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Themes in flowers for algernon essay
Flowers for Algernon Essay Introduction
Themes in flowers for algernon essay
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¨ The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.¨ - Albert Einstein. Charlie throughout the book changed a lot from where he started at. From the beginning he was innocent and could not write very good, or had an understanding of what everything meant. Near the middle of the book Charlie had a better understanding of his feelings were. Near the end of the book Charlie had changed a whole lot.
His intelligence is fleeting, and he recognizes that his short-lived stroke of genius was of no benefit to his life. “Making fun of me.all used to,” is evidence of Charlie’s early unawareness of the ridiculing, but it was his absentmindedness that let him be joyful with what he thought he
If IQ was measured by kindness, Charlie Gordon would’ve been a genius. In the short story, “Flowers for Algernon”, written by Daniel Keys, Charlie Gordon is a mentally-impaired man that was best friends with a mouse named Algernon. If I was given the opportunity to be Charlie’s friend, I think he would be a great one. I believe so because he is: optimistic, hard-working, and kind-hearted. To begin with, Charlie is a very optimistic man.
New intelligence comes new emotions and loss of innocence, which is portrayed in Charlie in “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. Not long after the operation, it is obvious that Charlie was losing his innocence that he had when he was mentally disabled, and that the Keyes’s novel is a coming of age story. When Charlie’s co-workers brought him to a party after the operation, he realized that his co-workers/”friends” were “laughing at [him]. And the kids playing hide-go-seek were playing tricks on [him] and they were laughing at [him] too” (Keyes 42).
In the short story, “Flowers for Algernon”, the main character, Charlie Gordon, is considered dumb due to his intelligence levels. In the story, he undergoes surgery to try to enhance his intelligence by three times. Charlie Gordon should not have had surgery to triple his intelligence because he can lose what is most important to him and he will lose his friends. The first reason is he can lose what is most important to him. An example of this is in paragraphs 121 and 122 where Charlie states, “I’ve quit my job with the Donnegan’s Plastic Box Company.
Charlie Gordon was willing to risk his personality and perception of the world. In the story ”Flowers for Algernon,”by Daniel Keyes, he gets an operation to increase his knowledge. Charlie then starts to improve, but he becomes unhappy. He had learned a valuable lesson, that you shouldn’t change who you are. Charlie should’ve got the operation.
Daniel Keyes betrays the theme that intelligence doesn’t affect who you truly are. Before the operation, Charlie has a motivated characteristic and it is still there after the operation when he was getting more intelligent. I know this because in the passage it says, “ I’ll show that mouse I can be as smart as he is (Keyes p. 352),” which shows that Charlie is motivated before the operation . The test also says, “ Miss Kinnian teaches me to spell better (Keyes p. 358),” which shows that Charlie was still motivated and still working to get smarter after the operation. Charlie is a motivated character and that doesn’t change after the operation.
Now I can see that unknowingly I joined them in laughing at myself. That hurts most of all” (May 18). This moment of clarity not only demonstrates Charlie’s growth in empathy by acknowledging his previous lack of compassion and understanding towards those different from him, but also highlights his journey towards self-acceptance, marking a milestone in his personal growth and development. “I find the calculus of intelligence to be a fascinating study... in a sense, it’s the problem I’ve been concerned with all my life” (May 29). Charlie’s continuous pursuit of knowledge, not solely academic but rather for self improvement and enlightenment, reflects his insatiable curiosity and yearning to learn and connect disparate fields of knowledge.
When Charlie was picked for a surgery to triple his IQ, having an IQ of 68, he was excited. Charlie received intelligence in an unnatural way, and because of that his brain could not hold all the information for long and after a bit intelligence started rapidly decreasing. Even though there were downsides to the surgery, Charlie made the right decision having the surgery, because it was an important experience, he gave purpose to his life, and after it all he still sustains hope for a better life. Charlies’s life after the surgery was an important experience for him. and somethings he enjoyed were not accessible to him before.
When Charlie is below average no one understands him, his family kicks him out, and his friends at work make fun of him. For example they often say “ to pull a Charlie Gordon” (Keyes 42), when they have done something stupid. When Charlie gains intelligence, still no one wants to be his friend because they do not understand him and they almost fear him. Not only does Charlie’s friends see him change but Charlie, himself, sees himself changing, “ I’m not myself.
As Charlie's intelligence increases to a higher level, the story told me about the changes from Charlie's view point, but also sees the change in Charlie's writing. This jump in intelligence is not really a good thing, however. Charlie is now able to remember things from the past that shaped his life and realize friendships for what they were.
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
As Charlie intelligence improved rapidly, he will inevitably lose intelligence quickly. So toward the end of the story “Flowers for Algernon”, Charlie Is Showing all the signs of decline that Algernon the
Before Charlies operation he was not able to express his feelings accurately, but Charlies temporary intelligence
Why did the door sound so loud when it closed? I cannot believe how quiet it is. I wish mother could treat me the same as everyone else. She treats everyone with a passionate heart but treats me like a child like I don’t know how to look after myself. Why does she hate me but love Margot.
