How Is Charlie Presented In Flowers For Algernon

In the 1960’s life for the mentally retarded was sheer hell. In the past, many mentally retarded people would be put in asylums or homes that were inhumane. They were teased and bullied mercilessly. Flowers for Algernon, written by Daniel Keyes, examines a mentally handicapped man by the name Charlie Gordon who undergoes an experimental surgery meant to double his Intelligence Quotient or IQ. Flowers for Algernon brought attention to the conditions faced by the mentally retarded, and today the treatment of this population has much improved since then. The treatment of the mentally disabled at that time is shown through Charlie's experiences in the book including bullying, shaming, and disrespect. The most prominent theme in Flowers for

Often Charlie was ridiculed, Keyes writes; “Sometimes somebody will say look it Frank, or Joe or even Gimpy. He really pulled a Charlie Gordon that time. I don't know why they say it but they always laugh and I laugh too” (23). Charlie was constantly mocked and made fun of at his workplace where he worked as a janitor and delivery boy. They constantly would tease him in this way but Charlie didn’t know what they meant because he not understanding that they were making fun of him laughed along. At the zenith of his intelligence, as he was starting to remember his childhood, Charlie himself realized how terrible he was treated because he was mentally retarded. Our world now more accepting and welcoming towards the mentally disabled was not always excepting especially in the time the book Flowers for Algernon was placed in. The book provides us with a clear picture of how the mentally disabled were treated. In the book when Charlie’s family is talking about options for Charlie one option being an institution for the mentally disabled. Charlie’s father had been reluctant unlike Charlie’s mother about sending him to an institution is they were cruel. This example shows how society was harsh towards the mentally