Charlie Gordon is a simple minded 32 year old. The first piece of evidence showed that he has a basic mindset and would stick to what he was told by his mother, even in situations when the advice isn’t applicable. Additionally, the fact that he did not understand simple instructions reveal that Charlie is not that clever. On page 9, it is confirmed that Charlie is mentally retarded as he has an IQ of 68. However, he is still hard working and wished to get the surgery done so he could become smarter.
Charlie pondered of the idea the same may happen to himself. He later discovered the Algernon-Gordon effect. It’s were you get brain stimulators and increases your brain activity, but once you reach your peak, you slowly regress like Algernon and eventually pass away. The book never says what happened to Charlie, all it said was he was leaving (running away) because he didn’t want everyone to watch him die, a slow and scary death. The last things he said was, (exactly how Charlie wrote it in his current degreasing state) “Please if you get a chanse put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard ...
But when Charlie got the surgery, he realized when his intelligence was wearing off, he got super depressed but he powered through the depression. One quote from the book that indicates depression is “please... please let me not forget how to read and write.” (keyes 25). Even though he is forgetting how to read and write and he is getting depressed, he powers through the depression. On the last page he says “im taking a cuple of books along and even if i cant reed them ill practise hard and maybe i wont forget every thing i learned.
You can’t be in the military until you are 18 years old but in the novel Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card there is a much different approach on that topic. This novel follows the life of Ender Wiggin. Ender has a special ability and is very advanced for his young age. Ender grew up being the 3rd child, which is not very normal for a family in this time period, and his brother bullies him for it. Ender is chosen by the government to join the military.
To emphasize, Charlie ran away from home since he knew that he was going to die. “Thats why 1m going away from New York for good. I dont want to do nothing like that agen.” (Keyes 21). A few weeks after the operations, Charlie knew that his brain was shrinking because he started to do research on Algernon who had received the same operations.
The author uses this device to show the character’s realization of how American society values intelligence and education. As Charlie’s intelligence grows, he is able to understand and connect with his peers, as shown when he says, “I am beginning to understand Algernon’s behavior, and it’s beginning to make sense to me” (Keyes, 23). This quote highlights how knowledge can foster empathy and understanding, which is
There is an important theme in the story Flowers for Algernon By Daniel Keyes. It is a fiction novel about a thirty year old man who has been battling to overcome an intellectual deficit all of his life and has an opportunity to become more intelligent than he ever had imagined through an experimental operation. He takes the opportunity and in a few weeks he becomes a genius for a short time before his itelligence receded as fast as it increased. The author includes many important themes throughout the passage. Daniel Keyes develops the theme that intelligence doesn’t affect who you truly are through Charlie’s experiences both before and after the operation.
While Charlie was still intelligent, the social part of his life turned against him. Charlie noticed the society as they were starting to have conflicts with him. Joe and Frank- Charlie’s “best friends”- constantly acted as if they were his best friends, but they did not like him at all. At the factory, the entire staff ,except for one person, signed a petition to obtain Charlie Gordon to be fired.
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.
The doctors exploited Charlie’s optimistic state, which shielded him from the dangers of the experiment. Once the operation was completed, Charlie was tested by racing a mouse, Algernon, through a maze- a simple one at that- to show just how inadequate Charlie was. Algernon was give the same operation as Charlie; nevertheless, Charlie was still compared to an inferior species to mankind. The initial “success” of the experiment superseded all of the scientists’ predictions- Charlie was ecstatic with his newly acquired intelligence.
He got mad that the doctor was teasing him because the doctor didn't believe Charlie when he said that he was once a genius. His emotional state has gotten worse because now he is getting more frustrated by the little things that have been happening to him. From this short story alone, this shows why we shouldn't pursue artificial intelligence. A major second reason why we shouldn't pursue artificial intelligence is that smart drugs aren't something that you should take, because there are many harmful side effects including seizures, heart attacks, brain injury, Alzheimer's, and even
Like everybody around here’s been saying, Charlie, it’s not right.” Charlie’s response to that was, “But how can you say that, Fanny? What’s wrong with a man becoming intelligent and wanting to acquire knowledge and understanding of the world around him?”Charlie was disappointed in Fanny when she said that it wasn’t very possible for Charlie to become smart that quickly. This is another very important event that happens in this story because Charlie tries to change himself to fit in and then realizes that’s not what matters. What matters is that he’s happy and it doesn’t matter what other people
The novel Flowers for Algernon written by Daniel Keyes effectively explores the complex human experiences of disability and the impact that it has on individuals and society through its three major themes; Self-realisation , Alienation and loneliness and treatment of the mentally disabled by society. Through these themes this response will highlight the difficulties experienced by people with disabilities and the people in their lives. The first theme in Flowers for Algernon is self-realisation. Charlie’s new found knowledge has allowed him to have the ability to voice his needs and wants for understanding, acceptance, and love.
I created this lesson plan myself based on lesson plans that I found on-line. I combined elements of several lessons to create this lesson. The various lesson plans that I looked at are listed in the Works Cited section. I inserted my lesson into a modified version of the UHD lesson plan.
“ The measure of intelligence is the ability to change, ” (Einstein). This shows that the more changing that happens is how much intelligence one has not how intellectual they are. In the short story “Flowers of Algernon” written by Daniel Keyes, a boy named Charlie Gordon is mentally impaired with an IQ of sixty-eight. It is hard for him to function in real society. He has to take tests and do things an average person would be able to do easily.