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Charlie gordon at the beginning of novel flowers for algernon
Charlie gordon at the beginning of novel flowers for algernon
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In Flowers for Algernon, a 37-year old man named Charlie Gordon has a record of low intelligence and wants to improve his intelligence. Do you know what IQ means? Yes, I know what IQ means. IQ is the number representing a person’s reasoning ability. In the story, Charlie wanted to find out what IQ mean and why was it important.
To begin with, Charlie wanted to be smart like everyone else around him.According to the test, it says, “ I cant wait to be smart like my best frends Joe Carp and Frank Reily.”( Page.6) He attended a school for adults with low intelligence in order to progress and become smarter. Charlie took many tests each day to see where he was. He was very convinced that an operation would help him become smarter. Charlie knew that the operation wouldn’t be temporary. In the text it says that, “ They said you know it will be probably be temporary. I said yes. Miss kinnian told me. I dont care if it hurts.”(Page.2)
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Nemur and Dr. Strauss to use him for the operation. It came to a point where Charlie’s teacher, Miss Kinnian, recommended him for the operation. From the text it says, “Look at well hes lerned to read and write for his low mental age its as grate an acheve.”(Page.3) He was very excited to receive the news hoping it will change his life. When the operation is performed, Charlie does not see any changes at first. As Charlie continues to go to school, he starts to see a little bit of progress in
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
People often judge others by certain characteristics. Intelligence is one of the most important ones. It is like the difference in talking to a three year old kid versus talking to an adult. People also behave differently. In the story “Flowers for Algernon”, the statement “Ignorance is bliss” is proven true.
The scientists who performed the experiment now need a human subject to test, and Charlie has been recommended to them by his night-school teacher, Miss Kinnian. Charlie's a good candidate for the procedure, because even though he currently has an I.Q. of only 68, he is willing, highly motivated and eager to learn. He's convinced that if he could only learn to read and write, the secret of being smart would be revealed to him.
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.
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.
Firstly, Charlie grows emotionally and physically as a human being: growing and becoming more complete with every experience. Starting off, Charlie grows physically as he develops into a more of a complete man. Joe and Frank invite Charlie to a party, during the party he is forced to dance with a girl named Ellen. After waking up the next morning, Charlie says, “I dreamed about the girl Ellen dancing and rubbing up against me and when I woke up the sheets were wet and messy” (Keyes 43). Charlie has his first wet dream, he is slowly going through puberty after the operation and becoming a more complete man. Adding on, Charlie is always happy and thinks all is good in the world, before the operation everything seems fine to him. He is like a child: naive. After the operation, Charlie has therapy sessions with the doctor, where they do tests to measure growth. During one of these therapy sessions, Charlie says, “I had reached a new level and anger and suspicion were my reactions to the world around me” (Keyes 57-58). Charlie grows emotionally, he adds another aspect to his cha...
Charlie’s intelligence started to fall. Slowly he lost it all, from foreign languages to math equations to reading and writing.
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.
Charlie writes this down into his progress report and proves that he wants to please everyone by being smart.
Algernon is a smart mouse, who has undergone the same operation as Charlie. Charlie's victory shows his increase in knowledge. This also shows that his brain is developing. Charlie then gains more knowledge. After writing a few more progress reports, one can see a huge change in Charlie's writing, especially in his grammar.
What would you do if you had an IQ of 204? Charlie Gordon was a fictional character in the story “Flowers for Algernon” Charlie had an IQ of 68, then volunteered for an experimental surgery to make his IQ triple. Charlie Gordon made the right choice in participating in the surgery. He was able to see how the people around him really acted , improved science, and gained motivation to try to help other people who were intellectually challenged, like he was. Charlie was able to see how his “friends,” Joe Carp & Frank Reilly really treated him.
The operation was averse because it was only temporary. Shortly after Charlie’s intelligence was at its peak, he regressed back to his former intelligence. As he watches his own regression, Charlie writes, “I have already begun to notice signs of emotional instability
To start, it is a good feeling to feel normal and everyone should feel that way. In the story, Charlie wants to be smarter and Dr. Strauss can do that for him. Charlie wants to be smarter so he can just be normal like other people. The thought of his I.Q. being tripled was amazing to him. At one point in the story Dr. Nemur said,“remember he will be the first human being ever to have his intelligence tripled by surgical means” (page 518). Anyone who has wanted just to be normal would understand what Charlie was feeling. If Charlie didn’t have the operation he would not be able to experience the benefit of being normal.