What's the Difference between Flowers For Algernon the Book and Charley the Movie?
| In the Book |
In the Movie |
Charlie Gordon
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Charlie Gordon
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Alice Kinnian
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Alice Kinnian
Portrayed by: Charlie
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| In the Book |
In the Movie |
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The story is told as a series of journal entries made by Charlie prior to and after his surgery as he develops and regresses. |
It is told in a typical fashion including a montage. |
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Charlie has a brief loving intimate relationship with Alice. |
Charlie forces Alice to kiss him, he stops when she slaps him.
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After his intelligence greatly increases Charlie leaves Beekman (taking Algernon with him) and lives in an apartment. When not drinking he continues research the experiment that made him more intelligent. |
Charley leaves and a montage shows him experiencing he counter culture. He returns and asks Alice to marry him. |
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Charlie has a relationship with Fay Lillman a neighbor near his apartment. She later avoids him as he regresses. |
Fay does not appear in the movie.
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Charlie writes in great detail about his childhood as his mother struggled with his retardation. |
No back story on Charley's past. |
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Charlie finds his parents and sister. His mother is confused and demented, but his sister is matured and loving. His father is estranged from the family and does not recognize Charlie when he gets a haircut at his dad's barber shop. |
Charley does not meet his family.
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In the book, Dr. Strauss is a male. |
In the movie, Dr. Strauss is a female. |
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When Charlie has fully regressed, he still remembers that he was once a genius, but decides to quit his bakery job again and move back to the Warren Home school. He ask Alice to put flowers on Algernon's grave. |
Alice visits Charly and asks him to marry her, but he tells her to leave.
In the end Alice watches Charly playing with children in a playground, fully reverted to his former low IQ.
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