To begin with, the text, “Flowers for Algernon,” by Daniel Keys, shows an abundant amount of examples when it comes to asking others for guidance-- or lack thereof. The story follows a man named Charlie, a mentally impaired 37-year old who has decided to undergo a newly tested surgery, performed by two neurosurgeons, Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur, that will theoretically increase his intelligence. The surgery has already been tested on other animals, like Algernon the mouse. Although the surgery initially seemed to be successful-- resulting in a huge peak in Charlie’s intelligence, these effects were temporary. The lasting outcome of the surgery leaves Charlie in ruins; he loses his job, one of his closest friends-- Algernon the mouse, all of …show more content…
the knowledge that he had gained, and eventually becomes so depressed; he leaves everything and everyone he has ever known behind and moves away. At the beginning of this heart-wrenching story, we are only given Charlie’s real motives for undergoing this surgery--to become smarter. Later on, Dr. Nemur’s real motives for performing the intelligence-enhancing surgery are finally revealed to us in Progress Report #12 (May 15), where Charlie states, “[Dr.Nemur] wants people to take him for a genius. Therefore, it is important for him to feel that his work is accepted by the world. I believe that Dr. Nemur was afraid of further delay because he worried that someone else might make a discovery along these lines and take the credit from him” (297). Also, in Progress Report #11, Charlie witnesses an argument between the two neurosurgeons. “April 27 Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur don't seem to be getting along so well. Dr. Nemur was saying that it was his experiment and his research, and Dr. Strauss was shouting back that he contributed just as much, because he found me (Charlie) through Miss Kinnian and he performed the operation. Dr. Strauss said that someday thousands of neurosurgeons might be using his technique all over the world. Dr. Nemur wanted to publish the results of the experiment at the end of this month. Dr. Strauss wanted to wait a while longer to be sure. Dr. Strauss said that Dr. Nemur was more interested in the Chair of Psychology at Princeton than he was in the experiment. Dr. Nemur said that Dr. Strauss was nothing but an opportunist who was trying to ride to glory on his coattails” (295). This argument between the two doctors proves that Dr. Nemur especially was only invested in the surgery for his own personal gain-- and not for the benefit of Charlie. Because he was so eager to get his results out to the world and so paranoid that someone may discover a way to complete the surgery before him, he decided to rush into the surgery and didn’t take the guidance given to him by Dr. Strauss, who said that they should wait. Instead, he goes ahead with the surgery, causing a butterfly effect to occur. Because of this, Charlie loses his friends, his teacher, and most importantly, his happiness. Additionally, in Progress Report #13, we witness Algernon’s strange behavior, which is concluded as a side-effect of the surgery. “May 23 It happened today. Algernon bit me. I visited the lab to see him as I do occasionally, and when I took him out of his cage, he snapped at my hand. I put him back and watched him for a while. He was unusually disturbed and vicious. May 24 [Algernon] is less co-operative; he refuses to run the maze any more; general motivation has decreased. Everyone is upset about what this may mean. May 25 They're all pretending that Algernon's behavior is not necessarily significant for me. But it's hard to hide the fact that some of the other animals who were used in this experiment are showing strange behavior. I've got to find the reason for the sharp regression in Algernon. I've got to know if and when it will happen to me” (300).
