Argumentative Essay On Flowers For Algernon

“Flowers for Algernon” Argumentative Essay In the story “Flowers for Algernon”, written by Daniel Keyes, a mentally challenged, thirty-seven year old man named Charlie Gordon received a once in a lifetime opportunity- he may be able to triple his intelligence. The experiment- which was not tested on humans- was run by two doctors: Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss. The medical professionals were opportunists and would try anything for the experiment to work- even permanently subdue humans. Charlie dreamed that his chance to be an average, intelligent man would arrive. Charlie was blind to the hardships he would face. These hardships are extremely difficult to overcome by a mortal man. The thoughts of being rejected by society, becoming a human guinea

Charlie’s mindset of normalcy was to become intellectual; Charlie would bound at the first possible second to acquire his dream. Once Charlie was introduced to an experimental operation, Charlie craved the idea of being the test subject. Little to his knowledge, Charlie would be the first human trial with the operation. The desired after effect of both the doctors- apex opportunists- and Charlie was to increase the intelligence of a disabled man. The doctors exploited Charlie’s optimistic state, which shielded him from the dangers of the experiment. Once the operation was completed, Charlie was tested by racing a mouse, Algernon, through a maze- a simple one at that- to show just how inadequate Charlie was. Algernon was give the same operation as Charlie; nevertheless, Charlie was still compared to an inferior species to mankind. The initial “success” of the experiment superseded all of the scientists’ predictions- Charlie was ecstatic with his newly acquired intelligence. Charlie was lied to about how society would benefit from the surgery; the truth though, was that society would not know the achievements that Charlie Gordon created. Charlie may have become a human sacrifice as a result of the surgery; he would die as alone as when he was retarded. Charlie was too advanced for the geniuses around him, forcing him to become an even greater outcast than before the surgery. Charlie was able to see the failure of the experiment as a result of being an