Speaker: Carmen Bonasera @CarmenBonasera
Affiliation: University of Bologna
Co-author: Piergiorgio Trevisan
Title: Neurodivergence, Foregrounding, and Narrative Empathy in Flowers for Algernon: A Reader-response Study
Abstract (long version below): In order to shed light on the role of language in eliciting narrative empathy towards unconventional characters, this paper empirically investigates the effects of foregrounding on empathic responses to Daniel Keyesâs âFlowers for Algernonâ, a short story about a cognitively delayed character who, after a futuristic treatment, turns into a genius and then regresses to neurodivergence. Our survey-based study hypothesized that readers exposed to the original version of the story, rich in foregrounded elements reflecting the characterâs evolving mental state, would experience more intense empathic reactions compared to those reading a version with reduced foregrounding.
Long abstract
While the topic of narrative empathy is currently gaining momentum in theoretical and empirical research in the humanities, there is still much to understand about the actual empathic engagement that readers establish with fictional characters. In this sense, a stimulating case is represented by unconventional, unreliable or idiosyncratic characters (Caracciolo 2016), especially those who deviate from social norms (Bonasera 2023) and those who have some form of developmental disorder or present some neurodivergent traits (Trevisan 2023). Furthermore, research indicates that stylistics can help uncover the connection between empathetic reader responses and textual features, thus shedding light on readerly experiences of narrative empathy (cfr. Fernandez-Quintanilla and Stradling 2023). For instance, foregrounding has been extensively scrutinized in empirical studies relating to the readersâ affective responses (Miall and Kuiken 1994; Miall and Kuiken 1999; Hakemulder 2004; Fialho 2007; Van Peer et al. 2007; Koopman 2016; BĂĄlint et al. 2017; KuzmiÄovĂĄ et al. 2017). In particular, Scapin et al. (2023) suggest that deeper processing of foregrounding in literary reading may lead to higher empathic reactions and that de-automatization during this process can prompt readers to gain deeper insights into themselves and others.
This study extends prior empirical research on narrative empathy to investigate the impact of literary style, particularly foregrounding, on readersâ empathic connection with unconventional characters. More specifically, it focuses on a survey-based analysis of readersâ responses to âFlowers for Algernonâ (1959), a popular sci-fi short story by Daniel Keyes. The story follows the journey of Charlie Gordon, a cognitively delayed character who, thanks to a futuristic surgery, turns into a neurotypical individual first and into a genius later. However, his enhanced abilities eventually deteriorate, leading to regression to his original condition. The style in which the âprogress reportsâ are written meticulously reflects the characterâs mental conditions as they undergo abrupt changes: at the beginning, Charlieâs self-reported accounts feature numerous spelling errors, underlexicalization and an overall childish syntax, while during the âgenius conditionâ he highly enhances his mastery of linguistic and grammatical patterns, delivering overlexicalized reports filled with figures of speech and specialized lexicon.
Given the emphasis that is placed on language in this short story, our investigation attempts to unveil the potential connection between style and the readersâ affective reactions to the characterâs story arc. Despite its popularity, emotional and empathic reactions to this story have scarcely (if all) been investigated from stylistic and/or linguistic perspectives. Therefore, this study aims at testing whether foregrounding is connected to the readersâ empathic reactions to a story featuring an unreliable and neurodivergent character. The hypothesis underlying our survey-based investigation with real readers (N = 80) is that those who are offered the original version of the story, with higher levels of foregrounded features, are able to experience more intense emotional and empathic reactions than those who read a version in which foregrounding is reduced.
The surveys were devised and delivered online through the Qualtrics survey platform. Two identical surveys were built, differing only in the excerpts provided. In fact, the participants were divided into two groups and assigned either the original or the manipulated version of four selected excerpts from the short story, one for each of the mental conditions that the protagonist goes through (âcognitively impaired 1â, âneurotypicalâ, âgeniusâ, âcognitively impaired 2â). In both surveys, the excerpts were presented following the same order as in the plot, so as to let readers familiarize with the characterâs changes in mental functioning in the way the author intended.
The versions of the chosen excerpts differ in the level of foregrounded textual features: the original texts possess a high level of semantic, phonetic and grammatical foregrounding that prompts the style to significantly deviate from ordinary language in both the âcognitively impairedâ and âgeniusâ conditions; such levels of foregrounding are instead systematically reduced in the manipulated versions, providing a much more neutral writing style.
As far as quantitative measures are concerned, âtrait empathyâ was assessed by using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis 1983). To assess âstate empathyâ during reading, we employed validated measures for affective, cognitive, and associative empathy (Shen 2010) and for empathic distress (Koopman 2016). To assess the readersâ perception of foregrounded features and aesthetic attractiveness of the text, we employed further scales developed by Koopman (2016). A final, open-ended question inquiring about the specific feelings that the excerpt aroused was added following the results of a pilot study, in order to integrate the quantitative measures with qualitative ones. We expect higher levels of affective, cognitive and associative empathy to arise in readers of the non-manipulated excerpts, especially while reading the final one, when Charlie is painfully aware of his return to cognitive impairment. In sum, this study is conceived as a further contribution to the research into the potential of literary language to elicit affective reactions, whose benefits may even be transformative on an ethical level.
References
BĂĄlint, K., Hakemulder, F., Kuijpers, M., Doicaru, M., & Tan, E.S. (2016). Reconceptualizing foregrounding. Identifying response strategies to deviation in absorbing narratives. Scientific Study of Literature 6(2), 176â207.
Bonasera, C. (2023). Exploring the potential of Sentiment Analysis for the study of negative empathy. Journal of Literary Semantics 52(2), 163â189.
Caracciolo, M. (2016). Strange Narrators in Contemporary Fiction. Explorations in Readersâ Engagement with Characters. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press.
Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 44, 113â 126.
Fernandez-Quintanilla, C., & Stradling, F. (2023). Introduction: stylistic approaches to narrative empathy. Journal of Literary Semantics 52(2), 103â121.
Fialho, O. (2007). Foregrounding and Refamiliarization: Understanding Readersâ Response to Literary Texts. Language and Literature 16(2), 105-123.
Hakemulder, J.F. (2004). Foregrounding and Its Effect on Readersâ Perception. Discourse Processes 38(2), 193â218.
Koopman, E. (2016). Effects of âLiterarinessâ on Emotions and on Empathy and Reflection After Reading. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts 10(1), 82â98.
KuzmiÄovĂĄ, A., Mangen, A., StĂžle, H., & Begnum, A.C. (2017). Literature and readersâ empathy: A qualitative text manipulation study. Language and Literature 26(2), 137â152.
Miall, D.S., & Kuiken, D. (1994). Foregrounding, defamiliarization, and affect: Response to literary stories. Poetics 22(5), 389â407.
Miall, D.S., & Kuiken, D. (1999). What is literariness? Three components of literary reading. Discourse Processes 28(2), 121â138.
Scapin, G., Loi, C., Hakemulder, F., BĂĄlint, K., & Konijn, E. (2023). The role of processing foregrounding in empathic reactions in literary reading. Discourse Process 60(4-5), 273â293.
Shen, L. (2010). On a Scale of State Empathy During Message Processing. Western Journal of Communication 74(5), 504â524.
Trevisan, P. (2023). Characterâs mental functioning during a âneuro-transitionâ: Pragmatic failures in Flowers for Algernon. Language and Literature 32(1), 46â59.
Van Peer, W., Zyngier, S., & Hakemulder, J. (2007). Foregrounding: Past, present, future. In D. Hoover & S. Lattig (Eds.), Stylistics: Prospect and retrospect (pp. 1â23). Atlanta, GA: Rodopi.