From these two texts, it is evident that Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur rushed too quickly into the surgery when it came to testing on a human because of their own personal gain and selfish reasons--and in doing so-- ruined Charlie’s life. The two doctors should have discussed testing the surgery on Charlie with other professionals and waited until Algernon died to see the full side effects of the surgery-- instead of testing on a human before the mouse has lived out his full life. If they would have done so--and have taken the guidance they would have been given-- they would have witnessed the strange behavior that Algernon exhibited on May 23 before they would have tested on Charlie. The doctors would have recognized the side-effects of the surgery, would not have tested on Charlie, and he would have remained the way he was at the beginning of the story-- innocent, optimistic, and persistent. We know from reading the end of the story, where Charlie loses all of the intelligence he gained, that Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss do not succeed, therefore proving that true success requires guidance from others-- guidance that the two neurosurgeons did not …show more content…
take. Furthermore, in the book, A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen, it is evident that giving guidance-- as well as receiving guidance--is an essential/a useful skill in life. (LAST SENTENCE?) This short story introduces us to a brave and spirited twelve-year-old girl named Gerta, and her family, who are living in East Berlin after the Second World War. As an outcome of the war, Berlin has been divided into two; half which belongs to the West, and half that belongs to the East. The Western side is strongly influenced by American culture and is considered free, while the East side of Berlin belongs to the Communist Government of Russia. When the Berlin Wall, a towering cement fence splitting Germany in two, is built unexpectedly during the night, it divides her family in half; with her father and brother in the West, and herself, her mother, and eldest brother, trapped in the East. Gerta’s is secretly instructed by her father to build a tunnel underneath the wall and turns to Fritz, her older brother, for guidance on how to do so. If not for Fritz taking the lead on digging the tunnel and giving Gerta guidance along the way, it is very likely that they would not have survived (due to the tunnel collapsing) or would have been captured by the Stasi, the East German Communist Police Force. Fritz is constantly demonstrating leadership to Gerta and gives guidance on how to construct the tunnel, where to hide the dirt they have dug, and how to cover up their tracks. If not for Fritz, it is probable to conclude that Gerta’s family would not have connected their tunnel with the one that their father was building on the other side; and would not have escaped from the Communist side of East Berlin. Fritz showed impeccable character and bravery while risking everything for his family, and along the way, gave guidance and instruction to avoid getting caught and help dig their way towards freedom. Additionally, we can see that true success requires guidance from others in the incredible story of Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan.
In 1881, when Helen Keller was a little over a year old, she was a bright and joyful little girl until she contracted what was believed to be Scarlet Fever at the age of 19 months, which left her completely blind, deaf, and mute. Often frustrated that she wasn’t like everyone else, Helen became a very naughty child, who threw a tantrum when things didn’t go her way. When Helen was a little over seven years old, she was introduced to Anne Sullivan, her lifelong teacher and mentor. Miss Sullivan taught Helen how to read, write, type, and speak, but also taught her obedience and manners. Throughout her lifetime, Helen began her legacy by dedicating 40 years of work to the American Foundation for the Blind, created state commissions for the blind, rehabilitation centers, and worked to make education accessible to those with vision loss. Helen Keller made a massive impact on the world today and on how we perceive the blind and deaf, and without the guidance and support of Anne Sullivan (turning a spoiled, unruly child into a highly respected activist for the deaf and blind) the world would have never known that someone who was blind, deaf, and mute, could change the world as we knew it. Anne Sullivan forever changed Helen’s life-- and in doing so-- the world. By showing young Helen discipline and giving guidance to her Helen became an
incredible sensation-- showing us that even people with disabilities can change the world. Finally, in the Old Testament Bible story, Mordecai and Esther, we can find countless examples that support my claim; true success requires guidance from others. The prominent story of Esther begins when King Xerxes, who ruled over an empire that stretched from India to Cush, or present day Ethiopia, is in search of a new queen to replace Queen Vashti. Esther, a young Jewish girl living in his empire, was among the beautiful, refined young girls that were brought to the palace to win the favor of the king. Advised by her uncle, Mordecai, Esther kept her background and religion a secret from everyone and eventually was declared queen. While all of this was happening, a court official named Haman was plotting to destroy the Jews because of an encounter he had had with Mordecai. Haman eventually convinces the King to issue a decree that was sent out to all the King’s provinces and ordered the people, “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods” (NIV). When hearing this news, Mordecai, along with the rest of the Jews, fasted, mourned, and wept bitterly. Esther then decided to seek guidance from her uncle; Who told her to, “ go to the king to implore his favor and to plead with him for her people (NIV). When Esther heard this, she became very afraid-- if she was to approach the king without him summoning her, she could be put to death. Despite this, however, Esther decides to obey her uncle’s instructions and take the guidance he had offered her. When Queen Esther approached King Xerxes, he showed favor towards her and she invited him and the court official, Haman, to a banquet meal. On the 2nd night of the banquet, Esther pleads for her life and the lives of her people. When the King heard this news, he was outraged, demanding to be told, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing? Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!” Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. “If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?” Through Esther’s bravery and obedience to Mordecai, she successfully saved the Jewish people. Esther decided to take the guidance that was given to her by her uncle and reached true success when she saved the Jewish people from annihilation.
