What does it mean that Algernon was the only detail Charlie remembered?

[Rose Ann]

Wow, I had never thought about this point before. I think it means that some time piece of the person they made him into has remained even though he has mostly regressed to what he was as the book started. Plus he had a connection to Algernon because they competed on the mazes, etc. We know that Charlie is a kind and decent person from the very beginning of the book. He is still kind a decent at the end, and I think he "remembers" that Algernon was important to him.

[C Z]

I read it that it meant through everything that happened to him in his old life and brief new life, Algernon was the most important part.
Sub-textually, Algernon represents the loss that Charlie is unable to fully quantify.

[Mijail]

I think that is because emotionally, is one very important connection that he makes. Maybe because he projects himself by the anger that Algernon appears to experiment, and it´s the only living being that is experimenting the same that he is feeling (anger, anxiety, etc).

[Cheryl]

Mijail wrote: "I think that is because emotionally, is one very important connection that he makes. Maybe because he projects himself by the anger that Algernon appears to experiment, and it´s the only living bei..."

Yes, I totally agree. He doesn't remember Alice because those were romantic feelings that he no longer seems capable of having. He was, however, able to witness the descent and death of Algernon. He did, while his intelligence remained, know that something was going to happen to him because of what happened to this mouse. Algernon was the only creature that could somewhat understand what Charlie underwent. I agree that emotionally, Algernon is an incredibly important connection for Charlie because they have a sort of brotherhood based on what they went through together- Algernon leading the way. Even in the beginning, Charlie witnessed Algernon's intelligence growing, and knew to expect that of his own. What a terrifying experience it was to see him die.

Also, the fact that he remembers what happened to Algernon shows that he is capable of retaining some memory of what happened to him- which is huge.