Flowers For Algernon Literary Analysis

It is a customary norm in modern times to strive for greater knowledge in hopes of improving oneself with beneficial insights on the world or to improve the world. To what degree is the cap for knowledge? Knowledge is infinite, but once the good of the world is known, the only thing left to know is the wrongful tragedies. The accumulation of knowledge ultimately leads to sorrow and misery as people distance themselves from the human aspects to achieve happiness. Throughout history, humans have always grouped themselves with like-minded people in which they share a common culture, tradition, and knowledge. Being able to connect with each other, people are able to bring forth unity and prosperity to achieve the world they are content with.

A barrier is created that forbids the connection between the person and society as both parties don’t understand one another. This was the case for Charlie, a man who had a disability in learning, in the short story, “ Flowers for Algernon.” Charlie was a warm-hearted man who was happy in his job and grateful towards his co-workers, even though they mocked and humiliated him. He lacked the observation to understand that he was being fooled and was in bliss. Then one day, he was subjected to an experiment in order to make himself gain intelligence at an exponential rate. He quickly became self-aware, keener on facts, and rational minded. Knowledge had overtaken him and shifted him from a man who cherished the simple world to a man who dreaded everything the world is. Soon, he found out that he used to be the center of mockery at his work, and he disassociated himself from the world. He then could no longer connect with the people in his society as he became overly intelligent for the simple minded; he just couldn’t see why others couldn’t understand him anymore. He chooses to live a life in isolation, but that cuts the path to happiness

It is, however, not a rational judgment we make and more of an erratic decision of what seems the best. When someone becomes knowledgeable, they think more logically and put aside their own desires to achieve a consequential outcome, but later are burdened by their choice. An example that verifies that knowledge can lead to misery is the character, Spock, from Star Trek: Into Darkness. At the end of the film, Spock witnessed the death of his friend who had sacrificed himself to save the entirety of his crew. He was enraged by the fact he had the chance to save his friend, but risking the rest of the crew’s lives was illogical. Without following the human characteristic of following one’s gut, as the saying goes, he was burdened with grief in not entrusting his feeling and desire. When someone knows what they need to do and realizes what is the right thing to do, they forget what they should do instead, but it is a realization that is late coming as they are left to feel only with a contrite