What would you do if you had the chance to triple human intelligence? This is the question Daniel Keyes answered in the story “Flowers for Algernon.” Charlie Gordon had this chance. Charlie learns about the struggles of becoming smart. Charlie has always wanted to become smart, but since he has a disability, Charlie isn’t able to learn like a normal human being. In this article, you will learn why Charlie should not have had this surgery. Firstly, Charlie is the main character who wants to be smart and has experimental brain surgery. After the surgery, Charlie’s spelling got better, along with his writing, vocabulary, reading, and many other educational aspects. Later on, Charlie learns his friends are fake. At the climax, Algernon dies, which …show more content…
Kinnian, who is a teacher for adults. But as Charlie gets smarter and smarter, he isn’t able to spend much time with her and Charlie decides to break up their relationship that isn’t benefiting either of them. But they mainly broke up since Ms. Kinnian wasn’t able to teach Charlie any new information. Charlie was getting so smart that he wasn’t able to have conversations with anyone else around him. Second, Charlie should not have had the operation since he lost all his friends and Ms. Kinnian. For instance, we can see this event happen when Charlie states, “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved. Before, they laughed at me and despised me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding” (Page 7). By looking at the evidence, we can see Charlie is unhappy being smart, even though it’s something he’s always dreamt of. Now, he finally understands that being smart can be bad and result in losing many close friends and people he loves. Some may say, however, that Charlie’s old friends become better people towards the end. But nevertheless, Charlie was miserable after losing
In this novel, Flowers for Algernon, written by Daniel Keyes, a man named Charlie Gordon has an operation done to increase his intelligence. He started as a mentally retarded man and slowly became a genius. He seemed to soak up information like a sponge and he was able to figure out the most complex scientific formulas. The only problem with the operation is that it does not last for ever and in his remaining time he tries to figure out why it is not permanent. He will eventually lose everything he learned and become worse off than when he started, so Charlie was better off before he had the operation.
Background information:In the story of “Flowers For Algernon” charlie was abiviously not as itelligent as he should have been. What is trying to be said is that when someone did or said something to charlie he would do nothing but laugh because he didnt think for hmself or know what he was doing. The same concept goes with the story of “Adam And Eve”. In the story Adam and Eve, Eve was tricked by the snake of eating of the tree of knowledge. She also didnt know any better and could’t think for herself.Eve and Charlie both had bad the same differnce outcome.
Before the operation, he exhibited some clear strengths such as determination, a positive attitude, friendly with people and some weaknesses such as education and inability to understand the adult world. After the operation, he begun to change in numerous ways. Charlie started out as being not really intelligent. Being around with “smart” people made him want to change and became “intelligent” just like his “friends.” I think its all crazy. If you can get smart when your sleeping why do people go to school. That thing I don't think will work. I use to watch the late show and the late late show on TV all the time and it never made me smart (Keyes 118). This part of the book led Charlie’s flashbacks takes place of how he was raised or nurtured through his childhood, Of how he wanted to try to become smart. However Dr. Strauss believes that his sleep would help Charlie be able to learn. However in his nature, his disability cannot help him at all, doesn’t matter how much he tries to watch TV and tries to go to sleep, I wouldn’t allow him to learn anything at all. The nurture of this is having the doctor recommend Charlie to do this. His disability also not just affects him but his family as well. His disability kind of makes his sister miserable as well, jealous over how the parents focus on Charlie due to his disability, despite the successes the sister achieves in school. Thus Charlie’s nature towards others has a negative effect which is towards his sister. Charlie was raised by his parents but through a condition that would then follow him probably for the rest of his life as well as being mainly raised through this experiment, which possibly wouldn’t help him at all in the near
Charlie Gordon has all his life been mental disabled, but for just as long time wanted to be a geni-ass. One day he is given that opportunity and he agrees to let the doctors operate his brain. Before the operation Charlie is a very friendly man, who only sees the good things in life and trusts everybody. His lack of intelligence makes it impossible for him to see that his best friends are in fact victimizing him. (Report 8, page 117) He can’t imagine things. “I tryed hard but I still…” (Report 2, page 112) Another important quality he hasn’t got, besides intelligence and imagination, is: Feeling. He is only able to be happy, he can not feel anger and love. One of Charlie’s best qualities is his motivation and what seems like his eternal strive for normal intelligence.
He is then judged even harsher which is why you shouldn’t try to be someone that you’re not. You should stay true to yourself. In the story, it says “Their going to use me! I am so exited I can hardly write” (Keyes page 351). This implies that Charlie is anxious to undergo the surgery that will make him smart. Another part says “If you volenteer for this experament you mite get smart”. (Keyes page 351) This shows that the operation will make him more intelligent so he can fit in with everyone else. This proves that Charlie is trying to be someone he is not in order to fit
Charlie’s story began with the surgery, the biggest decision he made in his life. Although he was a guinea pig in the procedure, he wasn’t worried at all about the surgery, but rather on becoming smart as fast as he could. Supposedly these doctors were doing Charlie the greatest favor he would ever receive, and he was so eager to learn as much as he could. Soon however, Charlie would encounter challenges he never faced with the intelligence of a 6 year old. Before his surgery, Charlie had great friends in Miss Kinnian and the bakery workers. After the surgery the relationships between Charlie and everyone he knew would take a drastic turn.
Many popular novels are often converted into television movies. The brilliant fiction novel, Flowers for Algernon written by Daniel Keyes, was developed into a dramatic television film. Flowers for Algernon is about a mentally retarded man who is given the opportunity to become intelligent through the advancements of medical science. This emotionally touching novel was adapted to television so it could appeal to a wider, more general audience. Although the novel and film are similar in terms of plot and theme, they are different in terms of characters.
