I could ve died.

There are a lot of yippy poodles and other fancy little dogs in our
neighborhood, but they usually barked singly at the mailman from the safety
of their own yards. Now it sounded as if a whole pack of murrs were barking
together in one place. @

248 uNrr 2: cHARACTER AND poINT oF vrEw Detail of They Moued Them (1)91), David Bchrens.
Oil glazing, 9Yt" x 14Y2". O David Behrens.



I got up and walked to the curb to see what the commotion was. About commotion (ke-mo'shen)
n. a disturbance
a block awayl saw a crowd of little kids yelling, with the dfgs yipping and
o SOCIAT STUDIES
growling around someone who was walking down the midfile of the street'
L CONNECTION
I watched the group as it slowly came closer and saw that in the center of
The Rosebud Reservation
the strange procelsion was a man wearing a tall black h"t. h{e'd pause now and in South Dakota

ao rhen ro peer at something in his hand and then at the houies on either side of o CENTRAL
the street. I felt cold and hot at the same time as I recognifed the man. "Oh, CHARACTER
How does Martin feel
no!" I whispered. "It's Grandpa!" about his grandfather's
outfit?
I stood on the curb, unable to move even though I wanfed to run and hide.
unseemly (Un-sem'le)
Then I got mad when I saw how the yippy dogs were gror,'{,ling and nipping at adj. inappropriate

the old mant b"ggy pant legs and how wearily he poked t]hem away with his

cane. "stupid mutts," I said as I ran to rescue Grandpa.
I
\7hen I kicked and hollered at the dogs to get away, thby put their tails

between their legs and scattered. The kids ran to the cur! where they watched

me and the old man. L

40 "Grandpa," I said and felt pretty dumb when my rroi..l.r".ked. I reached

for his beat-up old tin suitcase, which was tied shut with I rope. But he set it

down right in the street and shook my hand.
l
"HAu,l Tahoza, Grandchild," he greeted me formally ifl Sioux.

All I could do was stand there with the whole neighblrhood watching and

shake the hand of the leather-brown old man. I saw howlhis gray hair straggled

from under his big black hat, which had a drooping featfer in its crown. His

rumpled black suit hung like a sack over his stooped fralhe. As he shook my

hand, his coat fell open to expose a bright-red, satin shir[ with a beaded bolo

tie under the collar. His getup wasn't out of place on th! reservation, but it sure

,0 was here, and I wanted to sink right through the pavemt"t. O
"Hi," I muttered with my head down. I tried to pull /py hand away when I

felt his bony hand trembling, and looked up to see fatigfre in his face. I felt like

crying. I couldnt think of anything to say so I picked up Grandpat suitcase,

took his arm, and guided him up the driveway to our hpuse.

Mom was standing on the steps. I don't know how lgng she'd been

watching, but her hand was over her mouth and she lo$ked as if she couldnt

us.believe what she saw. Then she ran to
l

"Grandpa," she gasped. "How in the world did you gfet here?"

She checked her move to embrace Grandpa and I rerfrembered that such

eo a display of affection is unseemly to the Sioux and wo,rild embarrass him.

"Hoi, Marie," he said as he shook Momt hand. She lsmiled and took his
other arm.
I

As we supported him up the steps the door banged s{p1o.b,v"iorrudslCy hgelarydl came
bursting out of the house. She was all smiles and was
to see

Grandpa that I was ashamed of how I felt. l

"Grandpa!" she yelled happily. "You came to see ust"

1. HauSioux:hello.

250 uNIT 2: cHARACTER AND porNT oF vrEv

Grandpa smiled and Mom and I let go of hi as he stretched out his arms

to my lO-year-old sister, who was still young e gh to be hugged.

"Wicincala,2 little girl," he greeted her and t collapsed.

70 He had fainted. Mom and I carried him in her sewing room, where we

had a spare bed.

After we had Grandpa on the bed Mom s there helplessly patting his

shoulder.

"Shouldn't we call the doctor, Mom?" I s , since she didn't seem to
know what to do.

