In Flowers for Algernon (1966) protagonist Charlie Gordon is trapped in a world of biopolitical control. Not only is he outcast and framed as an Agambian homo sacer, but he is also ‘programmed’ much like a robot through microfascisms planted in him from an early age.

This paper explores the biopolitical implications of Charlie’s exile, and the significance of exclusions and microfascisms as an effective means of social control. It asks: why does Charlie desire his own repression, and how does his double exclusion serve to replicate social codes and manufacture consent to sovereign rule?