In the story flowers for Algernon the research started with the ideas and interests of the two doctors. Both wanted help this guy named Charlie, at least that’s what we thought . Dr. Nemur the head of the operation and Dr. Strauss the one that gave Charlie the intelligence that they will later on regret. Surprisingly the two will have a reaction to Charlie’s growth, approach to science, and humanity. Dr. Nemur is the doctor in charge of the experiment which boosted Charlie’s intelligence. An arrogant man who takes pride in his career. He’s not really into valuing human lives nor animal lives. He observes Charlie as a animal instead of a human being. Furthermore, he will realize the monster he’s created. After it all Nemur …show more content…
Once Charlie becomes more sophisticated than himself, Nemur turns on Charlie. He just wanted to boost his reputation. Nemur is always under pressure by his wife, Bertha Nemur. She’s gotten him his professorship. So foreshadowing to the event at the convention in Chicago Nemur didn’t like being under minded by Charlie. Likewise, Nemur devotes himself to making other people geniuses. The ordinary man would like to be thought of as the discoverer of new laws of learning, Einstein Of Psychology. Charlie makes him re-question everything of that nature. Nemur does not want to fail meaning he would have to start all over again. That is why at the convention Nemur along with Strauss are going to tell the fellow scientists and doctors about the whole experiment. Comparatively, Dr. Strauss works for the benefit of society. You could say he’s an very unselfish person and does stuff out of the goodness of his heart. He too is surprised at Charlie’s progress; Charlie knows much more about science as he exchanges conversation with a student at the convention. Both Nemur and Strauss could not speak Hindi when a student asked if they read a article. Shocked that Nemur did not read the article because he does not know how to speak Hindi. Further stunned that Strauss does not either even though he speaks six different languages which at this point is 1 to
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
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.
In the end, Charlie is returned to his previous mental state proving that scientific experimentation leads to a destructive nature of man. In Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes shows the reader a destructive nature of man through stereotypes, absence of family, and the various IQ levels needed to mature. Therefore, science experiments should be left for chemicals and labs not humans and animals.
He proved the operation was a failure Algernon-Gordon effect. The quote is saying (which is next)that Charlie is telling the doctors that their experiment was a failure.The quote is “I recall your once saying to me that an experimental failure or disproving of a theory was important to the advancement of learning as a success would
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
We can all sympathize with Charlie on the surface, we have all made mistakes that we have to live with. Charlie is attempting to move forward with his life and erase the mistakes of his past. The ghosts of his past torment him repeatedly throughout the story, his child's guardians despise him and his old friends do not understand 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
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.
Charlie’s mental ability is tested by racing a mouse, Algernon, in all kinds of tests, including the maze. “I hate that mouse. He always beats me” (59.) Charlie isn’t stating that he hates Algernon because he’s jealous, or that he even hates him at all. He doesn’t appreciate the fact that Algernon makes him bad about himself. Charlie in actuality takes in the truth of the situation, in which he is Algernon. Algernon is Charlie. The two are in a way alike, because they both see things as they are. This also creates the irony that Charlie first “hate...
The scientists finally decide Charlie is the perfect subject for the experiment due to his motivation and his eagerness to be smart. As Charlie's IQ begins to grow, so does his ability to understand how cruel the world around him really is. While Charlie's knowledge grows, his attitude changes along with those around him. Charlie loses his job, friends, happiness, and even his willingness to care or learn. On the contrary, Charlie also experiences and learns a lot from this experiment.
... to make him a genius. The change in lifestyles was difficult for him at the start his “Friends” Frank and Joe began to hate him for being too smart they missed the old mentally retarted Charlie because they used to have fun picking on him, so the journey for Charlie was hard.
Firstly, in Flowers for Algernon, Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss make the decision to operate on Charlie solely with the possibility of boosting their reputation with fame and wealth. This is demonstrated during the scientists’ speech when they suggest Charlie was a subhuman before the operation, boosting their credibility on the fact that they gave him his wealth of knowledge entirely. When Charlie rebels at the Chicago convention, Strauss and Nemur’s dreams are crushed as they came so close to presenting their creation to the world, only fall short of the recognition and riches they could have obtained. Next, Charlie obliges to the operation to transform his reputation from an incompetent adult to an average man. His only dream was to be included in conversations at the bakery and talk politics, religion, and etcetera with his colleagues. Charlie’s feelings are exhibited when he reveals his desire not to be relegated to the flour sacks with his comic book, instead he would like to be included in the conversations of his co-workers. The possibility of finally being normal for once in his life inspires Charlie to agree to the operation. Finally, in Awakenings, Dr. Sayer is influenced to put a patient on the experimental drug, L-Dopa, to prove his worthiness and place in the hospital. During his early experiments with the catatonic patients, the senior doctors scoffed at his empty theories with no scientific evidence to support them. A representation of this situation is Dr. Sayer’s ball experiment where the patients supposedly steal the will to move from the ball. To conclude, when a person’s reputation is on the line, they can be compelled to make a decision to heighten their standing in the societal
It is also Charlie’s innocence of his dream that allows him to be exploited. It is Professor Nemur that has allowed Charlie’s innocence to be vandalised through the operation, as Professor Nemur expresses his own motivations in comforting Charlie that he will be famous, and will make the history books. However, these are Professor Nemurs’ dreams not Charlies, and Nemur is only using Charlie to reach his dreams.