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Daniel Keyes Flowers For Algernon

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Plot Synopsis
Flowers for Algernon is written as a series of progress reports by a mentally challenged man by the name of Charlie Gordon. He gets the opportunity to undergo a surgical procedure that will dramatically increase his mental capabilities. He documents everything that happens to him during his journey of becoming a genius. The increase in Charlie's intelligence isn’t necessarily a good thing because he realizes that the world isn’t the way he thought it was. He started to see the bad in people and not just the good. After becoming so smart he soon figures out a “fatal flaw” in the operation. His intelligence slowly decreased until he finally passed away.

Character Analysis In Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon is a hero in the sense that he shows that people shouldn’t take things for granted as he is a mentally handicapped and all he wants in life is to be a genius so that people will like him. Throughout the book Charlie changes as he goes from being an innocent, happy, mentally handicapped man who sees only the good in others, to a genius who has an increased ability to see beyond superficial and into the true motivations of others. He soon realizes that he has been an object of ridicule at the hands of his fellow workers, which causes him to feel lost. …show more content…

He only sees the good in people, and is oblivious to the world around him. He works at bakery with people who he believes are his friends, but really all they do is laugh and make fun of him. At one point in the story, his so called “friends” get him drunk, embarrass him in front of a crowd, beat him up, then leave him wondering the streets. Poor Charlie doesn’t even know what is going on so he thinks it is all a

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The story, "Flowers for Algernon", by Daniel Keyes, articulates a vacuous man's journey as he undergoes an operation which will lead him to being a genius. Charlie Gordon was born mentally challenged, but precedes an honest, kind, and simple mien. Throughout his journey, Charlie saw the world in a different view as his intelligence increases, but it had drew a wedge between him and the world. As a man who no longer owns the enjoyment of life, Charlie turned into a somber loner. Daniel Keyes used this story to convey that people are each created beautifully and uniquely; intrusions will only take away the arcane happiness inside life's marrow.

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Flowers for Charlie “Those who use others are stupid but those who are used are even more stupid” (Internet). Charlie Gordon, the main character in Daniel Keyes’ book, Flowers for Algernon, ended up being in worse condition after undergoing a surgical procedure that was supposed to heighten his intelligence. Furthermore, the scientists unfortunately did not use ethics or take enough care in treating Charlie causing his now worse condition to be their own fault. Their greed led them to abuse and take advantage of Charlie, a very gullible and persuadable because of his low intelligence, and their mistakes led Charlie to his death, the ultimate sacrifice.

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The setting of “Flowers for Algernon” takes place in New York during the 1960s where people with mental disabilities were treated unfairly. Even though Charlie and Max persevered through similar situations, Charlie had a different personality. Unlike Max, Charlie was innocent, extroverted, and naive. We know this because Keyes presented in the book, “Everybody laffed and we had a good time and they gave me lots of drinks and Joe said Charlie is a card when he is potted”(Keyes 40). With Charlie being outspoken, he was able express in a positive manner what he was feeling and believed.

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1. Charlie doesn’t feel like he belongs ever. Either he is not smart enough or too smart. There is never a happy medium with society. When he can tell he obviously is different it makes it harder when everyone points it out.

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O ne reason this novel has achieved so much success is because of the realistic and truthful themes that it addresses. Silvey has constantly kept his readers turning the next page with this mysterious storyline and quality piece of literature. Australian award winning novel Jasper Jones, written by Craig Silvey and published in 2009 tells a story set in 1960 about a boy Charlie Bucktin, only at the age of thirteen does he find himself befriending Jasper Jones a 14 year old half Indigenous boy who was an outcast within his neighbourhood. The town of Corrigan isn’t the most tolerant with other races so for Jasper, Corrigan wasn’t exactly an ideal home. As Charlie finds himself side by side with Jasper Jones, someone who is denied by society he is enlightened.

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Lastly, Charlie came across from a man who had mental problems, like what Charlie used to have, and he recognized how society shuts him out and disgraced him. Charlie apprehended that this was the way society treated him when he had mental issues. After the surgery, which Charlie was a human experiment, he is informed about all the social conflicts

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The narrative arc in the short story “ Flowers For Algernon” and the film “Charly,” share many similarities and differences. The short story is told from Charlie’s perspective whereas the film is told from an omniscient point of view. The different perspectives give the readers a sense of emotional attachment to the characters. In the text, Charlie’s narration develops a critical mood. On the contrary, the narration of the film creates a more emotional point of view and connects with the audience at a more profound level.

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In this particular novel, Charlie is simple minded, and then—after the operation—brighter, while his coworkers are inconsiderate, and then become more understanding. Charlie Gordon seems to be very fortunate: he is caring, hardworking, and naturally motivated. Unfortunately, he is limited by his intelligence—at least, before the operation. Prior to it, Charlie is very simple-minded, cannot think in a complex manner, and incapable of reading emotions. Rather, he takes everything literally; for example, during the Rorschach (inkblot) test, he struggles to see anything besides “…an

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In “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, details about Charlie’s relationships with people he works with are revealed and the first person point of view helps us understand what Charlie thinks.  For instance, in “Progress Report 8-Mar 25” Charlie writes, “Joe Carp said… what did they do Charlie put some brains in you. … Frank Riley said what did you do forget your key and open the door the hard way. … Their really my friends and they really like me,” on page 188.

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Charlie got to have a taste of what the ‘smart life’ was like and was tired of it. He wanted to be the old Charlie Gordon again, he knew that he was happy that way. Charlie got to work at the bakery and loved it every second that he was there, but after he got operated on, he dreaded going to the bakery because he got treated differently than everyone else. As the ‘smart Charlie’ slowly faded away, he went back to the bakery and again, started to love every minute of it, he went and gave all of his true friends a hug and proceeded to work once again. Even before going back to the bakery, when he was in Chicago, Charlie realized who his true friends were.

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Flowers For Algernon Person Vs Society. Our day to day lives force us to interact with people everyday, as a result, people must interact with those with less intelligence. Throughout the book people look at Charlie differently because he has a lower intelligence. Later in the book, as he is getting smarter, people start looking at him like he’s a human being and not some type of alien. This is because Charlie gets a special operation that makes him smarter and smarter each day.

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