Even in the world of make-believe there have to be rules. The parts have to be consistent and belong together.

Thank God for books and music and things I can think about." --Charlie Gordan

How can I make him understand that he did not create me? He makes the same mistake as the others when they look at a feeble-minded person and laugh because they don't understand there are human feelings involved.

The only question now is: How much can I hang on to?

Now I understand that one of the important reasons for going to college and getting an education is to learn that the things you've believed in all your life aren't true, and that nothing is what it appears to be.

When he admitted this to me, I found myself almost annoyed. It was as if he'd hidden this part of himself in order to deceive me, pretending-- as do many people I've discovered--to be what he is not. No one I've ever known is what he appears to be on the surface.

I put Algernon's body in a cheese box and buried him in the backyard. I cried.