“Flowers for Algernon” Argumentative Essay
“Flowers for Algernon”, written by Daniel Keyes, is a touching composition that portrayed hope for a mentally impaired man, Charlie Gordon. However, the operation to increase his intelligence failed, with devastating consequences. Undoubtedly, the operation should not have been performed on Charlie for a number of reasons. First of all, it introduced him to the inhumane society that he lived in. Secondly, he was treated as if he was an experiment, not a human being. Charlie’s life would never be the same again; Moreover, it was possible he regressed to an even worse state than before the surgery. Nothing hurt Charlie more than being giving a taste of the ‘perfect’ life, only to have it diminished before his eyes. His fate was beyond anyone’s control at that point. All he wanted was to be accepted, but what he received was rejection! Society’s judgement upon Charlie truly became apparent to him after the operation. When he was finally able to perceive the world around him, Charlie realized that his co-workers, Frank and Joe, never intended to be his real friends. Everything Charlie was oblivious to became obvious to the newly become genius. At work, almost everyone found his gift of high intellect to be strange, not meeting the standards of societal normality;
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He felt emotions in a stronger way, comprehended the world more clearly, and made his own decisions. Though it gave him memories to cherish, in the end, it was more difficult to let go of the life he had always wanted. The doctors had only used him for the purpose of research, an unforgivable act of greed! Only after Algernon’s death did Charlie come to terms with the fact that soon he would regress as well. He made the decision to leave his old life behind, accepting his unalterable fate. Inevitably, Charlie’s probable demise was likely a result of the surgery; therefore, his life was