Flowers For Algernon: The Impact Of An Operation

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The Impact of an Operation A study conducted by researchers at the University of Syracuse found that falling in love has similar effects on the body as taking cocaine. Falling in love not only has effects on the entire body, but the brain as well. In the novel, Flowers for Algernon, Charlie searches for love and human connections. Charlie, an intellectually challenged man, undergoes surgery that causes him to grow both intellectually and emotionally. He believed that if he was intelligent, then he would have love and human connections. Charlie’s innocent thinking eventually returns to torment him after the operation. And because of this, Charlie is better off after the surgery because he realizes what real love is and that knowledge does not spawn human bonds. …show more content…

Throughout the book, Charlie’s view on love changes from, “I’m a person.And I have to love someone” (Keyes 85) to, “my feeling for Alice has been moving backward.from worshiping, to love, to fondness, to a feeling of gratitude and responsibility” (Keyes 126) and finally, he decides, “I wanted to be in love with her” (Keyes 126). As Charlie develops both intellectually and emotionally, he realizes that his so-called love for Alice is not love, but a need for guidance. He begins by saying that he needs to love someone, which represents his need for someone to fill the hole that his family dug in him. Then he and Alice got into an argument which encouraged Charlie to think about his and Alice’s relationship. He comes to the realization that he did not love Alice like he thought he did. He subconsciously thought of Alice as a mother, filling in the hole his mother left in his heart. Charlie feels guilty, not only for making Alice a mother figure, but also to himself for not loving Alice like he wanted to. The intelligence Charlie gained not only disappointed those around him, but himself as

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