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
Although Charlie was a thirty seven year-old man, his understanding and comprehension of a situation was far too low to understand such consequences that the surgery could come with. In the article, "Five Steps to Better Ethical Decision Making", it says to ask yourself if you could understand making that choice (Dobrin). The doctors in "Flowers for Algernon" did not ask themselves if they were lacking as much intelligence as Charlie, could they make the choice to have the surgery? Charlie didn't know what could happen to him if the there were side effects until it was too late. Therefore, the doctors did not act ethically when choosing Charlie as the test
Charlie was used, opportunists only looked after Charlie for their own well-being. These doctors knew Charlie was the ultimate person, he had no family. Additionally, the surgeons superseded Charlie’s life, nobody was definite of the side effects, yet they agreed on performing this experiment. No heart was given to Charlie, he was just an item for Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur. Moreover, Algernon was not the only lab mice, there were hundreds more! Tons of these animals probably died; however, the specialists prepared this analysis with one victorious lab to rodent. All the people working with Charlie on the study were conscious on the side effect; despite that, nobody informed Charlie. Over the months, Charlie was only a gadget to benefit the opportunists, the human himself. Not being aware of all the circumstances, Charlie was an investigation to fix
For those who are not familiar with the story of Helen Keller or the play 'The Miracle Worker', it recalls the life of a girl born in 1880 who falls tragically ill at the young age of two years old, consequently losing her ability to hear, speak, and see. Helen's frustration grew along side with her age; the older she got the more it became apparent to her parents that she was living in more of an invisible box, than the real world. Her imparities trapped her in life that seemed unlivable. Unable to subject themselves to the torment which enveloped them; watching, hearing and feeling the angst which Helen projected by throwing plates and screaming was enough for them to regret being blessed with their own senses. The Kellers, in hopes of a solution, hired Anne Sullivan, an educated blind woman, experienced in the field of educating sensory disabilities arrived at the Alabama home of the Kellers in 1887. There she worked with Helen for only a little over a month attempting to teach her to spell and understand the meaning of words v. the feeling of objects before she guided Helen to the water pump and a miracle unfolded. Helen understood the juxtaposition of the touch of water and the actual word 'water' Anne spelled out on her hand . Helen suddenly began to formulate the word 'wa...
Overall, Helen Keller’s speech displays an argument that blind people are just as great as normal people and that people should care about blind people too. This speech also provides our world today with an important message. Everyone should take part in helping out other people and therefore help make the world a better and delightful place for
Charlie?s experiment was temporary, and overtime his IQ regressed. Algernon, a mouse that went through the same surgery as Charlie, died. If Charlie?s hypothesis proves correct, then he will die as well. Charlie?s life was better before the experiment because he was not exposed to the risks and consequences of the surgery. Without the experiment, Charlie would still be living his ignorant but happy life.
