Flowers for Algernon There are a lot of great books written originally in English. In most cases, foreigners understand them by reading translated editions. However, some English novels are very difficult for them to enjoy by the translations, such as "Flowers for Algernon." The main character, called Charlie Gordon, keeps a diary. In the beginning, he is unable to spell English words correctly. After a special brain operation, Charlie gradually becomes able to command language better, and finally attains "intelligence." What is interesting is that his grammatical mistakes in English are quite different from those of Japanese learners of English. Charlie can "speak" English fluently, but he errs when writing down words in his diary. Daniel Keyes, who wrote this novel, seems to show Charlie's development of intelligence by comparing between wrong spellings and correct ones. On the other hand, most Japanese people assume that writing English is easier than speaking English, so they tend to put more importance on speaking ability; I have trouble understanding why Charlie can't spell decent English words though he speaks English without difficulties. If Daniel Keyes had had some experiences to teach English to Japanese students, he would have created the novel story quite differently.