Daniel Keyes Relation to Plato's Theory on Light and Darkness
Daniel Keyes utilizes an excerpt from Plato's The Republic to exemplify the experiences of his main character, Charlie Gordon, in Flowers for Algernon. In the beginning of his novel, Charlie was blinded by ignorance just as Plato describes an individual in the dark. For example, Gimpy and his friends at the bakery play practical jokes on Charlie, which is easy for an intelligent person to do without the knowledge of unjustified criticism. Charlie is unaware that his friends at the bakery are even making a mockery of him.
The operation performed by Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur can be related to Plato's revelation of a person in darkness to the light. Charlie's gradual increase of knowledge reveals a world of many opportunities that he has never experienced before. Just as Plato states, Charlie Gordon is disoriented due to this transition from dark to light. Although Keyes introduces the increase in Charlie's intellectual capacity, his emotional ability has not yet matured. The novel indicates a time when Charlie experiences this lag of emotional feeling when he is alone with Alice and he is unable to act upon his love for her.
A transition occurs and the same experience of confusion lies within the main character. Charlie visits the Warran House and he asks Mr. Winslow what he means when the staff give up their time. When he can not wrap his head around these simple concepts, Keyes demonstrates his slow migration back to the darkness. Unfortunately, the time of light in Charlie Gordon slowly begins to fade until he is ultimately left in the dark once again.
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