Charlie Flowers For Algernon

In the novel Flowers for Algernon written by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon did the right thing and went through with the surgery/ experiment to raise his IQ. A mental retardation sweetheart Charlie Gordon, had to deal with hardships of the world at the age of 32 and the IQ of 68. Until Prof Nemur and Dr. Strauss came into his life and changed it for the better but left with a tragic end. This surgery was good for Charlie because he was able to have experiences someone mentally delayed would not have done/ known about and he was able to regain his memories.
Charlie would have never known about some things in his life if it wasn’t for the surgery. He always has wanted to be accepted all his life, by his peers, co-workers and even his own

family. This surgery opened a door for him and showed him the truth about it all. At a party where Charlie goes with his friend Joe and Frank, he dances with a girl. As a normal reaction he was turned on because she was rubbing against him. Everyone starts to laugh at him and normally he would laugh back with them, he doesn’t know any better, until now. After the party Charlie goes home and writes in his progress report, “I never knew before that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have me around just to make fun of me. Now I know what they mean wen they say to pill a Charlie Gordon. I’m ashamed.”(30) This realization would have never happened if he didn’t go with the surgery. It helps him open his eyes and see the real world and how cruel people can be.
Charlie is doing something extraordinary for the field of science and for people just like him. There are many people in this world that suffer through the same things as Charlie does with his retardation, and without Charlie not going through the surgery, science could have never advanced as much as they did with Charlie. Before the operation Charlie and Professor Nemur had a conversation about the effect this surgery will have on him and the world. Charlie writing in his progress reports of his talk with the professor stated “ Then Ill be abel to reed better and spell the werds good and know lots of thing and be like other pepul…If the operashun works good and Its permanent hey will make other pepul like me smart also. Maybe pepul all over werld. And he said that meen Im doing something grate for science and Ill be famus and my name will go down in the books I don’t care so much about being famus.”(9) Charlie had only the right intentions from this operation and that was to finally be accepted because he is smart. The expirement did provide him that option and without it being performed on him he would have only had a fantasy of that. Also, even if there was a flaw in this scientists can learn and improve from this and sprout more ideas of different ways to perform this expirement to help the human race out.
All of Charlie’s life it has been a constant struggle with memory and his thoughts.

Thinking and remembering what has occurred in his past life and things happening around him now has been such a difficult thing for Charlie to overcome before the surgery. After Mr.Donner employees Ernie at the bakery, Charlie began to be afraid that he was going to replace him. But, Charlie thinks that his co-workers don’t like Ernie as much as him. In his progress reports Charlie innocently states about how him and his friends are so close and have many jokes together. “Some times somebody would say hey lookit Frank or Joe, or even Gimpy. He really pulled a Charlie Gordon that time. I don’t know why they always say it but they always laff and I laff too.”(17) Luckily after the operation Charlie saw that this was actually an offensive joke towards Charlie and they were not laughing with him. This surgery gave Charlie reality and control of his thoughts of what is wrong and what isn’t. Regaining memories seem to be the most important for Charlie though. He wanted to know who he was and why his mom always hated him. His past has been a detriment to Charlie for as long as he could remember. From being abused to being neglected Charlie has been through it only because of his slower pace than the rest of the kids. Remembering the fear and shame Charlie feels when he does something bad can be only explained by his memories, he writes “Remembering how my mother looked before she gave

birth to my sister is frightening. But even more frightening is the feeling that I wanted them to catch and beat me. Why did I want to be punished? Shadows out of the past clutch at my legs and drag me down. I open my mouth to scream, but I am voiceless. My hand s are trembling, I feel cold, and there is a distant humming in my ears.” (92) Flashbacks are coming back to him but they are leaving a scarring effect on him. He’s afraid to be physical with because of this mom and sister, why he has always wondered. The answer is there his past, and the surgery led him to it.
Flowers for Algernon follows Charlie and his life during the time of his expirement. None of this would have happened without it, and Charlie is lucky he got his moment of fame and reality even if it was temporary. He had new experiences, helped advance the world of science, made new memories and got to relive his past and understand who Charlie Gordon is, and where he comes from. This would have not been possible without the surgery, and it’s good that he went through this, even though it left with a tragic decline back to his normal state at the IQ of 68.