Charlie In Flowers For Algernon

“dont be sorry for me Im glad I got a second chanse to be smart becaus I lerned a lot of things that I never even new were in this world and Im grateful that I saw it all for a littel bit.” [sic] In the short story, “Flowers for Algernon”, Daniel Keyes tells the story of Charlie Gordon. Charlie is given the option to go through an experimental surgery that is meant to triple his IQ. He is thrilled that he was chosen, and seizes his chance. Charlie changes in major ways throughout the beginning, the middle, and the end of the book. His intelligence, relationships with his friends, personality, and views on the world vary immensely. Maybe Charlie is not the smartest man, but through his experiences, he learns more about the world than many other

people have.
Before Charlie had his operation, he wasn’t intelligent. He had a mental disability, but that didn’t stop him from working hard. That fact is one of the reasons he was chosen for the operation. After all, “They said Miss Kinnian told that I was her bestist pupil in the adult nite scool becaus I tryed the hardist and I reely wantid to lern.” [sic] The teacher of the adult night school Charlie attended every night, Miss Kinnian, was one of the smartest women in the world, or so Charlie thought. Because of Charlie’s hard working attitude, she had high hopes for what he would accomplish. Charlie looked up to her. He worked during the day at Donnegan’s Plastic Box Company, which is where he met his friends. Charlie thought that his friends, especially Joe Carp and Frank Reilly, were the best in the world. He went out to parties with them and thought that they really liked him. At 68, Charlie’s IQ was very low. He would go to the lab and race Algernon, a lab mouse, in a maze. The mouse always won.
Charlie’s operation caused him to grow smarter, but it also affected other aspects of his life.

The surgery allowed Charlie to learn many things and tripled his IQ, making it over 200. Now that he is “smart,” each time he races Algernon in the maze Charlie is able to win. He is taught many new subjects, including several languages. The operation caused Charlie to realize that Doctor Nemur and Doctor Strauss don’t know everything. When Charlie realizes that other people do not know as much as he does, he becomes frustrated. He doesn’t realize that before his surgery, he knew far less than normal people, let alone the doctors. Charlie said of Dr. Strauss, “I was shocked to learn that the only ancient languages he could read were Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and that he knows almost nothing of mathematics beyond the elementary levels of the calculus of variations.” This arrogance puts a strain on his relationships. Charlie doesn’t realize it, but he is acting conceited. He finds it hard to communicate with people on a lower intelligence level than him, and spends most of his time reading and learning. Even though Charlie is acting superior, he realizes how beautiful Miss Kinnian is and that he loves her. She tutors him until Charlie passes her level of knowledge. Charlie also realizes that his friends might not be as wonderful as he thought. He understands the meaning of “pulling a Charlie Gordon,” and sees his “friends” laughing at him. Charlie feels awful about this revelation. While eating at a diner, he sees people in a restaurant laughing at a waiter and tries to stand up for the boy. Charlie is very angry with the insensitivity of these people, when he realizes that he had been laughing as well. He is furious with

himself.
After a while of being a genius, Charlie’s intelligence begins to return to the level it was before the operation. When Charlie realizes that he is starting to lose his knowledge, all he can think are thoughts such as “Oh, God, please don’t take it all away.” His determination to be smart is stronger than ever. Headaches and bouts of forgetfulness plague him. He lays in bed for most of the day, and his landlady Mrs. Flynn takes care of him. Since he isn’t working, Miss Kinnian tries to come by and pay his rent. He won’t let her inside because he doesn’t want her to see his diminishing mental ability. Charlie also blocks Miss Kinnian’s efforts to visit him because Charlie is sensitive at being the butt of a joke. The people that he had originally trusted and thought were amazing had really been laughing at him nearly his whole life. If he can, he wants to avoid ever going through that experience again. Even with his need to avoid Joe Carp and Frank Reilly, Charlie needs money. He decides to go back to his job. Charlie’s old “friends” allow him to return to the factory. Charlie’s friends don’t say anything mean, but a new worker teases Charlie. Joe and Frank feel guilty and stand up for him. They tell him “if anybody bothers you or trys to take advantage you call me or Joe and we will set em straight.” [sic] Charlie’s intelligence is at almost the same level as it was before the operation when he writes his last progress report. It explains how he’s “going someplace where nobody knows that Charlie Gordon was once a genus and now he cant even reed a book or rite good.” [sic] It apologizes to Dr. Strauss and Miss Kinnian.
Throughout the book, Charlie Gordon is constantly changing. In the beginning, the middle, and the end of the book, Charlie changes so greatly that he is almost a different character. Daniel Keyes’ “Flowers for Algernon” is an emotional story, and it’s made even better by the complex characters and their development.