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Argumentative essay about flowers for algernon
The relationship between knowledge and ignorance
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Knowledge has the ability to make humans content, irritated, or emotional. Around the world today, there are countless events happening all the time such as war, presidential elections, and the economy, if individuals did not know what was going on their own life, the mind itself would not progress in life and therefore remain ignorant.
Every human has a determination in their life like having a successful career, learn a new language, travel to new places, and have a family. For example, in Flowers For Algernon, Charlie Gordon has a mindset to be more smarter after his operation so he could assimilate with his friends around him. To be victorious in reaching a goal, one must find information to know what to do, without having this capability, no one would be making progress. However, throughout the journey of gaining experience toward their success point, the individual will encounter mistakes that would prevent them from reaching a goal, but the person can assimilate the error and would know the truth of what happened. In Flowers For Algernon, it states “He says dont get discoriged because it takes time and it happins slow.”
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In Flowers For Algernon, Charlie Gordon is being made fun by his two “friends” who are Joe Carp and Frank Reilly, “Before, they laughed at me and despised me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding.” After the operation, he realizes that Joe and Frank were not really his friends. Although Charlie was slightly upset, he was soon able to realize the truth of what was happening and knew what was going to be again if he did follow the same path. In addition, if ignorance is bliss, then a human can’t feel unpleasant realities and don’t know what is going on. Therefore, the person does not have knowledge and can’t come up with answers to fix
Knowledge can be the key to success and can lead people to happier life. However, there are some instances that you can not gain any more knowledge because of how it would change your whole life. The drive of wanting more and more knowledge is best portrayed through two well -known books. In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, and in Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon, both the creature and Charlie are ostracized by society because they are different from everyone else but this distinction gave way for distinct fallouts because of their quest for knowledge beyond their reach to achieve happiness.
Ethics is a topic that is argued about a lot in today's modern society. Ethics are the bases of standards of what is right and wrong that tell what humans should or shouldn't do. In the story "Flowers For Algernon", Charlie Gordon is a mentally disabled thirty seven year-old man who has difficulty learning and comprehending. Two doctors decide to offer a surgery to Charlie that could change his life forever. The experimental surgery would supposedly help his intelligence level. Charlie Gordons' doctors did not act ethically when they performed the experiment to improve his intelligence.
Marquis de Condorcet’s Future Progress of the Human Mind depicts knowledge as being something that human beings want to achieve. To attain more knowledge on a specific thing, the information must be available through more universal education along with subjects being easier to classify. When the knowledge is available and simpler for humans, they will want to learn. Through people wanting to learn more things, new information will want to be discovered and in conclusion, be a happier place. Knowledge, in Condorcet’s eyes, is the key to happiness because it allows people to focus on life rather than surviving.
Rose said that knowledge “enabled me to do things in the world” (Rose 344). I totally agree with it. I believe that knowledge changes people’s lives. If I did not try my best to learn English, I will never get chance to go abroad to study. I always think about that if I stayed in China and still slacked off in English instead of going to U.S. to studying, what kind of life I will live right now? Maybe I will get used to being “average” like some of Rose’s classmates, but I know I will regret so much when I recall my adolescent life if I did not make efforts to pursue knowledge.
We as humans tend to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. We look for knowledge about everybody and everything that surrounds us in our day-to-day life. Sadly though, we must accept that in the grand scheme of life we (as a society) tend to put pleasure above our quest for knowledge. The pursuit of knowledge tends to take time and energy, two things we call invaluable, and it also shows us things that might depress us. Contrastingly, ignorance takes no time and energy.
Knowledge helps people make conclusions, lets them be skillful, smart, and keeps them aware. People gather knowledge through experience, whether it's from school, mistakes, witnessing a situation, or trying new activities out. Including in “Fahrenheit 451”, the author, Ray Bradbury does an amazing job in explaining and describing to his audience of how society results in a setting without reasonable amounts of knowledge. People in the society of “Fahrenheit 451” begin to lose common sense after the books are prohibited to keep. In the novel 451 Ray Bradbury warns the audience that without knowledge people are manipulated easily. In reality knowledge is the key to surviving.
He was much happier before the operation. The situations were the same before. But, after the operation, he had started noticing the obstacles. Joe and Frank used to tease Charlie before, but now he was ashamed and realized that they had befriended him to make fun of him. He now started noticing the wicked incidents in his surrounding and started to compare them to his life. He became lonely after he got fired from his job. His life had become a track lane with obstacles all along the way after he became intelligent. Intelligence does not always lead to happiness. The story “Flowers for Algernon” proves that ignorance is
Our knowledge is a key to our success and happiness in our life to give us personal satisfaction. Knowledge is power but not always. Sometimes our self-awareness and growth as an individual gives us negative thoughts that make us want to go back to undo it. Everyone wants to unlearn a part in our life that brought us pain and problems. Good or bad experiences brought by true wisdom can be used for our self-acceptance, self-fulfillment and these experiences would make us stronger as we walk to the road of our so called “life”, but Douglas’s and my experience about knowledge confirmed his belief that “Knowledge is a curse”. Both of us felt frustrated and sad from learning knowledge.
If a man does not know of hurt and suffering, he should not have to know. Before Charlie knew the truth of his life and was able to look back on it, he didn’t know of some horrible feelings. He never had to feel ugly, unwanted, alone, and most of all, ashamed. After finding out how all of the men he thought were his friends only used him for free laughs, Charlie feels so humiliated.
“...a constant passion for knowledge that will reveal to them something of reality which endures forever.” This shows that they care and value knowledge and the craving for more knowledge.
Common knowledge is a great thing to have. Even though we speak different languages in the world, we can all still relate to the feelings that are brought out in Shakespeare's plays. Knowledge is something that almost everyone craves, and the more that everyone knows about a subject, the more questions are raised about it and more
Knowledge, when used for the wrong reasons can be proven harmful, but overall, knowledge is used for creating a better
In the novel Flowers for Algernon, “ignorance is a bliss” is an abundant theme shown throughout the book. This theme can also relate to everyday people in the real world. There are many different examples of this theme in the novel and in real life, but in the book, ignorance did not stop Charlie Gordon from aspiring to become intelligent. The theme of “ignorance is a bliss”, is shown throughout the novel Flowers for Algernon in many different ways.
Your hunger for knowledge will lead you to more learnings. People leads to inventions because of the necessities of life. And this will lead you to the best that you can have. Peace of mind is really essential in living live to the fullest. In everything you do, you must keep in mind that what you need is to be truly happy without hurting other people.
The quest for knowledge and learning has been occuring since the creation of mankind. Ever since the serpent in the Garden of Eden tempted Eve to eat the forbidden apple from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, promising she would wise as the gods, man has been battling with this endless pursuit. Some men want wisdom so that they may be able to live a good and righteous life. Other men want only the power that knowledge can bring them, to use it for their own sinful purposes.