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Flowers For Algernon Short Story

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All Over My Head Flowers for Algernon is a thought provoking short story by Daniel Keyes about a 36 year old man, Charlie Gordon, who had of an unusually low IQ of 68, that left his mind trapped in one similar to a 5 year olds. This lead his life through a rollercoaster of struggles he was desperate to change. He had been offered a surgery that was said to triple his IQ, and give him the “normal” life he always dreamed of. This being said, because this procedure had never been tested on anyone but a mouse, Algernon, the side effect were unknown not to mention unpredictable. After the surgery was performed Charlie went through a period of time with no change, and then within a few days his intelligence immediately skyrocketed, making him so smart his journal entry began to be difficult to understand from all of sophistication in word choice. This all came to an end quickly as his mind soon began to deteriorate as fast as it had grown. Charlie was better off after the surgery and made the right decision by having it done because it gave him insight …show more content…

The people he thought he trusted fell in the same group as all the other nobody in his life that just brought him down into a repeating cycle of hate and so much more that he can now see. Charlie uses the word “dumb” as if it's the opposite of standard society in a way and when people in general refer to the word dumb they have negative influences and Charlie is portraying this thought as one of his own because he has heard it so many times he's beginning to believe it himself. To succeed in life if you have enough determination it doesn’t matter whether or not you have the intelligence for it. Nothing worth putting time into will ever be easy because life is about giving 110% towards what means most to

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Charlie's childish naiveté made him a target for people to laugh at. Nevertheless, he didn't know the sophistication of people's words and was simply enjoying tangible things. "Everybody laughed and we had a good time... I don't know what that means, but everyone likes me and we have fun." (pg.

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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.

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His intelligence came with a price that made him rethink his entire situation. Charlie was happier with an IQ of 68 because he was oblivious to what was going on around him, people would treat him differently after the surgery, and he struggled with his identity. Charlie was happier when he was oblivious to what was going on around him. Being oblivious and ignorant is not a good thing, but in Charlie's case, not knowing

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“The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.” The great author, J. Krishnamurti said this quote. And this idea is exactly what the community in the book, “Flowers for Algernon,” written by Daniel Keyes needs to learn. An avid sci-fi story, this book leads us through the rendezvous of the main character Charlie Gordon, while becoming accompanied by a timid mouse, Algernon. Before, Charlie is considered the runt of the pack, an inefficient and clueless person, constantly wandering around.

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As the experiment takes an impact, Charlie’s knowledge expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who prepared his surgery. The

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I think that Charlie should have the surgery because of these 3 reasons, he is super smart, he realizes a lot more things in life , and that he can power through depression. The first reason that Charlie should have the surgery is that he is

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James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis” is about selfishness and reveals that you can't push someone to gain something as demonstrated by the authors use of characterization. Specifically James Hurst use of characterization is when the narrator is wanting the brother to do something that they don't want to do. The first insight to characterization occurs when the narrator tells doodle to touch the coffin when he doesn't want to. “I won't touch it, “He said sullenly” “Then I’ll leave you here by yourself” (318). The narrator's reference to “I’ll leave you here by yourself” illustrates that the narrator is very selfish and furthermore demonstrates how the narrator is careless about doodle and wants to push someone to gain something out of it.

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Charlie is not able to decipher what others understand, and therefore cannot talk to those close to him. Charlie is no longer on the same intellectual “level” as others, which is detrimental since being able to communicate with others is crucial to empathy and understanding between people. His lack of verbal connections plunges Charlie into a lonely abyss, without anyone who understands him. This newly obtained intelligence takes the ease and ability of communication away, leaving him alone and suppressed. Charlie further states that “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved… they hate me for my knowledge and understanding.

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The short story “Flowers for Algernon” written by Daniel Keyes tells the story of Charlie Gordon, a thirty-seven-year-old intellectually disabled man. He undergoes a life-changing operation that will triple his intelligence. Throughout the story, we get to know in depth of Charlie 's characteristics. One of the many tests Charlie is given is the Thematic Apperception test which is a test where a person is instructed to make up a story based on a specific picture.

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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.

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Anton Tompert Mrs. Veitch 3rd Period 2.15.18 Balance of Awareness Would it be worse to have an IQ of 204 or 68? Would it be worse to know everything but not be able to talk with anyone without frustration or know nothing but not be able to talk of anything more complex than third grade level? In the short science fiction story, “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon with an IQ of 68 and has a difficult time learning anything as simple as reading or writing is given the option to triple his intelligence with a suspicious surgery. Charlie, ignorant of the suspicion or risk that comes with this surgery is desperate to become intelligent as it is his only wish and nothing is more important to him. His teacher, Miss Kinnian recommend him for the surgery out of anyone in the class due to his egre and positive outlook on intelligence.

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Before, they laughed at me and despised me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding,” (Page 7). By looking at the evidence, we can see Charlie is unhappy being smart even though it’s something he’s always dreamt of. Now, he finally apprehends that being smart can be bad and result in losing many close friends and people he

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“Flowers for Algernon” Persuasive essay “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes is a science fiction story about a mentally impaired man who was given the chance to fix himself. Charlie Gordon, the mentally impaired man, should not have had the surgery done to him. The opportunist doctors did not care about Charlie, and only used him for their personal gain.

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For example, on page 299, “I felt sick inside as I looked at his dull, vacuous smile, the wide bright eyes of a child, uncertain but easy to please. And I had been laughing at him too. Suddenly, I was furious at myself and all those who were laughing at him.” Here, Charlie was realizing that people were mean and rude to people who weren’t like them. That people looked down to people who were different than them or not as smart.

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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.

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