“It would have been difficult to find a happier child than I was as I lay in my crib at the close of that eventful day and lived over the joys it had brought me, and for the first time longed for a new day to come. I had now the key to all language, and I was eager to learn to use it” (Keller 146). The ability to actually comprehend words and associate those words to thoughts and feelings rejuvenated her. Keller was reborn that day, with a new ‘vision’ and a new direction. What started that day, culminated into Keller becoming the first deaf person to earn a bachelors degree. She learnt to speak and ‘hear’ by following the movements of people’s lips. Keller was extremely hardworking and she personified willpower and diligence by patiently untangling the taboos of society to prove her critics wrong.
The experiment starts to work and Charlie gets smarter and he starts realizing new things. Before the operation his imagination and his brain weren’t working that well. His imagination started to work for the first time when he got this operation. Now that he was smart, he could quit his old job of working as a janitor at a bakery and start working for the hospital full time.
One important idea the doctors had to consider was whether or not Charlie was a suitable candidate to use for the experiment. Even before the operation was confirmed, the doctors had performed tests on Charlie such as the inkblot tests and the maze races against Algernon. Charlie eventually won the two doctors over by expressing his motivation to learn and become smart. The doctors knew that other patients with Charlie's mentality were uncooperative, which was unlike this candidate they were considering. This decision was especially important for the doctors because if they did not choose a fitting candidate, their experiment may not have been as easy to analyze.
Because of this operation, Charlie gained intelligence topping even the doctors and having a greater understanding of everything around him. Another great example is that he could show all of his co-workers at work how much he cared about what they think of him. The final example is the strongest in my opinion because of all the friends he gained in the process. So in conclusion, I think Charlie made the right decision in trying and getting the operation done to make him
Some people might say that the doctors didn’t act ethically with Charlies surgery. That might be true in some cases but in this case it is not. Charlies doctors acted ethically when they said they would use Charlie as a test. Charlie probably didn’t know what it meant to be used as a test subject but he was fine with it. Charlies doctors
Helen Keller was born on June 27th, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. She was a bright infant, interested in everything around her, and imitating adults at a very young age. In February of 1882, she was struck with an illness which left her deaf and blind. For several years, Helen had very little communication with the rest of the world, except for a few signs which she used with her family. When she was six, her parents wanted desperately to do something to help their strong-willed, half-wild, child. They were far from any deaf or blind schools, and doubted that anyone would come to the little town to educate their deaf and blind child. They heard of a doctor in Baltimore who had helped many seemingly hopeless cases of blindness, but when he examined Helen, there was nothing he could do for her. However, he referred them to Dr. Alexander Graham Bell who recommended Anne Sullivan to teach Helen.
Have you ever interacted with a blind, deaf and mute person? Annie Sullivan, who went to Perkins Institution which was a school for the blind was recruited to go and teach a blind, deaf and mute child. Annie was to act as a teacher toward Helen Keller who was a child who became deaf, blind and mute at a very young age, and teach her to understand words. Helen was diagnosed with a severe, “brain” fever when she was an infant and then was later to be recognised as being blind, deaf and mute. Annie needed to help Helen understand words and the meaning of words and was getting paid by Helen’s family to do so.
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched-they must be felt with the heart,” claims Helen Keller, a blind and deaf woman since the age of 19 months when she contracted what the doctors of her era called “brain fever”, now known as scarlet fever (www.nndb.com). Throughout her life, she began as a scared child and transformed into a bold, “miracle worker”. Helen Keller transformed the lives of others with her dedication and work, involved herself in political causes and even inspired other deaf-blind children, before she went on to win numerous awards.
The next 6 years of Helen’s life were spend in tantrums, darkness and all around loneliness. “I got used to the silence and darkness that surrounded me and forgot it had ever been different, until she came- my teacher” (Keller 1902 Pg. 8). She had many fits, and refused any instruction. Her family was very poor, and could afford very little. The “teacher” as Helen called her; was Anne Sullivan who had contracted trachoma as a child and was as well legally blind. Annie was said to have saved Helen. Within 6 months of teaching from Sullivan Keller quickly advanced. She became well known to reading and writing in Braille, as well as writing in a manual alphabet.