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Flowers for algernon essay outline
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Flowers for algernon essay outline
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If you were given the opportunity to have your intelligence surgically altered, would you take that opportunity? This is the operation that the character, Charlie Gordon, receives in the story, “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. Charlie should not have had this operation performed on him, for logical reasons. Firstly, Charlie loses his friends. He literally gets to a point where he is too smart for his own good. The people from his work at Donnegan’s Plastic Box Company agreed to sign a petition to get Charlie to quit. Some of the workers, such as Fanny, were questioning how he suddenly became so smart. She and others felt uncomfortable to have him around. Evidence from the text proves that the people felt unsettled. “...there’s something mighty strange about you, Charlie… Who knows what you done to yourself to get so smart all of a sudden. Like everyone around here’s been saying, Charlie, it’s not right.” (Keyes, 72) …show more content…
According to the dates in the story, Charlie’s intelligence starts to deteriorate over the course of roughly 4 months. In the story, Charlie would have had the surgery between March 10-15. Then, the effects slow to their lowest point in the month of July. Charlie did not have enough time to get the full potential out of his newly acquired intellect. He endures emotional pain as his knowledge starts “...slipping away like sand through [his] fingers.” (Keyes, 82) Charlie should not have had to witness his own consciousness get out of his
On that day he picked up Algernon like normal but got bit. Charlie watched afterward for some time and saw that he was disturbed and vicious. Burt tells me that Algernon is changing. He is less cooperative, he refuses to run the maze any more, and he hasn't been eating. Burt and others have to feed Algernon because he refuses to do the shifting lock. This a indication that the procedure isn't permanent and Charlie may start to lose intelligence. On May 25 Dr.Nemur and I told Charlie not to come to the lab anymore. Then on May 29 we gave him permission to start a lab and he worked all day and all night on the reason he is losing intelligence. On june 5th he is forgetting stuff which leads up to him becoming absent minded on June 10th. The other indications the procedure wasn’t permanent was once they dissected Algernon who died on June 8th Charlie predictions were correct. Charlie also can’t read or remember books he already read. Soon Charlie can’t remember where he put stuff, forgets punctuation, and spelling reverts back to before. These indications are clear that the procedure wasn’t
Charlie lived in a paradise-like world, he though he had many "friends". The only thing he felt he was missing was brains. When he was offered the chance to become 'smart' he jumped at the chance to be like everyone else. Unprepared for the changes intelligence would bring, Charlie lost his innocence. When he realizes his 'friends' don't actually like him they just liked to make fun of him.
Everyone knows that every story has two sides, but the tricky part is figuring out which side to believe. In the short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keys, Charlie Gordon, a 37-year-old man with a mental handicap, has an operation performed on him to artificially increase his intelligence. Before and after the operation, there were drastic changes in the lives of Charlie and all those around him. While the operation caused many twists and turns for Charlie and his peers, the pros far outweighed the cons.
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
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.
Charlie soon becomes aware that his smartness may not stay forever, that he might lose his genius. He starts to research the experiment himself. He studies a little mouse named Algernon who they did the experiment on first. Charlie starts to become attached to the little white mouse. Together they are the smartest of their species. When Charlie and Algernon have to go Chicago for an interview, Charlie gets so frustrated at how all the scientists are talking as if before the operation Charlie wasn’t a real person. In his frustration he accidentally on purpose let Algernon go.
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.
For Charlie, Ignorance is bliss. He realizes that his so called ? friends? were just using him to entertain their perverse humor. Also, he was also fired from the job that he loved so much because his new intelligence made those around him feel inferior and scared.
They might argue that Charlie had more friends before the surgery, however, Charlie might have lost some friends after he had the surgery but, the ones that he kept Charlie got to see their good side. He even got to love one of them. Readers may also argue that Charlie regressed rapidly causing him to forget the ability of learning. Although he did regress quickly he once had the ability to learn, he was the smartest man on earth at one point. Now that would be quite a title to hold! Charlie was glad that he had the ability to learn. He even stated that he would do the whole thing over again and that he would not change a
They may say that the sadness he felt after the surgery disrupted his perfectly happy life. Regardless, it’s good to feel sadness once in a while; it’s not good for you if you never feel sadness. Readers may also argue that Charlie saw the world could be cruel and that was a bad thing. However, if you think there’s nothing bad in this world and everything is perfect, there’s something wrong with you. Therefore, it’s not a bad thing Charlie had certain realizations about the world. The most commonly argued topic, though, is that the surgery was pointless because he regressed. Even though this might seem true to some, Charlie had great experiences being smart and it created great memories for him. As it is quoted from the text, “I remember a little bit how nice I had a feeling with the blue book that has the torn cover when I read it. That's why I'm gonna keep trying to get smart so I can have that feeling again.”(Keyes 245). Therefore, it wasn’t totally pointless(in fact, it wasn’t really pointless at all). Also, it’s a good thing he regressed even if he liked being smart. For example, in the movie at the bar scene, Charlie’s old self came out, and he said he felt happier being his old self again. It follows that Charlie was happy after he regressed, before he regressed, and even before the surgery. As a result, Charlie still should have had the
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.
Was Charlie better off without the operation? Through Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes sends an crucial message to society that man should never tamper with human intelligence or else the outcome can be personally devastating. After Charlie's operation, he felt isolated and lonesome, change in personality made him edgy around people or (lack social skills), and suffered from traumas due to past memories.
The fact is that Charlie Gordon just wanted to be smart & to be able to fit in.The main character is Charlie Gordon from “Flowers for Algernon” & Charlie’s life was a lot better after the A.I surgery in his image & i agree.Charlie should have had took the A.I surgery. The 3 reasons are he proved the operation was a failure Algernon-Gordon effect,He would never experienced love, & earned more money than before.
Charlie struggles with apparent mental illness throughout his letters, but he never explicitly addresses this problem. His friends make him realize that he is different and it is okay to be different from everyone else. This change in perspective gives Charlie new opportunities to experience life from a side he was unfamiliar with. Without these new friends, Charlie would have never dared to try on the things he has. His friends have helped him develop from an antisocial wallflower to an adventurous young man who is both brave and loyal. Transitioning shapes how the individual enters into the workforce, live independently and gain some control over their future