“I’m not smart.” Isn’t it amazing how much we hear that, usually from people who have more intelligence than they believe? Many people take their knowledge for granted, but I bet they wouldn’t if they read a certain story by Daniel Keyes. Flowers for Algernon is considered a science fiction novel, published in a variety of forms throughout the 1960s. It’s about a 37 year old man named Charlie Gordon, who happens to be mentally challenged. Thanks to his ambitious spirit, he is chosen to be the first to receive a special operation, claimed to triple one’s intelligence. Everyone is thrilled when it begins to work, but soon many negative side effects begin to occur, sinking Charlie down lower than he was before. I believe that for the sake of his …show more content…
I believe intelligence is like a flower, and water is the information that feeds the intelligence. Pour just the right amount at a time, and it’ll slowly grow into a blossom. However, if too much is poured at once, the flower will eventually suffocate and rot. Because of all of the knowledge Charlie learned at once, his intelligence rotted, just like a flower with too much water. “I’m forgetting things that I learned recently.” (page 220, line 784) Because his brain did not have the capacity to handle all that it was given, Charlie soon began forgetting even the most recent of things he learned. Soon enough, he forgot most everything he knew, so the operation was somewhat pointless. Another related point is that the operation left him less intelligent than before. Before the operation, his brain was dull but it definitely had some potential if he worked hard enough. Even though the operation cleared out the chronic cobwebs, soon enough the effects of it left his brain like an old light bulb, burnt out and rusted without repair. “I was looking at some of my old progress reports and its very funny but I cant read what I wrote.” (page 222, line