Not everyone gets the chance to be a genius, but if you do dear god hold onto it as long as you can. Being smart can change your life for the better or for the worst (depends on how you think). In the short story “Flowers For Algernon” by Daniel Keyes a 37 year old man named Charlie who is declared dumb or idiotic becomes a genius from an operation. He also meets an animal just like him-a white mouse. This mouse called Algernon has gone through the same operation, but things don’t turn out as well as planned by the scientists. Yes, Charlie Gordon should have gotten this operation.
Because Charlie got this “operashun”, he was able to have an exposure to a plethora of emotions. Before Charlie got the surgery done, he didn’t know the difference
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People would see how he acts and laugh and that is just plain rudeness. People should be treated equally even if they act different or look funny. Treat people the way you want to be treated;not like they are some piece of trash on the sidewalk. “Sometimes somebody will say hey look at Joe or Frank or George he really pulled a Charlie Gordon. I dont know why they say that but they always laft. This morning Amos Borg who is the 4 man at Donnegans used my name when he shouted at Ernie the office boy. Ernie lost a packige. He said Ernie for god sake what are you trying to be a Charlie Gordon. I dont understand why he said that. I never lost any packiges.” Saying “You pulled a Charlie Gordon” is not charming. The people at the factory are basically saying that he is the most idiotic their so when someone messes up Charlie must be rubbing off on them. Because before and right after the operation Charlie still wasn’t that intelligent, he didn’t realize Joe and Frank weren’t his real friends and would just laugh at him. Charlie decided to change. He wanted to be liked and fit in. Maybe becoming smarter would solve that problem? “Once again now I have the feeling of shame burning inside me. This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved. Before, they laughed at me and despised me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding. …show more content…
He was able to experience many emotions, try to be accepted in life, as well as make a contribution to science. Would you have gone through with this? If I wasn’t as smart as everyone else, I would have gone through with this operation. Just to have a chance to be a genius for a short period of time would be amazing. Many people in this world don’t get treated nicely and that is not right. Think about everyday getting pushed around and laughed at. Honestly I wouldn’t be able to handle that and I would probably just shrink up inside till there's nothing left beside a body without a
Before Charlie had the operation preformed on him, he had friends at the bakery he worked at. They were not really his friends because they always made jokes about Charlie, but he was not smart enough to realize it. As he gets smarter he loses his friends because they think he is just trying to act smart.
Firstly, Charlie's realizes that his co-workers aren't his true friends after all. When Joe Carp and Frank Reilly take him to a house party, they made him get drunk and started laughing at the way he was doing the dancing steps. Joe Carp says, "I ain't laughed so much since we sent him around the corner to see if it was raining that night we ditched him at Halloran's" (41), Charlie recalls his past memory of him being it and not finding his friends who also ditched him and immediately realizes that Joe Carp was relating to the same situation. Charlie felt ashamed and back-stabbed when he realized that he had no friends and that his co-workers use to have him around for their pure entertainment. It's after the operation, that he finds out he has no real friends, and in result feels lonely. Next, Charlie unwillingly had to leave his job from the bakery where he worked for more than fifteen years. Mr. Donner treated him as his son and took care of him, but even he had noticed an unusual behavior in Charlie, lately. Mr. Donner hesitatingly said, "But something happened to you, and I don't understand what it means... Charlie, I got to let you go" (104), Charlie couldn't believe it and kept denying the fact that he had been fired. The bakery and all the workers inside it were his family, and the increase of intelligence had ...
Others may say that charlie wouldn’t have been fired from his job but i argue that he still got his job back still. Another may say that he realized he was being bullied but i argue that his friends came back around and helped him out at the end for instance”the new men who came to work there after i went a way made a nasty crack he said hey charlie i hear you're a very smart fella a real quiz kid.Say something intelligent.I felt bad but joe carp came over and grabbed him by the shirt and said leave him alone you lousy cracker or I’ll break your neck…”. (keys,243) and that’s my
The first reason why I think this is that the operation makes Charlie realize how mean his friends were and loses them, causing him to feel bad. For example, on page 209 it says, “It’s a funny thing I never knew that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have me around all the time to make fun of me,” and later Charlie says, “I’m ashamed,” which shows how realizing the truth about Joe and Frank makes him feel.
Charlie starts off as a grown man who was abandoned by his parents at an early age due to hid disability. Charlie maintains as job cleaning the bakery where he was basically raised by Mr. Donner, the man who owns the bakery, and all the other workers there. Considering Charlie is not conscious that everybody else makes fun of him he goes along with all the jokes and harassments they make toward him. Given Charlie was happy at this time, it raises the question would he have been content if he had known that he was being made fun of?
