How Is Charlie Smarter In Flowers For Algernon

In the book, Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, Charlie was better off after the surgery as he gained new knowledge that he had always wanted and cut relationships with people who made fun of him. In the novel, the main character, Charlie, suffers from a mental disability. Charlie’s IQ is 68 and is presented with an opportunity to have a surgery making him smarter. Always hoping to be smart one day, Charlie goes through with the surgery. This surgery does make him smarter, however, it also opens him up to things he did not have to worry about before such his relationships with people. Before Charlie’s surgery, he was made fun of by a lot of people including many he considered his friends. His increase in intelligence caused him to

Charlie says that for his whole life he has always wanted to be smart so the surgery he went through gave him what he always strived for. Since this was his dream for so long even if he only got to experience what he always wanted for a few months he still got what he wanted and achieved his goal. Another instance which proves Charlie wanted to be smart is when Charlie learns about being used in the surgery. Charlie says, “...their going to use me. I’m so exited I can hardley rite it down.” This demonstrates that he truly did want to be used for the experiment and believed it would be best for him. His excitement for being used in the surgery helps the reader understand how bad Charlie wants to be smarter which he got from the surgery. Charlie really wanted to be used for the experiment and wanted to get smarter. This surgery benefited him and he finally got what he wanted for so

Charlie’s increased level of intelligence helps him understand how his “friends” treated him. This is shown in the novel when Charlie says, “It's a funny thing I never knew that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have me around all the time to make fun of me. Now I know what it means when they say ‘to pull a Charlie Gordon.’ Charlie notices his friends are actually making fun of him when they say to “pull a Charlie Gordon.” He notices the true meaning of what they are saying and he does not like it. Because of this, he can stick up for himself and stand against the people making fun of him resulting in better relationships with other people and less people taking advantage of him. When Charlie starts noticing that people have been making fun of him, he says, “‘I’m sick and tired of people making fun of me. That’s all. Maybe before I didn’t know better, but I do now, and I don’t like it.”’ (57) He noticed that he is being made fun of and now cannot be taken advantage of as easily and can stand up for himself. Charlie notices that he is being made fun of by the people he thought of as his friends. This is good for him as he can stand up for himself. Due to his new operation, Charlie notices that the people who he thinks are his friends are actually making fun of him. This causes him to be more