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Norma Gordon
A worker at the bakery alongside Charlie Gordon—the only worker who doesn’t sign the petition to have Charlie fired. While Fanny doesn’t dislike or resent Charlie, she’s suspicious of Charlie’s operation, and cites the Biblical story of Adam and Eve as proof that humans are not meant to pursue knowledge.
Fanny Birden Quotes in Flowers for Algernon
The Flowers for Algernon quotes below are all either spoken by Fanny Birden or refer to Fanny Birden. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Progress Report 11 Quotes
She stared down at the bride and groom on the wedding cake she was decorating and I could see her lips barely move as she whispered: "It was evil when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge. It was evil when they saw they was naked, and learned about lust and shame. And they was driven out of Paradise and the gates was closed to them. If not for that none of us would have to grow old and be sick and die."
There was nothing more to say, to her or to the rest of them. None of them would look into my eyes. I can still feel the hostility. Before, they had laughed at me, despising me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hated me for my knowledge and understanding. Why? What in God's name did they want of me?
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One of Charlie's coworkers at the bakery, a woman named Fanny Birden, tells Charlie about the "danger" of his brain surgery. By gaining intelligence, Fanny suggests, Charlie is sacrificing his innocence and childlike goodness. Fanny makes this claim by citing the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, in which the first human beings lost their innocence and innate goodness by eating from the Tree of Knowledge.We've already had ample evidence for the point Fanny is making. Charlie, newly intelligent, is indeed becoming a little arrogant, a little pompous, and a little dismissive of those who are intellectually inferior to him Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut min
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Fanny Birden Character Timeline in Flowers for Algernon
The timeline below shows where the character Fanny Birden appears in Flowers for Algernon. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Progress Report 8
...read. Joe laughed and told Charlie that he was wasting his time. As Joe laughs, Fanny Birden, another bakery employee, scolds Joe and tells Charlie that she admires him for wanting...
(full context)
After work that day, Charlie follows Fanny’s directions to the adult learning center, where he finds a group of adult students, led...
(full context)
Progress Report 9
...Gimpy, the head baker, isn’t around, and usually he isn’t allowed to touch the mixer. Fanny Birden tries to argue with Joe Carp, but Joe tells Fanny, “it’s April Fool’s Day.”
(full context)
Charlie proceeds to work the dough-mixer, much to everyone’s surprise. Fanny Birden finds this very exciting, since it took Oliver two full years to learn how...
(full context)
Progress Report 11
Charlie finds Fanny Birden, the one woman who refused to sign the petition. Fanny explains that she finds...
(full context)