Every day, people go through operations and sometimes experience unpredicted and unwanted outcomes. The story, Flowers for Algernon, is exactly like that. In this story, a 37 year old man, named Charlie Gordon, has a mental disability and participates in an operation/experiment to increase his knowledge. After taking part in the operation, Charlie’s intellect gradually escalates to a genius status. Charlie, the man who had an IQ of 68, was slowly maturing mentally and he started seeing the world with a whole new different perspective. However, near the end of the story, his brain regresses back to where he started from. Charlie shouldn't have taken part in the operation: he started seeing the world in a different perspective, he experienced unpredicted outcomes, and the operation changed Charlie's whole personality. Charlie would have been better off if he didn’t undergo the operation and participate in the experiment.
As Charlie transitions into an egotistical mindset, he fails to contemplate that he is casting his friends out of his life. By the time he does realize what he has done, he has already been fired from the bakery, which had served as his figurative home for his whole life. (2) As Charlie’s I.Q advances he begins to comprehend that his intellect is standing in the way of his happiness. Concerned with the possibility that his intelligence might deteriorate, Charlie begins to run experiments on Algernon to see what possible side effects may transpire. While conducting these experiments Charlie pushes his friend Fay out of his life as well as Alice Kinnian. Charlie’s experiments conclude that he is going to lose his intellect, and he becomes senile, which further supports that his intellect stood in the way of his happiness. After becoming emotionally unstable Algernon passes, which sends Charlie into a depression and he spends the rest of the time he is intelligent away from all of society. The brainpower that Charlie was temporarily given from an experiment has drastic consequences, thus making it unethical, (3) however the progress reports Charlie kept throughout the story serve as a basis for the incline and decline of the experiment.(2)
As a result of the operations, Charlie gains the experience of what it is like to be intelligent. Therefore, he sees the world as it is. “Only a short time ago, I learned that people laughed at me. Now I can see that unknowingly I joined them in laughing at myself. This hurts most of all” (76.) He can now truly understand how the outside world functions and how he is truly treated.
He also realized what true love and beauty was, especially when he was with Miss Kinnian. “The thought of leaving her behind made me sad. I’m in love with Miss Kinnian.” Charlie soon realizes that his mental state will gradually decrease, most likely causing him to die. One of the one things that he does not want to do, is leave behind Miss Kinnian. Charlie is realizing what true beauty is, and soon, what true love is as well. He saw how smart Miss Kinnian is, and how good she is at her job. Charlie learns to be compassionate, loving, and kind to others, in a way more complex than even many adults could. something about how algernon is his friend* Even things like Algernon the mouse had many impacts on Charlie’s life, like Charlie seeing what a real friend is. When Charlie was with Miss Kinnian, he realized that she was very smart, good at what she did, and was very kind to Charlie, and to others. “Once again now I have the feeling of shame burning inside me. This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved. Before, they laughed at me and despised me for my ig-norance and dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge and under-standing. What in God’s name do they want of me? They’ve driven me out of the factory. Now I’m more alone than ever before.” Charlie feels a lot of despair, when he sees that his friends only laughed at him, and hated him, but now they loathe him even more for containing knowledge and wisdom that they don’t have. His friends could only tolerate him when he was “dumb, stupid” and “retarded,” and even then, they still didn’t take a liking to him, but what hurt Charlie most, was that when he became smart, they hated him more now than they did before, because he held emotions that they couldn’t possibly feel,
Evolution is great phenomenon as long as one does not end up back to where they start from. Sometimes even ending up back at square one can offer the individual a lot to learn from. In the novel, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, the protagonist Charlie Gordon undergoes an experiment to increase his IQ. It is illustrated that Charlie becomes a whole, complete individual only after becoming mentally retarded again by the end of the novel. Charlie develops and learns a lot throughout his journey. He matures as he grows in his intellectual capacity, and he gets an opportunity to learn valuable life lesson; and realizes that he is better off being mentally retarded rather than being a genius.
Before the operation it is Miss Kinnian who suggests the experiment to Charlie seeing that he is eager to learn. She is one of the only people who is concerned about him and wants to help him achieve his dream. Once Charlie 's intelligence starts increasing, he starts developing feelings for Alice and along the way falls in love with her. However, the old Charlie that is in his mind does not let him have sexual thoughts about her and make love to her: “ ‘I love you...’ the words chocked out of me, ‘but I can 't do it. Something I can 't explain, but if I hadn 't stopped, I would hate myself for the rest of my life. Don 't ask me to explain, or you 'll hate me too. It has to do with Charlie. For some reason, he won 't let me make love to you’ ” (Keyes 205). Charlie is about to make love to Fay but something is restricting him from doing so. He explains this to Alice but she still does not understand what is stopping him. This shows that Charlie does really care for her and does not want to use her. The experiment does not go as planned, a fatal flaw is found that kills Algernon the mouse who is used to test out the same research. When his intelligence starts regressing, Alice stays and takes care of him for a while until he drives her away. She agrees to leave and try to forget about him as she promised him earlier that she would
What would you do if you had the chance to triple human intelligence? This is the question Daniel Keyes answered in the story “Flowers for Algernon.” Charlie Gordon had this chance. Charlie learns about the struggles of becoming smart. Charlie has always wanted to become smart, but since he has a disability, Charlie isn’t able to learn like a normal human being.
Couples who were experiencing a putative secret during the time of the study versus couples who didn’t experienced the most change and conflict. The partners who believed that their partner was keeping a secret for a positive reason such as protection or to avoid negative evaluation, the level of conflict was less than those with putative secrets revolving around personal