What Does Flowers For Algernon Mean

638 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Flowers for algernon summary essay

Flowers for Algernon is a book written by Daniel Keyes, it is about a retarded man hoping to get smarter by having a surgery. The surgery goes well but takes time for him to get smarter. As he progressively gets smarter things about him start changing and starts being self conscious. His main goal is to have a lot of friends and to be popular. He thinks that becoming smart will make him excepted just like everyone else. For Charlie this doesn't go as well as planned, as being happy has nothing to do with being smart. First, he is starting to notice that people are being mean and rude when he says “Now I know what they mean when the say “to pull up a Charlie Gordan”’ (Keyes 42). He has become more self aware since the beginning of the book because at the beginning he didn’t know that his friends are making fun of him and know that he is getting smarter he is starting to realize it and that makes him very upset know, knowing that his friends have been mean and making fun of him this whole time. This makes him very sad and know that he's starting to get smarter he is realizing that maybe he was happier …show more content…

He is now getting mad and starting to see why happiness and being smart aren't related when Dr. Strauss says, “’The more intelligent you become the more problems you’ll have, Charlie. Your intellectual growth is going to outstrip your emotional growth. And I think you’ll find that as you progress, there will be many things you’ll want to talk to me about. I just want you to remember that this is the place for you to come when you need help” Keyes (47). They know that Charlie is going to have starting problems and that makes Charlie kind of mad because it makes him see that happiness is a lot harder to get when you are smart. Now he has to start working for things because the smarter he gets the more problems he's faced with. Anyone would be mad or upset knowing that things are about to get harder and about to

Show More
Related

  • Charlie was Better off Before the Operation in Flowers for Algernon

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Lennie And Charlie

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Charlie lived in a paradise-like world, he though he had many "friends". The only thing he felt he was missing was brains. When he was offered the chance to become 'smart' he jumped at the chance to be like everyone else. Unprepared for the changes intelligence would bring, Charlie lost his innocence. When he realizes his 'friends' don't actually like him they just liked to make fun of him.

    Read More

  • Intelligence In Flowers For Algernon

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Flowers For Algernon

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    And therein lies the tale. Charlie does indeed get smarter. He struggles to absorb as much knowledge as he can in whatever time he has. He suggests a new way to line up the machines at the factory, saving the owner tens of thousands of dollars a year in operating costs, and the owner gives him a $25 bonus. But when Charlie suggests to his factory friends that he could use his bonus to treat them to lunch or a drink, they have other things to do.

    Read More

  • Flowers For Algernon Thesis Statement

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    Background information:In the story of “Flowers For Algernon” charlie was abiviously not as itelligent as he should have been. What is trying to be said is that when someone did or said something to charlie he would do nothing but laugh because he didnt think for hmself or know what he was doing. The same concept goes with the story of “Adam And Eve”. In the story Adam and Eve, Eve was tricked by the snake of eating of the tree of knowledge. She also didnt know any better and could’t think for herself.Eve and Charlie both had bad the same differnce outcome.

    Read More

  • Intelligence and Happiness in Flowers for Algernon

    395 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Nurture In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

    1730 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Self-Acceptance In Flowers For Algernon

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    This story is written in the form of journals to convey Charlie’s personal thoughts to the reader. This form of writing shows the thought process of Charlie before, during, and after his operation, and it explains how people shouldn’t change for anyone else. In Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes presents the idea that self-acceptance is important in life along with staying true to who you are.

    Read More

  • Charlie Gordon

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    Charlie Gordon is the main character of Flowers for Algernon. Charlie is a mentally retarded, 33 year old adult. He desperately wants to be smart, especially after a very troubled childhood in a family who had a hard time adapting to his illness. Charlie has a great attitude about changing his life, and was willing to do whatever it took to accomplish the task of becoming smart. Charlie partakes in a surgery to boost his intelligence that has only been tested on rats, specifically one named Algernon. After the surgery Charlie learned that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and that many of his old friends wouldn’t see the same person in him. Charlie suddenly had to experience drastic changes in his lifestyle and the story revolves around these complications.

    Read More

  • Flowers For Algernon - Comparing And Contrasting

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Flowers For Algernon

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Flowers for Algernon” is about a man named Charlie Gordon who is mentally retarded. Charlie signs up for an experiment that is supposed to make him smarter. He wants to be like every one else. To do the experiment he has to keep a journal showing his progress. Charlie starts out spelling almost every word wrong. Charlie’s family and friends have all made fun of him; his parents gave him to his uncle when he was ten.

    Read More

  • Flowers for Algernon

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    When was the last time you wanted something so much, you would sacrifice your life to have it; even if just for a moment? Charlie Gordon, a 37 year old man with a learning disability, did just that. In the story "Flowers for Algernon", by Daniel Keyes, Charlie gets a chance to alter his I.Q. substantially through operation. The only drawback to this is, the long-term outcomes of the operation are unknown. The operation does succeed, but later Charlie is sent on a riveting downward spiral into the life he tried to run away from. The operation hurt Charlie in every imaginable way; and did nothing to help him.

    Read More

  • Flowers For Algernon

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    In society, many individuals attempt to change their appearance or personality for the benefit of others or to improve their own self worth. Ultimately, these changes have the ability to boost one’s self esteem. In Daniel Keys’s Flowers For Algernon, Charlie Gordon undergoes surgery to increase his intelligence. Even though his intelligence is not a permanent transformation, it allows him to become more aware about his own life. Charlie’s transformation is ethical and therefore the result is worth the attempt.

    Read More

  • Flowers for Algernon

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Flowers for Algernon, first published in 1959, is considered a landmark work on both science fiction and disability literature,” (Werlock 2009). The American Library Association reports that this novel was banned as an obscene for its love scenes. When the main character, Charlie Gordon, increases his IQ from 68 to a level that makes him a genius (after received experimental brain surgery), his maturity leads him to fall in love with his teacher, and a sexual encounter ensues. This caused Flowers for Algernon to be banned and challenged in many places (Plant City, Florida- 1976, Emporium, Pennsylvania- 1977, Oberlin High School (Ohio) - 1983, among others). Most people consider the sexual scenes fairly mild, but there are those who consider any mention of sexual behavior inappropriate for teens or pre-teens, hence the attempts at censorship. Many of the challenges have proved unsuccessful, but the book has occasionally been banned from school libraries including some in Pennsylvania and Texas. Flowers for Algernon has won numerous awards, even for the film, and it is regularly taught in schools around the world; therefore, it should remain on shelves.

    Read More

  • Evolution in Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keys

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Therefore, Even though Charlie becomes mentally retarded by the end, he becomes a more complete person. Charlie undergoes a lot of changes during his journey. He matures which contributes to his intelligence growth, learns significant life lesson, and realizes that he is better of being mentally retarded rather than a genius. Charlie does not realize the fact that after becoming a genius, he is as far away from his goal of being normal and fitting in as he is being mentally retarded.

    Read More

More about What Does Flowers For Algernon Mean

Open Document