Intelligence doesn’t make you accepted in society. Many people admire intelligent individuals, but that doesn’t make them accepted. Being accepted comes from developing a personality. Having a high IQ can only get people so far. Being able to communicate effectively and understand what people are feeling helps people become socially acceptable. Charlie Gordon is a low-IQ individual. He believes that if he gets smarter people will start to like him more. In the novel, Flowers For Algernon Daniel Keyes demonstrates how being intelligent doesn’t make you socially acceptable with the Character Charlie Gordon. The book begins with Charlie Gordon a low-IQ individual given a chance to become smart through an operation. Charlie has always found it hard to fit in with people and he believes that if the operation is a success then “they will talk to [him] and [he] can sit with them” (March 11, 15). Charlie is referring to his co-workers from the bakery Joe, Gimpy, and Frank. He wants to be able to fit in but is convinced that he has to become intelligent to do so. Charlie begins to thrive to become intelligent, and you can see it throughout his progress reports, he firmly believes that if he becomes “smart [he] can have lots of friends to talk to” (March 11, 15). Charlie wants nothing …show more content…
One of Charlie’s teachers Alice. Charlie became close with Alice during his operation and after they started talking more. Alice started to notice that he was “getting senile and dull-witted” (June 6, 124). The operation caused Charlie to lose his “warmth, [his] openness, [his] kindness that made everyone like [him]” (June 6, 122). The operation made him less accepted by everyone around him. Charlie used to smile and be happy, but once he became smarter he lost that. Charlie thought everyone was still trying to make fun of him and laugh at him. This caused him to push away the people that were closest to