The Study of Postmodernism Tendency in Flowers for Algernon

Abstract

Flowers for Algernon is a story about Charlie Gordon, a 32-year-old mentally challenged, who happens to have the opportunity to undergo a surgical procedure that will increase his mental capabilities. After the surgery, he has to face many great changes, like getting used to his high IQ. At the end of the story, the surgery reverses, and Charlie’s intelligence returns to its original level. Though it’s science fiction by Daniel Keyes, it has some postmodernism tendencies if judged from this perspective. To analyze the postmodernism tendencies in this book, the basic information of the book and postmodernism should be given. So, the first part introduces the summary of this book and its general information. Then lists some of the important features of postmodernism and postmodernism in literature, namely the loss of grand narrative, simulacrum, and language features. The next part acts on a detailed analysis based on the original text from the above-mentioned perspective. First, the disappearance of grand narratives, which in this book is the disbelieve in religion and science. The grand narrative in other words is mini-narratives, so this task then introduces three essential themes of this novel, that is the circle of life, the ethical problem of medical uses for intelligence surgery, and the psychoanalysis of the subconscious through dreams. All these aspects show diversity as a feature of postmodernism. Next, this task introduces the simulacrum in this novel, which is the distinction between authority and reality. Lastly, this task analyzes the language features of this novel.