ipl-logo

Why Is Charlie Gordon Wrong

568 Words3 Pages

Artificial Intelligence is wrong. Whether you're smart or dumb defies who you are. Charlie Gordon is a 37 year old man with a mental disability in the story of “Flowers For Algernon”. Charlie Gordon was better off before the artificial intelligence (A.I.) surgery, Before the surgery he has friends, he's happy, and motivated/determined.
First, Charlie truly believed that he has friends before the surgery, Before Charlie Gordon has the artificial intelligence surgery (A.I) he truly believes that he has real friends and that they are just “joking around with him” when they are really bulling them, but Charlie doesn’t realize it. Charlie and his “friends” Frank Reilly, and Joe Carp take him out for a drink at a bar. Yet the only reason they did this was to laugh at him. After Charlie gets drunk Frank Reilly tells charlie to go dance, and he gets tricked into it, because they repeatedly tripped him over then offered to “help him up” but then they tripped him again. Soon they ask Charlie to go get something for them across the street, Charlie does …show more content…

”He said i had good motor-vation”. In the beginning of Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon says he would be perfect for the operashun because he “wants to learn” and “be a (Gene-A**)”. But, after the surgery Charlie feels emotions he has never felt before. Such as “Love, and Happiness”. Yes, Charlie Gordon may have felt good feelings. but he also felt a lot of bad ones to. Such as “Anger, Jealousy, Frustration etc”... Also, Charlie Gordon got 3x smarter. before the surgery he had a IQ of 68. After the surgery he has a breaking point of a IQ that is 204. Soon after a couple months the surgery wares off and Charlie Gordon is “Non-Intelligent” again. Yet there is a downside of it. Charlie’s IQ goes even lower than 68 now. Which means the “Artificial Intelligence” (A.I) surgery is a failure and Charlie regresses even

Show More
Related
1300 Words | 6 Pages

His findings also make him feel happy which is great to come from a discovery which he made after the surgery. In Charlie’s last progress report when he is saying personal goodbyes to everyone who helped him on the journey to becoming smart, he mentions, “Evry body feels sorry... I dont want that... Im going someplace where nobody knows that Charlie Gordon was once a genus and now he cant even reed a book or rite good [sic],” (Keyes 27). Charlie is moving out of New York because he does not want people to feel sorry for him anymore.

Read More
1033 Words | 5 Pages

The choice of using Charlie Gordon in Daniel Keyes’ book, Flowers for Algernon, for an intelligence altering surgery was unethical and biased. The first reason that Charlie should not have been chosen for the surgery is that it left him and his life in worse condition than when before the surgery. “ I dont want Miss Kinnian to feel sorry for me. Evry body feels sorry at the factery and I dont want that eather

Read More
452 Words | 2 Pages

People with lack of acceptance have differences in personalities, experiences, and behaviors. There are many major similarities and differences concerning the characters in “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keys and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Even though The Book Thief was based on a little girl named Liesel, another character, Max, in the book experiences a lack of acceptance. The setting of The Book Thief is during World War II, when Jews were being persecuted for their religion and beliefs. Max has a worldly personality, so he is knowledgeable of the series of events happening around him.

Read More
658 Words | 3 Pages

His intelligence came with a price that made him rethink his entire situation. Charlie was happier with an IQ of 68 because he was oblivious to what was going on around him, people would treat him differently after the surgery, and he struggled with his identity. Charlie was happier when he was oblivious to what was going on around him. Being oblivious and ignorant is not a good thing, but in Charlie's case, not knowing

Read More
718 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
578 Words | 3 Pages

Charlie Gordon's doctors acted ethically when they performed the surgery to make him smarter. Charlie Gordon is 37 and he isn't the smartest person in the world he was a IQ of 65. Also Charlie has a mind of a five year old. So Charlie goes to night classes to get smarter. So then Charlie's teacher Miss.

Read More
590 Words | 3 Pages

Flowers for Algernon Essay In the story Flowers for Algernon scientists found a way of increasing intelligence. In this story the main character is Charlie Gordon who has problems retaining knowledge. He was offered a surgery to increase his intelligence.

Read More
525 Words | 3 Pages

Its so obvious he would do anything to be smart. The only problem is that he didn't have the mental capacity to understand what the surgery would do. Charlie had a hard time with spelling simple words like write. So how could he understand what the surgery would do to him and how it would effect his life he didn’t know how to think about all the backlash for this decision. Charlie wasn't smart enough to understand what would happen to him after the

Read More
704 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
608 Words | 3 Pages

Readers may oppose Charlie having the surgery. Some of them reason that Charlie had rotten emotions such as anger, depression, greed, and loneliness. This brings up the point, Charlie shouldn’t have had the surgery. Although Charlie did deal with these emotions, he felt new and amazing feelings also. He felt happiness, true love, normality, and accomplishment.

Read More
472 Words | 2 Pages

His I.Q. during childhood and in the beginning of the novel is slightly less than 70. Charlie does wind up being chosen for the experiment and he receives brain surgery. The surgery is a success and Charlie’s intelligence quickly soars. He is happy for a while being able to learn many new things and have mature, adult conversations with others. However, this quickly takes a turn for the worse when his I.Q. surpasses everyone he can have a relationship with, which makes his life more boring and sad: “I am just as far away from Alice with an I.Q. of 185 as I was when I had an I.Q. of 70” (126).

Read More
702 Words | 3 Pages

However, after the surgery, Charlie finds intelligence was a nice treat but was far from an importance in life and only took him away from what truly mattered. One could believe Charlie was wrong to undergo the surgery because of the side effects that came with the surgery such as physical and emotional instability, and amnesia, the depresion it came with, and how he lost all of his friends and loved ones with his extreme intelligence. First off, one reason Charlie should not have gotten the surgery is the depression and suicidal thoughts it came with for

Read More
435 Words | 2 Pages

Charlie gains intelligence like he always wanted, but only to have it be taken away in a time frame of a couple months. Charlie states that, “The hypothesis here proven may be described simply in the following terms: artificially increased intelligence deteriorates at a rate almost proportional to the quantity of the increase.” With realizing the cost of the surgery, he states, “Now that it’s definite, I don’t want it to happen.” Charlie experienced emotions such as anger, sadness, and even love with his intelligence. Now all this will be taken away; like taking away a favorite toy from a child.

Read More
576 Words | 3 Pages

Was Charlie Better Off Before or After the Surgery? In “Flowers for Algernon,” Daniel Keyes wrote that Charlie Gordon has an IQ of 68, and is in Mrs. Kinnian’s night class for slow adults. Charlie may be dumb, but he was so happy before the surgery and he had a job and “friends.” The reason that Charlie Gordon was better off before the surgery is because he had the motivation to become smart, and after the surgery he becomes depressed and realizes that the world plus the people in it are cruel.

Read More
662 Words | 3 Pages

Flowers for Algernon explores themes of ethical dilemmas in scientific research. Charlie Gordon is the first human to undergo an experimental operation to triple his IQ from 68 to 204. His mental capacities dramatically increase, but the consequences are drastic when the operation fails and he regresses. Under Charlie’s circumstances, the operation was unethical. Charlie, mentally disabled, cannot give informed consent.

Read More

More about Why Is Charlie Gordon Wrong

Related Topics

Open Document