Flowers for Algernon
Vocabulary

2 uses

what's wrong with a man becoming intelligent and wanting to acquire knowledge and understanding of the world around him?

acquire = come into possession

2 uses

i find the calculus of intelligence to be a fascinating study. here is the place for the application of all the knowledge i have acquired.

calculus = system of reasoning about or understanding

1 use

i just looked up the word in the dictionary dr strauss gave me. the word is subconscious. adj. of the nature of mental operations yet not present in consciousness; as, subconscious conflict of desires.†

conflict = struggle or disagreement

1 use

1 use

before, they laughed at me and despised me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding.

despised = disliked strongly and looked down on with disdain

1 use

1 use

i tried to avoid all discussions of intellectual concepts and to keep the conversation on a simple, everyday level, but she just stared at me blankly and asked me what i meant about the mathematical variance equivalent in dorbermann's fifth concerto.

equivalent = something that is in some way the same or equal to something else

1 use

i put flowers on algernons grave about once a week.

grave = serious and solemn

2 uses

2 uses

there is an accelerated loss of co-ordination. however, by all indications, my own mental deterioration will be very rapid.

indications = things that serve as signs to show other things

1 use

it infuriated me to think that not too long ago I, like this boy, had foolishly played the clown.

infuriated = annoyed or made angry

1 use

i thought he was mocking me and i'm oversensitive at being made fun of.

mocking = ridiculing (making fun of)

1 use

he was educated in the tradition of narrow specialization; the broader aspects of background were neglected far more than necessary—even for a neurosurgeon.

neurosurgeon = a surgeon who deals with the nervous system (including the brain)

1 use

i remembered how great i thought john milton was, but when i picked up paradise lost i couldn't understand it at all.

Paradise Lost = admired Milton epic poem of original sin (1667)

2 uses

its called robinson crusoe about a man who gets merooned on a dessert iland.

Robinson Crusoe = Daniel Defoe's famous novel and the name of its main character — a shipwrecked English sailor who survives on a small tropical island (1719)

1 use

...the movies or tv but i said they are in the closit in the hall. i got them. then i said let me see that card agen i bet ill find it now. i tryed hard but i still coudnt find the picturs i only saw the ink. i told him maybe i need new glases. he rote somthing down on a paper and i got skared of faling the test. i told him it was a very nice inkblot with littel points al around the eges. he looked very sad so that wasnt it. i said please let me try agen. ill get it in a few minits becaus...†

rote = memorization by repetition

1 use

symptoms of senility

senility = mental weakness caused by old age

1 use

1 use

...it necessary to see tangible results of his work. undoubtedly the result of pressure by mrs. nemur. contrary to my earlier impressions of him, i realize that dr. nemur is not at all a genius. he has a very good mind, but it struggles under the spectre of self-doubt. he wants people to take him for a genius. therefore, it is important for him to feel that his work is accepted by the world. i believe that dr. nemur was afraid of further delay because he worried that someone else might...†

spectre = a mental image of something frightening or disturbing

or:

a ghostly appearing image

1 use

...he worried that someone else might make a discovery along these lines and take the credit from him. dr. strauss on the other hand might be called a genius, although i feel that his areas of knowledge are too limited. he was educated in the tradition of narrow specialization; the broader aspects of background were neglected far more than necessary—even for a neurosurgeon. i was shocked to learn that the only ancient languages he could read were latin, greek, and hebrew, and that he...†

tradition = a long-established or previously long-established practice or belief

and/or:

one or more practices, beliefs, or stories passed down through generations within a specific culture or group