"Yes," she agreed with a sigh. "You make G ndpa comfortable, Martin."

I reluctantly moved to the bed. I knew Gra pa wouldn't want to have

Mom undress him, but I didn't want to, either. e was so skinny and frail that
his coat slipped off easily. \When I loosened his and opened his shirt collar,

so I felt a small leather pouch that hung from a t around his neck. I left it

alone and moved to remove his boots. The scu old cowboy boots were tight o CENTRAL
CHARACTER
and he moaned as I put pressure on his legs to them off.6 Reread lines 77-82.
Which details in these
I put the boots on the floor and saw why th fit so tight. Each one was lines indicate that
Martin is uneasy around
stuffed with money. I looked at the bills that li the boots and started to ask his grandfather?

about them, but Grandpa's eyes were closed descendant (dY-sEn'dant)
n. a person whose
Mom came back with a basin of water. "The thinks Grandpa is descent can be traced to
an individual or group
suffering from heat exhaustion," she explained she bathed Grandpa's face.
sheepishly (she'pYsh'16)
Mom gave a big sigh, "Oh hinh, Martin. How you suppose he got here?" adv. meekly; with
embarrassment
\7e found out after the doctort visit. Grand was angrily sitting up in bed
o CENTRAL
so while Mom tried to feed him some soup. CHARACTER
Reread lines 99-to6.
"Tonight you let Marie feed you, Grandpa," my dad, who had gotten What do you learn about
Martin's relationship
home from work just as the doctor was leaving. You're not really sick," he said with his grandfather?

as he gently pushed Grandpa back against the llows. "The doctor said you

just got too tired and hot after your long trip."

Grandpa relaxed, and between sips of soup, told us of his journey. Soon

after our visit to him Grandpa decided that he ld like to see where his only

living descendants lived and what our home w s like. Besides, he admitted

sheepishly, he was lonesome after we left.

I knew everybody felt as guilty as I did ially Mom. Mom was all

roo Grandpa had left. So even after she married m dad, whot a white man and

teaches in the college in our city, and after Che yl and I were born, Mom

made sure that every summer we spent a week ,ith Grandpa.

I never thought that Grandpa would be lone after our visits, and none of us

noticed how old and weak he had become. But randpa knew and so he came
to us. He had ridden on buses for two and a hal days. \When he arrived in the

city, tired and stiff from sitting for so long, he out, walking, to find us. @

He had stopped to rest on the steps of some ilding downtown and a

policeman found him. The cop, according to ndpa, was a good man who

2. Wicincala Sioux: gitl.

THE MEDICINE BAG 251

took him ro the bus stop and waited until the bus came an$ told the driver to

rro let Grandpa out at Bell View Drive. After Grandpa got off]the bus, he started

walking again. But he couldn't see the house numbers on t[re other side when
h. *"lk d on the sidewalk so he walked in the middle of tl. sffeet. That's
when all the little kids and dogs followed him.
l

I knew everybody felt as bad as I did. Yet I was proud of this 86-year-old

man, who had never been away from the reservation, havipg the courage to o CENTRAL
CHARACTER
@travel so far alone. l What is Martin's
attitude toward his
"You found the money in my boots?" he asked Mom. l gra ndfather's jou rney?

"Martin did," she answered, and roused herself to scold. 'JGrandpa, you @ CENTRAL

shouldnt have carried so much money. \fhat if someone ha$ stolen it from you?" CHARACTER
How does Martin feel
t20 Grandpa laughed. "I would've known if anyone tried td take the boots off about receiving the
medicine bag?
my feet. The money is what I've saved for a long time-aihundred dollars-for

my funeral. But you take it now to buy groceries so that I won't be a burden to
you while I am here."
l

"That won't be necessary, Grandpa," Dad said. "'We Jre honored to

have you with us and you will never be a burden. I am pnly sorry that we

never thought to bring you home with us this summer dnd spare you the

discomforiof a long tiip."
i
Grandpa was pleased. "Thank you," he answered. "Bqt do not feel bad

that you didnt bring me with you for I would not have dome then. It was

r30 not time." He said this in such a way that no one could {rgue with him. To
Grandpa and the Sioux, he once told me, a thing wouldlbe done when it was

the right time to do it and thatt the way it was. l

'Also," Grandpa went on, looking at me, "I have .o-b b.."use it is soon

time for Martin to have the medicine bag."

