Cassidy's Critiques

Flowers For Algernon

2011-07-10T23:04:00.000-05:00

I just finished the novel Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. This book as been on my must read list for many years but for various reasons I hadn't the chance to read it yet. I knew a little about the book prior to reading it. I knew it was about a man with mental disabilities, but that was pretty much it.
I was surprised how quickly I got into this book, I was almost immediately absorbed. The book is told in the point of view of the main character Charlie. Charlie is in his early thirties and is about to undergo a surgery that is supposed to make him intelligent. This was the first time this surgery would be performed on an human. It had been performed successfully on a mouse named Algernon. At the beginning the passages Charlie writes look like an eight year old wrote them. But after his surgery and he begins to learn more, his spelling and grammar improve dramatically. The author wrote this book perfectly because it let the reader know how much Charlie's intelligence had improved and how he went from being completely innocent to self-aware. .
This book is a bit heartbreaking. Charlie isn't treated fairly especially before his surgery but because of his disabilities he doesn't realize. The book really made me think about how real people similar to Charlie are treated. The book was written fifty years ago, but I think this book still applies today.
After his surgery Charlie's intelligence increased and he began to understand the world better. He acquired memories of childhood that he forgotten and understood why he ended up where he did. Prior to the surgery Charlie believed that intelligence would make him a better person and more people would like him. But soon he realized that his new found intelligence was actually keeping from people.
After a few months the mouse Algernon began to exhibit habits that his intelligence was decreasing, and Charlie realized that the same would soon happen to him. Charlie was left with the fact that soon he would return to his old self and he would probably not remember any of his gained intelligence.

I loved this book and I would definitely recommend it. It made me think of this subject in a whole new light. It's a little depressing but the best books usually are.

Lord of the Flies

2011-07-08T01:17:00.000-05:00

I started this blog because I love sharing my opinions of books and this seemed the easiest way to voice those opinions. It's a little daunting composing a first blog entry. I don't want sound stupid and I want to make my opinions count for something. So here it goes:
I just finished reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I'll be honest, I knew nothing about this book when I decided to read it. I knew it was a popular book and it's on several must read lists so I decided to give it a try. The book is about a group of boys, none older than twelve, who are stranded on an island during a war.
The main character is one of the older ones named Ralph. He is soon appointed chief because he is nice looking and has an air of authority. He instantly clashes with another boy named Jack who was the power for himself. There is another character Piggy who is the intellectual of the group but nobody listens to him because he is fat and has glasses and asthma. To me, none of the characters were likable. Maybe that's because they're not supposed be. I thought Jack and Piggy were annoying and Ralph should have had more sense and maybe more of a backbone.
The boys are all from England and through-out the course of the book they go from being civilized "English men" to complete savages. I think that's what the author is trying to get across. It doesn't matter how civilized a person was, if they are put in the right circumstances people will revert back to their primal instincts.
The younger children began talking about a beast that they believed lived on the island. At first nobody believed them, but the more time they spent on the island the more they believed. I researched the book and a main theme is evil. You learn that every person has evil in them and they need the right circumstances for that evil to show itself.
Overall I thought the book was decent. It wasn't one of my favorites. Maybe it's because I was revolted about the actions of many of the characters. It's not a very long book and I thought the climax was bit of a let down. Maybe if I read it again I'll like it better. But who knows? If anybody's reading this and thinks I'm completely wrong then please comment. I love to argue about books. Until next time!