Originally, Keyes wrote this as a short story in 1959 and it won several awards. He decided to rework the story into a novel that was published in 1966. THANKFULLY. It won the Nebula award for best new novel and was made into a movie in 1968 called CHARLY. This movie earned Cliff Robertson an Academy Award for best actor. Here's the premise. Image that you have an IQ of 68 but qualify for an operation that will increase your IQ to the genius level--would you have the operation?? Charlie Gordon is the test subject who agrees to this operation because he is desperate to be like every one else. Told in epistolary style, a series of progress reports, Charlie chronicles his life before the surgery and after, until his final regression. This is a story about the way the mentally disabled are treated and the correlation between happiness, intellect and emotion. It's a wonderful story. This novel has sold over 5 million copies since 1966 and has NEVER been out of print. The other interesting tidbit about this novel is that it is the most frequently challenged book on the ALA list--censored over the years by many a school system. I have taught the short story which is more like a novella many times and my students LOVE it. It's an opportunity to learn about difference. It's also an opportunity to learn about intelligence--the Howard Gardiner Model. We are all intelligent in different ways and that's what makes us all unique and important. Pick up this inspirational story--it's about 300 pages --about a topic that never grows old. WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE.Sunday, May 7, 2017
May 7, 2017 TIP TOE THRU THE TULIPS WITH ME
Ran our last LONG run before the 1/2 marathon. It was a wet, humid 11 miles but there was a nice BREEZE that made it bearable. My legs and feet felt good too-- thanks to my new $127 sneakers--so much for the Dansko trunk show--it will have to wait. Did run out of energy though by mile 9-10. Going to have to get a few GU for the race. I'm telling you now--the LAST 2 miles are going to be torture--but on RACE day I'll just GUT it out--because I have to. Today I ran an easy 4--took time to stop and smell the flowers along the way. The lilacs are finally blooming. One of my favorite flowers. They just take me back in time. One whiff and I'm on the farm hanging upside down from an apple tree, collecting eggs in the coop or running away from Mrs. Apple and the other cows chasing me across the field. The lilac bush is a constant reminder to me of all that is good. Whenever I see a bush in bloom, I have to stop for a moment to appreciate its lovely, delicate scent. I have two lilac bushes. One, a wedding gift from my sister-in-law and the other a seedling from the farm taken after spreading my grandparents ashes there. In some strange way they give me a sense of peace--I eagerly wait from them to bloom each season. They mark the passage of time and help me to remember good times. They make me smile. All this talk about flowers made me think of a wonderful classic I have read several times, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.
Originally, Keyes wrote this as a short story in 1959 and it won several awards. He decided to rework the story into a novel that was published in 1966. THANKFULLY. It won the Nebula award for best new novel and was made into a movie in 1968 called CHARLY. This movie earned Cliff Robertson an Academy Award for best actor. Here's the premise. Image that you have an IQ of 68 but qualify for an operation that will increase your IQ to the genius level--would you have the operation?? Charlie Gordon is the test subject who agrees to this operation because he is desperate to be like every one else. Told in epistolary style, a series of progress reports, Charlie chronicles his life before the surgery and after, until his final regression. This is a story about the way the mentally disabled are treated and the correlation between happiness, intellect and emotion. It's a wonderful story. This novel has sold over 5 million copies since 1966 and has NEVER been out of print. The other interesting tidbit about this novel is that it is the most frequently challenged book on the ALA list--censored over the years by many a school system. I have taught the short story which is more like a novella many times and my students LOVE it. It's an opportunity to learn about difference. It's also an opportunity to learn about intelligence--the Howard Gardiner Model. We are all intelligent in different ways and that's what makes us all unique and important. Pick up this inspirational story--it's about 300 pages --about a topic that never grows old. WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE.
Originally, Keyes wrote this as a short story in 1959 and it won several awards. He decided to rework the story into a novel that was published in 1966. THANKFULLY. It won the Nebula award for best new novel and was made into a movie in 1968 called CHARLY. This movie earned Cliff Robertson an Academy Award for best actor. Here's the premise. Image that you have an IQ of 68 but qualify for an operation that will increase your IQ to the genius level--would you have the operation?? Charlie Gordon is the test subject who agrees to this operation because he is desperate to be like every one else. Told in epistolary style, a series of progress reports, Charlie chronicles his life before the surgery and after, until his final regression. This is a story about the way the mentally disabled are treated and the correlation between happiness, intellect and emotion. It's a wonderful story. This novel has sold over 5 million copies since 1966 and has NEVER been out of print. The other interesting tidbit about this novel is that it is the most frequently challenged book on the ALA list--censored over the years by many a school system. I have taught the short story which is more like a novella many times and my students LOVE it. It's an opportunity to learn about difference. It's also an opportunity to learn about intelligence--the Howard Gardiner Model. We are all intelligent in different ways and that's what makes us all unique and important. Pick up this inspirational story--it's about 300 pages --about a topic that never grows old. WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE.
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