79. Gestalts

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What better diagnosis for Charlie’s evolution than Algernon’s own behavior? Confusion, listlessness, urgency and – above all – a decrease in general motivation will make us understand how much of Algernon’s latest manifestations might be foreseen for Charlie.

There have been few women in Charlie’s life, and their passage through Charlie's existence mean so much to him - in fact, to all of us: his mother, his sister, and the traumas inflicted upon Charile; and now Faye and, of course Alice, and the dichotomy love-sex. Charlie, still at the peak of his intellectual capacity, finds a way to shape his emotions in words: deep, heartfelt words.

  

Linguistic Gestalt:
Story of Your Life, by Ted Chiang

 The words here are pure Art. Techniques like this one, which Daniel Keyes has taken to perfection, have been initiated in Ancient Greece while perfecting the art of Oratory (i.e. the art of speaking in public). Timing what you say and how you say it, and devising the speech with which you persuade the audience that what you say is true have been developed along the millenia. But shaping through words the process of becoming of a human being has only happened through Keyes's work.

Flowers for Algernon (10)

Daniel Keyes

May 23—It happened today. Algernon bit me. I visited the lab to see him as I do occasionally, and when I took him out of his cage, he snapped at my hand. I put him back and watched him for a while. He was unusually disturbed and vicious.

 May 24—Burt, who is in charge of the experimental animals, tells me that Algernon is changing. He is less co-operative; he refuses to run the maze any more; general motivation has decreased. And he hasn’t been eating. Everyone is upset about what this may mean.

May 25— They’ve been feeding Algernon, who now refuses to work the shifting-lock problem. Everyone identifies me with Algernon. In a way we’re both the first of our kind. They’re all pretending that Algernon’s behavior is not necessarily significant for me. But it’s hard to hide the fact that some of the other animals who were used in this experiment are showing strange behavior.

BBC World: Scotland

Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur have asked me not to come to the lab any more. I know what they’re thinking but I can’t accept it. I am going ahead with my plans to carry their research forward. With all due re­spect to both of these fine scientists, I am well aware of their limita­tions. If there is an answer, I’ll have to find it out for myself. Suddenly, time has become very important to me.

CHARLY (IX)

BBC World: Aurora Borealis over Scotland