Erin M. Laur wrote:
>Is Flowers for Algernon really considered Science Fiction? I haven't
>read it in a real long time, but I don't remember classifying it that
>way. Isn't that the novel similar in plot and theme to the movie
>Awakenings?
The events of Awakenings really happened. There is an excellent book of
the same name by Oliver Sacks that goes into the scientific details as
well as the stories of several of the patients (only one of whom was the
primary focus of the movie).
Flowers for Algernon is very much science fiction in that it posits
an experimental drug that increases intelligence, something that doesn't
exist today. The main character follows a similar arc to de Niro's
character in Awakenings in that they both are considered sub-normal at
the beginning, rise steeply to a creative, energetic high, then subside
once again to their former state (or close to it). But the underlying
conditions are different.
Now that I'm thinking of it, the reality Sacks talks about in his
book is weird and thought-provoking enough that it almost feels like
science fiction!
-----
Janice E. Dawley ............. Burlington, VT
http://homepages.together.net/~jdawley/jedhome.htm
Listening to: Radiohead - OK Computer
"Reality is nothing but a collective hunch." - Lily Tomlin
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:06:59 PDT