\ilZe all knew what that meant. Grandpa thought he i.as going to die and he

had to follow the tradition of his family to pass the medicine bag, along with

its history, to the oldest male child.

"Even though the boy," he said still looking at me, "{."r, a white man's

name, the medicine bag will be his." l

t4o I didn't know *h"t to say. I had the same hot and iold feeling that I had

when I first saw Grandpa in the street. The medicine ]bag was the dirty

leather pouch I had found around his neck. "I could ile't.r wea. such a

thing," I al-ort said aloud. I thought of having my ffiends see it in gym

class, at the swimming pool, and could imagine the sniart things they would

say. But I just swallowed hard and took a step towardlthe bed. I knew I

would have to take it. @

But Grandpa was tired. "Not now, Martin," he saidf waving his hand in

dismissal, "it is not time. Now I will sleep." j

So thatt how Grandpa came to be with us for two jnonths. My friends kept

uo asking to come see the old man, but I put them off. I fold myself that I didn't
want them laughing at Grandpa. But even as I made dxcuses I knew it wasn't

Grandpa that I was afraid they'd laugh at.

252 uNrr 2: cHARACTER AND poINT oF vIEw

Nothing bothered Cheryl about bringing he friends to see Grandpa. Every

day after school started there'd be a crew ofgi ing little girls or round-eyed
little boys crowded around the old man on the tio, where he'd gotten in the

habit of sitting every afternoon.

Grandpa would smile in his gentle way and fatiently answer their questions,
or he'd tell them stories of brave warriors, qho$ts, animals, and the kids

listened in awed silence. Those little guys thoufiht Grandpa was great.

Finally, one day after school, my friends c{me home with me because CENTRAL
CHARACTER
nothing I said stopped them. "\(/e're going t{ see the great Indian of Bell What bothers Martin
about bringing his
View Drive," said Hank, who was supposed (o be my best friend. "My friends home to meet
his grandfather?
brother has seen him three times so he oughla be well enough to see us." O
\7hen we got to my house Grandpa was sitting on the patio. He had on his ''-$lH:,"

red shirt, but today he also wore a fringed leatlrler vest that was decorated with Compare this picture
of a medicine bag to
beads. Instead of his usual cowboy boots he hafl solidly beaded moccasins on the way you imagine
the medicine bag in the
his feet that stuck out of his black trousers. Of bourse, he had his old black hat story. How is it similar?

on-he was seldom without it. But it had been brushed and the feather in the

beaded headband was proudly erect, its tip a br[ghter white. His hair lay in

rzo silver strands over the red shirt collar. of them murmut "\(ow!"
I stared just as my friends did and I heard ine they twinkled as if he were
Grandpa looked up and when his eyes met got all hot. I could tell that he
me in front of my friends.
laughing inside. He nodded to me and my
had known all along I was afraid he'd emba

"Hdu, hoksilas, boys," he greeted and held his hand.

My buddies passed in a single file and shoo his hand as I introduced them.
They were so polite I almost laughed. "How, t , Grandpa," and even a

"How-do-you-do, sir."

"You look fine, Grandpa," I said

180 as the guys sat on the lawn chairs

or on the patio floor.
"H*nlt, yes," he agreed. "\7hen

I woke up this morning it seemed
the right time to dress in the good

clothes. I knew that my grandson

would be bringing his friends."

"You guys want some lemonade

or something?" I offered. No one

answered. They were listening to
uo Grandpa as he started telling how

he'd killed the deer from which his

Yest was made.

Grandpa did most of the talking

while my friends were there. I was

so proud of him and amazed at

how respectfully quiet my buddies

THE MEDICINE BAG