The short story Flowers for Algernon is about a 37 year old man with learning disabilities. He agrees to take on an operation which will enhance his speed of learning and hopefully will make him 2 times smarter. Although the operation goes as planned in my opinion the man, Charlie, has changed negatively through it. In the beginning of the short story Charlie has poor social skills and thinks people who are working with him in a factory are his friends, but they are only mocking him. " Sometimes somebody will say hey look at Joe or Frank or George he really pulled a Charlie Gordon.
Did you do a Charlie Gordon? After the surgery, Charlie Gordon started learning and getting smarter each day, In the Book Flowers For Algernon. The Main Character Charlie Gordon was 38 Years Old but, Had AN IQ of 68 which made him. Mentally Handicapped so, there were 2 scientists that wanted to test out an operation that could Change Science.
Charlie Gordon is a simple minded 32 year old. The first piece of evidence showed that he has a basic mindset and would stick to what he was told by his mother, even in situations when the advice isn’t applicable. Additionally, the fact that he did not understand simple instructions reveal that Charlie is not that clever. On page 9, it is confirmed that Charlie is mentally retarded as he has an IQ of 68. However, he is still hard working and wished to get the surgery done so he could become smarter.
For Charlie Gordon being smart is all he wants,or so he thinks, Charlie has wanted to be smart for so long for so many reasons. In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Charlie learns that if you do not know then do not worry about it. After Charlie had an operation to gain his intelligence, the most important lesson Charlie learns is that ignorance is bliss. Charlie learns the lesson of ignorance is bliss through his friendships, situations, and his conclusions he has drawn in his writings.
Charlie liked the operation at first but then it started going downhill, he he couldn’t spell as easy, he didn’t recognize things like he did and forgot some things that smart Charlie wouldn’t. “I did a dumb thing today I forgot I wasnt in Miss Kinnians class at the adult center any more like I use to be.” (Keyes, 85) the Charlie before the operation would of never forgot about something important like class, he wanted to get smart so he could pass the raw shok test so he tried. While the operation was still working, Charlie was probably one of the smartest people, he realized people were actually making fun of him before when he thought they were just being a friend!
Charlie lost precious memories due to the A.I. surgery. He had greater self awareness, learned several new languages and grew emotionally. When the A.I. stopped working, charlie noticed the changes that were happening. “Why can’t I remember? I’ve got to fight.
Flowers for Algernon explores themes of ethical dilemmas in scientific research. Charlie Gordon is the first human to undergo an experimental operation to triple his IQ from 68 to 204. His mental capacities dramatically increase, but the consequences are drastic when the operation fails and he regresses. Under Charlie’s circumstances, the operation was unethical. Charlie, mentally disabled, cannot give informed consent.
IQ is only a number. Real happiness does not come from intelligence. It comes from the small things in life. Sometimes not knowing something is better than knowing. In the book, Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon was much happier when he was less intelligent.
“Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes is a story about a mentally handicapped man named Charlie who undergoes surgery to become smarter. However, as he grows smarter and smarter he starts to realize that being incredibly smart doesn't make life easier. Through this story, Daniel Keyes developes characterization to convey theme. Daniel Keyes develops characterization to convey the theme of the grass not always being greener on the other side. Throughout the story, we see that the smarter Charlie becomes, the worse life gets for him.
Daniel Keyes betrays the theme that intelligence doesn’t affect who you truly are. Before the operation, Charlie has a motivated characteristic and it is still there after the operation when he was getting more intelligent. I know this because in the passage it says, “ I’ll show that mouse I can be as smart as he is (Keyes p. 352),” which shows that Charlie is motivated before the operation . The test also says, “ Miss Kinnian teaches me to spell better (Keyes p. 358),” which shows that Charlie was still motivated and still working to get smarter after the operation. Charlie is a motivated character and that doesn’t change after the operation.
This operation did not just make him smart but it changed his whole life. After the operation Charlie was not as happy as he thought he would be. In Charlie's case, greater intelligence did not equal greater happiness because when Charlie gained his intelligence he learned the truth about how mean his “friends” were to him, he learned how unaccepting his family was, and he lost the people that were truly close to him. The
“Flowers For Algernon” is a short story by Daniel Keys. It is about a 37 year old mentally disabled man by the name of Charles Gordon. In this story he has a operation on his brain to triple his current intelligence. After the operation he is doubtful and confused as to if he was becoming any smarter. As the story progresses he soon matches the intelligence of the average adults around him, and is able to match their ways of living.
Before Charlies operation he was not able to express his feelings accurately, but Charlies temporary intelligence
Charlie gains intelligence like he always wanted, but only to have it be taken away in a time frame of a couple months. Charlie states that, “The hypothesis here proven may be described simply in the following terms: artificially increased intelligence deteriorates at a rate almost proportional to the quantity of the increase.” With realizing the cost of the surgery, he states, “Now that it’s definite, I don’t want it to happen.” Charlie experienced emotions such as anger, sadness, and even love with his intelligence. Now all this will be taken away; like taking away a favorite toy from a child.
The Resilience Of The Human Spirit Jamal Wallace is an inner-city kid from the Bronx with an aptness for basketball and a gift of writing. While always a C student, he scores very highly on the state’s standardized tests, and this comes to the attention of a well-distinguished New York preparatory school. A small mishap leads Jamal to the eccentric, uneasy, Pulitzer-winning author, William Forrester who has locked himself away in his apartment for many years. The start of their relationship is hostile and apprehensive at first because of Jamal’s social and racial background and Forrester’s age, but eventually Forrester begins to teach Jamal a thing or two about writing. This unexpected friendship leads William to overcome
