Who Is Charlie Gordon In Flowers For Algernon

Just imagine being a person with an IQ of only 68 well this is the life that Charlie Gordon lived. In the story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes Charlie Gordon is a 37 year old man with below average intelligence. Charlie struggles with many simple things such as writing, spelling, and creativity. He is willing to try and make himself smarter, but even the adult classes he takes aren’t enough. With all of these variables Charlie gets an operation to make himself smart but, I think if without the operation he life wouldn’t be as good for him as it was after the operation.

One interesting fact about Charlie Gordon is that he is determined and when he puts his mind to be smart he would do anything. In result of his determination, he gets an operation which makes it easier to learn and soak up all of the information around him up like a sponge. “Anyway, now I’m getting smarter every day” (Daniel Keyes, 67) this proves that he was getting smarter and that the operation was successful.The operation was a complete success and he ended up being as smart if not smarter than the doctors. Charlie learned several different languages and loads of intelligence on things such as writing and science. In my opinion Charlie gained a lot from the surgery but ended up losing all of it, but even after losing his intelligence he gained so much.

Another good way to look at this operation is that he could show up all of the people at work and how he was smarter than them. One good example of why this was a good thing was because of how all of the people at his workplace did not respect him. “Donegan insisted that it would be better for all concerned if I left. What did I do to make them hate me so?” this shows that he cares and wonders why they dislike him. They did not respect them and he didn’t notice that they weren’t actually his friends. The only reason they would hang out with him is to make fun of Charlie for their own amusement. I think because of Charlie getting this operation and got dumb again, they started to respect him. I think they respected him more because of all that he had been through and tried to impress them with his intelligence. With Charlie going through all of the hardship he went through they all seemed to truly respect him and stand up for Charlie.

The final example proves that because of the operation, Charlie was better off. Because of this operation, he had he gained many friends. He gained friends such as Algernon, Dr. Nemur, and Dr. Strauss. Even though they had their rough patches you know that Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss honestly cared for Charlie. “Mr. Donegan was very nice when I came back and asked him for my old job of janitor.” this shows that people care for him now. Because of the operation, he met these great people and learned so much. In the beginning of the story Algernon and Charlie aren’t close at all but they actually dislike each other. In the end you know that Charlie cared for Algernon because of his final wish to put flowers on his grave. Also the fact that he buried the mouse and cared for his grave showed how much he cared while any other person wouldn’t do something like this.

This all adds up to one conclusion that because of Charlie getting this operation that he not only learned a lot but gained many friends in the process.

Because of this operation, Charlie gained intelligence topping even the doctors and having a greater understanding of everything around him. Another great example is that he could show all of his co-workers at work how much he cared about what they think of him. The final example is the strongest in my opinion because of all the friends he gained in the process. So in conclusion, I think Charlie made the right decision in trying and getting the operation done to make him

smarter.