Why Is Charlie Gordon Unethical

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27 (King James Bible). In the book Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes, a thirty-two year old man named Charlie Gordon, who suffers from a mental disability, was motivated to become more intelligent and to gain more friends. In order to accomplish this, he undergoes a life threatening surgery. There are many reasons why it was not ethical for Charlie to have the surgery. Charlie Gordon's disability is called phenylketonuria. Those who are born with this condition today would be treated early to prevent the type of learning disability that Charlie developed. He read slowly and could not interpret and remember information. These learning disabilities caused him to have an unhappy childhood. Even his mother, Rose Gordon, turned on him and threatened him with a knife if he went near his sister. Doctor Strauss and Professor Nemur, the scientists responsible for Charlie's surgery, had good intentions and fulfilled Charlie’s desire of being intelligent by performing a risky surgery on him. However, they did not think of Charlie as a human being, just as

When his intellectual levels rose, his emotional levels stayed the same. At many times he would get furious at himself and others, even seeing another version of himself, which he called ‘the other Charlie’. His emotions were so unstable he was unable to maintain his relationship with Alice Kinnian because he was scared to fall in love. Not only was he scared of himself, but he also lost his job because people became afraid of him. Alice Kinnian thought the original Charlie was worth knowing. Charlie's fellow workers at the Donner’s bakery also thought so, even if they did make fun of him. Everyone is unique and have own special talents. Many people in Charlie’s life wished that Charlie could see this in