ipl-logo

Why Is Charlie Important In Flowers For Algernon

775 Words4 Pages

If scientist were ever to raise a person’s IQ there may be risks like death. In the story Flowers for Algernon there is a guy named Charlie. He really enjoys learning, but he has an IQ of 68. When Dr. Strauss and Nemur look for someone who wants to have their intelligence increased. Charlie’s teacher, Miss Kinnian, suggests Charlie to the doctors. Charlie also agrees to have the surgery and is excited, but the increased artificial intelligence has many risks. The doctors made a terrible choice in choosing Charlie Gordon for the increased intelligence surgery, in Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. After a couple weeks of him being smart Charlie loses all the knowledge he has gained during that time, this is why Charlie shouldn’t have …show more content…

On page (Keyes 205) Charlie says, “ I lie in bed for days and I don’t know who or where I am …. Fugues of Amnesia.” After being smart he now has periods of memory loss and doesn’t know even himself! Another quote is “Dr. Strauss comes around almost every day, but I told him I wouldn’t see or speak to anybody” (Keyes 207). Throughout the time of his memory loss his doctors try to show compassion, but Charlie does not accept it or he doesn’t trust them. Charlie already knew about the risks and didn’t care. However throughout the story Charlie has never mentioned about the doctors telling him about the risks of the surgery. Also in the Ethics of Fieldwork it states that if one has mental disability, the doctor must do special care in explaining the risks. In the Ethics of Fieldwork or Belmont Report it states special care must be taken with people who are unable to understand or who are particularly susceptible to coercion (PG 34).
This reason is probably the most important, reason 1 and 2 support that Charlie will die later. Charlie states, “Deterioration progressing. I have become absent-minded. Algernon died two days ago” (Keyes 205). The surgery that Charlie has gone through has also happened on Algernon. Their growth and IQ has deteriorated at the same

Show More
Related
718 Words | 3 Pages

I think that Charlie should have the surgery because of these 3 reasons, he is super smart, he realizes a lot more things in life , and that he can power through depression. The first reason that Charlie should have the surgery is that he is

Read More
550 Words | 3 Pages

The framers of the constitution regarded Congress as the preeminent branch of the federal government and granted Congress the power to make laws. The U.S. Congress is a bicameral legislature, which consist of the House and Senate. Congress was created in a way to satisfy both large and and small states through a debate to be known as the Great Compromise. The compromise stated that each state would have two Senators, in one chamber(Senate), and a number of Representatives propertaint to the state's population in the second chamber(House of Representatives).

Read More
631 Words | 3 Pages

The artificial intelligence surgery is temporary, but Charlie still wants the artificial intelligence surgery done. Charlie Gordon is way better off having the artificial intelligence surgery because, Charlie became aware of who people really are, he can make advancements in science, and lastly Charlie can understand what is going on around him.

Read More
1153 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
545 Words | 3 Pages

If you had a chance to triple your I.Q. level to over 200 would you do it? This is a question asked to Charlie Gordon a 37 year old man, with an I.Q. of 68, and the main character of Daniel Keyes’ science fiction story “Flowers for Algernon.” Charlie Gordon was better off after the Artificial Intelligence (Or A.I.) surgery because, his I.Q. level triples, he begins to express more complex emotions, and he could also make huge improvements in the field of science. Due to the A.I. surgery, Charlie’s I.Q. level triples. Charlie’s I.Q level before the surgery was 68 but after the operation his I.Q. level increased to over 200.

Read More
745 Words | 3 Pages

In this he talks about how his artificial intelligence eventually begins to deteriorate. At the end of the story Charlie goes to visit his mom and says “Something I discovered, and it’s named partly after me. I want you to keep a copy so that you can show people that your son turned out to be more than a dummy after all” (Keyes 268). In this scene Charlie gives his mother a copy of “The Algernon- Gordon Effect”. Clearly, the operation made him smarter over time, but then began to deteriorate, eventually leading him back to his old self.

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
515 Words | 3 Pages

Charlie finally did something with his life, he contributed to science. Charlie discovered the AlgernonGordon effect, that the artificial intelligence is a failure. As a result he 's going to regress at the same rate he progressed. “Under separate cover I am sending you a copy of my report entitled Algernon/Gordon effect” (Keyes 239) This quote shows that Charlie discovered that it was a failure and sent it to his doctors.

Read More
894 Words | 4 Pages

Charlie Gordon starts to catch on to the symptoms of his operation and knowing that included on the list is death. He begins to catch on after Algernon dies, stating “I have become absent minded. Algernon died two days ago.” (Keyes) Charlie now understands that this will soon become his reality, too.

Read More
1225 Words | 5 Pages

Scottie Maher Hour 1 Flowers for Algernon “How strange it is that people of honest feelings and sensibility, who would not take advantage of a man born without arms or legs or eyes—how such people think nothing of abusing a man with low intelligence.” The horrendous treatment of the handicapped is highlighted throughout Flowers for Algernon. Charlie has a revelation as his intelligence increases about how he has been treated in the bakery and is very hurt about what has been happening for his entire life. Before his operation, Charlie believed everyone from the bakery liked him and was his friend.

Read More
886 Words | 4 Pages

Before Charlies operation he was not able to express his feelings accurately, but Charlies temporary intelligence

Read More
435 Words | 2 Pages

Lastly, nobody wants to die. After Charlie experienced all of these fascinating things, it will all be taken away not only by progressive amnesia, but by death, the worst cost from his adventure. Algernon the mouse died because of the surgery, and Charlie will soon come to the same fate. Charlie states, “I’ve got to try to hold on to some of it.

Read More
509 Words | 3 Pages

Why do we have stereotypes like the “typical white girl?” Most likely because of the movies, TV shows, and books that portray middle to upper class teenage white girls as “basic.” If we did not have entertainment forms depicting all white girls who like Starbucks as typical white girls, I may not have been called a typical white girl by random guys when I got coffee at Beta Convention. I mean, since when was coffee deemed only for teenage white girls? Whatever made someone look at a blonde and say, “She’s stupid,” was probably the same.

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
243 Words | 1 Pages

Did you know that the normal iq is 100 Charlie had the iq of 68.He wanted to get smarter so he wanted to get a operashun done to make him smart and having this operation ruined his life. Charlie was better before surgery because he had a lot more friends that liked to laugh with him “we had a lot of fun at the factory today. Joe Carp said hey look where charlie had the operashun what did they do put some brains in.” and they went out to drink and party. Charlie was also better off before his surgery because at the end of the story when he had took a break from his job he liked his job a lot more and everybody likes to laugh with him “Im glad Im going back to the work because I miss my job and all my friends and all the fun we have there…”

Read More

More about Why Is Charlie Important In Flowers For Algernon

Related Topics

Open Document