Most people don't think about what it's like to be incapable of learning. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes features Charlie, a middle-aged man with a mental disability which prevents him from learning like most people. He is selected for an experiment to increase his intelligence. Indirect characterization is when an author indirectly describes a character. Keyes uses a variety of methods of indirect characterization to show that Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss are selfish, unconfident, and argumentative. One way Keyes describes the Doctors is through their actions. One example is when Charlie writes “So I got scaird when Dr Nemur and Dr Strauss argud about it” (48). Based on this I can infer that Strauss and Nemur are argumentative because they are arguing about something that does not need to cause conflict. It is important that the reader recognizes this because it foreshadows them arguing at a later point in the story.
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Nemur is through his conversations. An example of this is when Charlie says “Dr. Nemur was saying that it was his experiment and his research.” (57) According to this, I can assume that Nemur is selfish because he is acting as if he has done all of the work for their experiment when Strauss has done as much as him. This trait is important to the story because if someone had not deciphered this then they would understand the tension between the two doctors due to Dr. Nemur’s selfishness. Additionally, Keyes uses Dr. Nemur’s thoughts to describe him. For instance, Charlie concludes “He has a very good mind, but it struggles under the specter of self doubt.” (63) With this knowledge, I assume that Dr. Nemur is insecure with his work because Charlie thinks that he is not confident with his work and is afraid to try new things in fear that they may fail. This is important to the plot because it reveals a part of Dr. Nemur that we otherwise would not be aware
Nemur is through his conversations. An example of this is when Charlie says “Dr. Nemur was saying that it was his experiment and his research.” (57) According to this, I can assume that Nemur is selfish because he is acting as if he has done all of the work for their experiment when Strauss has done as much as him. This trait is important to the story because if someone had not deciphered this then they would understand the tension between the two doctors due to Dr. Nemur’s selfishness. Additionally, Keyes uses Dr. Nemur’s thoughts to describe him. For instance, Charlie concludes “He has a very good mind, but it struggles under the specter of self doubt.” (63) With this knowledge, I assume that Dr. Nemur is insecure with his work because Charlie thinks that he is not confident with his work and is afraid to try new things in fear that they may fail. This is important to the plot because it reveals a part of Dr. Nemur that we otherwise would not be aware