In the first place, Charlie’s colleagues are taking advantage of Charlie’s disabilities. They call him names because they are aware the he does not know they are insulting him. In one of the progress reports, Charlie stated, “Everybody laffed and we had a good time and they gave me lots of drinks and Joe said Charlie is a card when hes potted. I dont know what that means but everybody likes me and we have fun” [SIC] (205). Charlie does not know that Joe and Frank are insulting him. If he was intelligent, he would get upset and hurt. After the operation, Charlie started to realize that Joe and Frank were calling him names and made him embarrass himself in front of people. For example, when Joe and Frank made him dance with Ellen, he used trip over someone’s foot. Charlie had mentioned, “It’s a funny thing never knew that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have me around all the time to make fun of me. I’m ashamed,” (209). He was embarrassed and hurt. Before the operation, Joe and Frank used to
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.
Charlie begins to learn how society treats the mentally retarded. He realizes his old friends at the bakery just made fun of him. After watching the audience laugh at video of him before the operation, Charlie runs away from a mental health conference with Algernon after learning that his operation went wrong. Charlie does research on himself and learns that intelligence without the ability to give and receive affection leads to mental and moral breakdown. In many ways Charlie was better before the operation.
Many popular novels are often converted into television movies. The brilliant fiction novel, Flowers for Algernon written by Daniel Keyes, was developed into a dramatic television film. Flowers for Algernon is about a mentally retarded man who is given the opportunity to become intelligent through the advancements of medical science. This emotionally touching novel was adapted to television so it could appeal to a wider, more general audience. Although the novel and film are similar in terms of plot and theme, they are different in terms of characters.
Firstly, Charlie grows emotionally and physically as a human being: growing and becoming more complete with every experience. Starting off, Charlie grows physically as he develops into a more of a complete man. Joe and Frank invite Charlie to a party, during the party he is forced to dance with a girl named Ellen. After waking up the next morning, Charlie says, “I dreamed about the girl Ellen dancing and rubbing up against me and when I woke up the sheets were wet and messy” (Keyes 43). Charlie has his first wet dream, he is slowly going through puberty after the operation and becoming a more complete man. Adding on, Charlie is always happy and thinks all is good in the world, before the operation everything seems fine to him. He is like a child: naive. After the operation, Charlie has therapy sessions with the doctor, where they do tests to measure growth. During one of these therapy sessions, Charlie says, “I had reached a new level and anger and suspicion were my reactions to the world around me” (Keyes 57-58). Charlie grows emotionally, he adds another aspect to his cha...
After the A.I. surgery Charlie’s emotions were much more complex. It is very clear to see Charlie’s excitement in the
If Charlie didn’t have the operation he would not be able to realize that Joe and Frank were making fun of him. Joe and Frank would just keep making fun of him and he would not be able to stick up for himself. Once in the story Charlie said,“It's a funny thing I never knew that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have me around all the time to make fun of me. Now I know what it means when they say "to pull a Charlie Gordon.” I'm ashamed” (page 524). Somebody who has been made fun of before should know that anybody would want to stick up for themselves. This shows that it was a blessing for Charlie to have this operation because now he can stick up for
Have you ever questioned what intelligent was? Many people wish they could be more intelligent. If you could change your intelligence, would you? In the short story “Flowers For Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, the main character, Charlie Gordon, was given the opportunity to undergo an operation that increases his low IQ for a short period of time. Charlie made the decision to go through with the operation in order to experience a more intellectual life; Charlie had always wanted to be smarter, and this was his chance to live out his dream. Charlie’s life and struggles throughout “Flowers for Algernon” can be equated to the plot of “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato. As we follow the escapee prisoner in “The Allegory of the Cave” we realize that
Who are humans to say that one trait is superior to another? By altering embryos, we would be obliterating individuality and uniqueness. The person to come from that embryo will be a completely different person because they are missing the gene they were supposed to be born with. People learn from their experiences, and that’s how they find themselves, and who they are. Without the experience of having a rare disease, or even a certain eye color, they could be so different. After Charlie Gordon had the operation, he wrote in his journal, “Thank God for books and music and things I can think about. I am alone in my apartment at Mrs. Flynn’s boardinghouse most of the time and seldom speak to anyone” (Keyes 75). So for all his enhanced intelligence, Charlie finds himself both mentally and physically alone. People assume a high intellect is important, but when Charlie gained intelligence, he lost something else. Who is to say that he was better off after the
The Science Fiction story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keys a 37 year old man Charlie Gordon was given an opportunity to increase his I.Q. before the surgery he had a low I.Q. of 68.3 and at that time he was motivated to learn to more. If you had an opportunity to improve your I.Q. , would you take that chance? He wanted the surgery so he could be a genius after the A.I. surgery his wish came true and Charlie Gordon’s I.Q. significantly increased which proves he should have the A.I. surgery. After the surgery his spelling improved, he gained imagination and was able to make an advancement to the field of science.