Charlie Gordon's Flowers For Algernon

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The past is a very powerful thing, the life one has will never change 100%, but the past could have an influence on a person’s future and will definitely impact his life. While reading the novel, Flowers for Algernon, the main character Charlie Gordon's rough past affected who he is today. Charlie is a 32-year-old man born with mental disabilities. His one desire is to be treated “normal.” Charlie was wrongfully treated as a child. When Charlie got brain surgery he began to understand his past. Charlie's memories caused him to break inside and gave him awareness of his troubled childhood. He was mistreated by the people he called friends and he never understood why. When he was given brain surgery he lived life like a real person. Charlie’s …show more content…

One of these things involve relationships, when he was in a relationship with Alice Kinnian or Fay, he was afraid to do many things. When Charlie went out with Miss Kinnian to the movies, Charlie did not know how to react because he was not used to these things so, Charlie was new to these things. “Twice her bare arm touch mine on the armrest, and both times the fear that she would become annoyed made me pull back. All I could think about was her soft skin just inches away. Then I saw, two rows ahead of us, a young man with his arm around his girl, and I wanted to put my arm around Miss Kinnian. Terrifying. But if I did it slowly... first resting my arm on the back of her seat... moving up... inch by inch... to rest near her shoulders and the back of her neck... casually... I didn’t care. The best I could do was rest my elbow on the back of her seat, but by the time I got there I had to shift position to wipe the perspiration off my face and neck” (Keyes 76). When Charlie was little, his mom and him did not have a good relationship, they would always fight and she would smack him a lot. Charlie did not have good romance because when he was little, his mom accused him of sexualilty with his sister when he “spied” on her in the bath. Now, since Charlie did not have a good relationship with his family, he does not know how to have a good relationship with people. Charlie is afraid of most things when it comes to being in a relationship. The past affected him and now he does not have a lot of love in his