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Essay / Analysis of Charlie's dreams in Flowers for Algernon
In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie has dreams that hint at sexual repression that overwhelm Charlie's unconscious thoughts while disrupting his reality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Charlie's mother represses her sexual thoughts from a young age, causing Charlie to have nightmares about women, distressing his mental state. When young Charlie soils himself in front of his mother, he declares: "The penis is mine, but his mother will take it away from me like she always does." She will take it off and keep it for herself.” The tone used by Charlie suggests that he is inadvertently expressing a desire to free himself from his mother's repression of his sexual urges. It also implies that he doesn't appreciate her wanting to control his penis or his sexual proclivities. In the midst of a nightmare, Charlie describes: "But when Miss Kinnian reads the report, she gets angry and tears up the pages because they contain bad words... When I get home, Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss is waiting. me and they beat me for writing dirty things in the progress report.” This dream suggests that he fears entering into sexual contact with a woman because of Rose, Charlie's mother. Rose represses his sexuality and beats him every time he does anything that involves his penis. In the dream, Miss Kinnian represents his mother and her tearing up the pages symbolizes his mother beating him for writing crude words, which represent his sexual actions and thoughts. This nightmare suggests that Charlie's mother repressed her sexuality from a young age. On Charlie's second date with Alice, he recounts, "Charlie looked up to see a boy of fifteen or sixteen, crouching nearby...he saw that the boy's pants were open and he was exposed ". Charlie sees his past as he gets physical with Alice. The young boy's name is Charlie and his open pants represent him wanting to express his sexuality through sex with Alice. Charlie chases the boy away showing that he wants to get rid of his sexuality and that Rose's repressions on the old Charlie still persist inside the new Charlie. Rose's repressions towards Charlie have harmful consequences on her mental state, going so far as to disrupt her reality, such as seeing the boy with the pants open when he does not exist, and her relationship with Alice. Charlie has castration anxiety in his dreams. making him afraid of women. In a memory Charlie has when Norma is taking a bath and he glances inside, he recites: "Three blind mice...three blind mice,/See how they run!" See how they run!/They all run after the farmer's wife,/She cut off their tails with a carving knife,/Have you ever seen such a sight in your life,/Like three… blind… mice? This shows that Charlie fears the idea of castration. The farmer's wife cutting off the tails of the blind mice suggests that the tails represent Charlie's penis or manhood. Cutting off the tails, or penises, would mean Charlie losing his own penis, and he fears that could happen. His castration anxiety comes from a woman, or the farmer's wife in this case, and cutting off mice's tails establishes a fear of women in general. In another nightmare, Charlie describes: “There's a red-haired girl with her arms outstretched…she hugs me, kisses me, and caresses me…. I feel a strange bubbling and throbbing inside me…my pockets are empty.” The girl in Charlie's dream represents a woman and perhaps her sexual desires towards women. He enjoys the feeling..