Discussion Leader

STORY: Flowers for Algernon

NAME: Jihwan Park DATE: 2024.3.6

The Discussion Leader’s job is to …

CHAPTERS: report 12~13

“
• read the story twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it.
• ask one or two questions to start the Reading Circle discussion.

• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion.

• call on each member to present their prepared role information.

• guide the discussion and keep it going.

Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings, and questions as
you read. (What surprised you, made you smile, made you feel sad?) Write down your questions
as soon as you have finished reading. It is best to use your own questions, but you can also use
some of the ideas at the bottom of this page.

Prepare three Discussion Leader questions

Q1. Why did Charlie release Algernon?
Ans1: Looking at the book, Charlie opened the door of the box where Algernon was, regardless of
his will. Looking at this scene, Charlie felt that he was in the same situation with Algernan in his
heart. He wanted freedom from people who treated him only as experimental subjects, and it
seems that he took an action to open the door by reflecting this.

Q2. How did Charlie feel when Charlie and Algernon ran away from the conference together?
Ans2: They may feel liberated. On the other hand, they may be emotional and excited. And
Charlie may be thinking that he will visit his parents to recall various issues related to him, for
example, memories related to them.

Q3. There is a mention of the fact that Algernon shows strange behavior. What will happen to
Algernon and Charlie's intelligence later on?
Ans3: According to Burt's report, it can be seen that Algernon shows strange behavior at the peak
of intelligence. Therefore, when Algernon and Charlie reach their maximum of intelligence, they
will gradually show abnormal behavior, that is, side effects will occur. Eventually, intelligence
will decrease again.

Other general ideas:

• Questions about the characters (like / not like them, true to life / not true to life ...?)
• Questions about the theme (friendship, romance, parents/children, ghosts ...?)

• Questions about the ending (surprising, expected, liked it / did not like it ...?)

• Questions about what will happen next. (These can also be used for a longer story.)
Connector
STORY: CHAPTERS:
NAME: _______________ DATE: ________________

The Connector’s job is to …

C
• read the story twice, and look for connections between the story and the world outside.
• make notes about at least two possible connections to your own experiences, or to the
experiences of friends and family, or to real-life events.
• tell the group about the connections and ask for their comments or questions.
• ask the group if they can think of any connections themselves.

These questions will help you think about connections while you are reading.
Events: Has anything similar ever happened to you, or to someone you know? Does anything in
the story remind you of events in the real world? For example, events you have read about in
newspapers, or heard about on television news programmes.
Characters: Do any of them remind you of people you know? How? Why? Have you ever had the
same thoughts or feelings as these characters have? Do you know anybody who thinks, feels,
behaves like that?

Prepare three Connector questions

Q1. Charlie went to the conference and thought that the research topics of various professors were
cliched. Have you ever thought of Charlie at a conference these days?
Ans1: There is a famous conference in the field of computer vision called CVPR. I don't know
well, but I have thought that the field of computer vision has a feeling of mass production by
changing the subject of the thesis little by little.

Q2. Have you ever acted like Charlie, regardless of your will?
Ans2: I was going to sleep yesterday, but I unconsciously turned on my phone and watched
YouTube. I have a habit of falling asleep while watching YouTube, so I think I acted regardless of
my will.

Q3. Do you ever feel liberated from something?

Ans3: I can feel a sense of liberation at high school graduation. Due to the nature of Korea,
universities play a very important role. Therefore, it was a moment when the academic stress I had
to go to college was released. While in high school, these stresses had been subordinate to me, and
graduating from high school felt liberated from these things.
Word Master
STORY: CHAPTERS:
NAME: _______________ DATE: ________________
W
The Word Master’s job is to …

• read the story, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand,
or that are important in the story.
• choose five words (only five) that you think are important for this story.
• explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group.

• tell the group why these words are important for understanding this story.

Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:
• repeated often • used in an unusual way • important to the meaning of the story

1. MY WORDS: astonishing
Passage where the word occurs in the book: It’s astonishing how my power of recall is developing.
Meaning of the word: It has the same meaning as "suprise".
Reason for choosing the word: I didn't know the meaning of the word.
Make your own sentence with the word: He can move astonishing speed on the circular track.

2. MY WORDS: moron
Passage where the word occurs in the book: Anyone can feel intelligent beside a moron.
Meaning of the word: It has the same meaning as “stupid”.
Reason for choosing the word: I knew a word that meant stupid, but I've never heard of the word above.
Make your own sentence with the word: I won't call anyone a moron

3. MY WORDS: elopement
Passage where the word occurs in the book: He would never forgive her elopement with the sailor.
Meaning of the word: It means running away with your lover.
Reason for choosing the word: I didn't know the meaning of the word.
Make your own sentence with the word: Everyone are very surprised their elopement.

4. MY WORDS: blasphemer
Passage where the word occurs in the book: And I waited, as a blasphemer waits for lightning. I looked away.
Meaning of the word: It means a person who speaks profanely.
Reason for choosing the word: I didn’t know the meaning of the word, and unlike the words earlier in the book, this is a word
that makes me feel like Charlie is using a difficult word.
Make your own sentence with the word: He was labeled a blasphemer for challenging traditional beliefs

5. MY WORDS: fleshiness
Passage where the word occurs in the book: His father comes to the doorway, heavy, especially in the sagging fleshiness
of his face and neck.
Meaning of the word: It's a word that means you're gaining weight.
Reason for choosing the word: I didn't know the meaning of the word.
Make your own sentence with the word: Having fleshiness helps to withstand disease more effectively.
Culture Collector
STORY: CHAPTERS:
NAME: _______________ DATE: ________________

The Culture Collector’s job is to …

• read the story, and look for both differences and similarities between your own culture and the culture
found in the story.
• make notes about two or three passages that show these cultural points.
• read each passage to the group, or ask another group member to read it.

• ask the group some questions about these, and any other cultural points in the story.

Here are some questions to help you think about cultural differences.
Theme: What is the theme of this story (for example, getting married, meeting a ghost, murder, unhappy
children)? Is this an important theme in your own culture? Do people think about this theme in the same
way, or differently?
People: Do characters in this story say or do things that people never say or do in your culture?
Do they say or do some things that everybody in the world says or does?

MY CULTURAL COLLECTION (differences and similarities):

1. page 101 fourth paragraph
Differences : indoor smoking culture
I was becoming irritated, and I could see that Algernon, upset by the smoke, the buzzing, the unaccustomed surroundings, was
moving around in his cage nervously. I had the strangest compulsion to open his cage and let him out. It was an absurd thought-more
of an itch than a thought-and I tried to ignore it. But as I listened to Professor Clinger's stereotyped paper on "The effects of lefthanded
goal boxes in a T-maze versus right-handed goal boxes in a T-maze," I found myself toying with the release-lock mechanism of
Algernon's cage.

2. page 86 second paragraph

Similarities : a culture of death and religion
I've thought about death often in recent weeks, but not really about God. My mother took me to church occasionally -- but I don't recall
ever connecting that up with the thought of God. She mentioned Him quite often, and I had topray to Him at night, but I never thought
much about it. I remember Him as a distant uncle with a long beard on a throne (like Santa Claus in the department store on his big
chair, who picks you up on his knee and asks you if you've been good, and what would you like him to give you?). She was afraid of
Him, but asked favors anyway. My father never mentioned Him-it was as if God was one of Rose's relatives he'd rather not get
involved with.

MY CULTURAL QUESTIONS:
1. Does an indoor smoking culture exist in our country? What do you think about this culture?
2. What do you think of the connection between death and God?
3. What role do you think religion plays in our lives?