Why Is Flowers For Algernon Unfair

Everyday, people experience unfair discrimination. It can be due to a variety of different characteristics, and one that is often overlooked is intelligence. In the book Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, the main character, Charlie Gordon, undergoes an experiment to turn him from mentally retarded to a genius. Before and after the experiment, Charlie is unfairly treated because of his level of intelligence. Charlie is made fun of at the bakery where he works, then is fired from the bakery, and is told he was not a real person before his intelligence increased. In Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes uses Charlie to show how difficult it is for people to accept the intellectual differences of others because they do not understand their

experiences.
Charlie first encounters discrimination because of intelligence when the other bakery workers make fun of and take advantage of him because of his low intelligence, which is different from what they live with.

Early in the book, Joe Carp and Frank Reilly invite Charlie to a party and let him dance with a girl there. In Charlie’s progress report, he writes, “They laughed harder every time I fell, and I was laughing too because it was so funny. But the last time it happened I didn’t laugh.” He continues to explain that Joe pushed him down again, and he told the attendees about how he had once left him stranded when he asked him to check it if was raining around a corner (Keyes 39). This was one of the first times Charlie realized how badly he was treated, as he normally thought of it all as a joke. He sees that his intelligence was what differed him from everyone and was the reason he was often made fun of. He comes to this realization after his surgery, and it leads to him understanding that people are cruel to others that have a low intelligence. In his next progress report, he writes, “People think it’s funny when a dumb person can’t do things the same way they can” (Keyes 40). Charlie sees that he was taken advantage of and made fun of his entire life, and just because of his mental capabilities. His intelligence is one thing Charlie realizes can set people apart from others; later, he sees that it can happen to anyone who is not

‘normal’.
After he recognizes that he was mocked for his low intelligence, Charlie’s newfound superior intellect is also criticized for the same reason, and he is fired from the bakery. Mr. Donner informs him that workers like Joe and Frank are scared of him, and that for him to stay at the bakery, he needs to convince them to let him. When he asks what he did to them, Frank says, “You come pushing in here with your ideas and suggestions and make the rest of us all look like a bunch of dopes. But I’ll tell you something. To me you’re still a moron” (Keyes 98). This shows Frank being rude to Charlie not only for being smart, but also for his previous low intelligence. He does not want to be involved with people that do not fit into what is socially acceptable; in this instance, an average intelligence. The author is showing how Charlie cannot become normal no matter what he does, as there will always be people unable to accept him for who he is. Regardless of if someone’s intelligence is on the high or low side of the spectrum, they still will not be respected because people do not understand their differences.
When Charlie goes to the convention, people talk about him like he was not a real person before the experiment because he did not have the same intelligence as most people. While Doctor Strauss is speaking, Charlie writes, “I had come there as part of a scientific presentation, and I had expected to be put on exhibition, but everyone kept talking about me as if I were some kind of newly created thing they were presenting to the scientific world. No one in the room considered me an individual—as a human being” (Keyes 148). Charlie sees that other people, whether they are of average or greater intelligence, still look down on those beneath them. They do not understand what he went through before the experiment. It makes Charlie very angry when he hears Professor Nemur talking about him in this manner. He says, “He makes the same mistake as the others when they look at a feeble-minded person and laugh because they don’t understand there are human feelings involved. He doesn’t realize that I was a person before I came here” (Keyes 134). Professor Nemur does not criticize Charlie for being a genius most likely because he also is of a higher-than-average intelligence and somewhat understands what he is going through; however, because he never experienced being mentally retarded, he cannot empathize with Charlie and therefore does not see that version of him as an equal. The majority of the people Charlie encounters treat him with disrespect because of his intelligence, even those who understand what it is like to have a greater intelligence than most others.
Charlie is treated harshly by others because of their lack of understanding of his life. His coworkers at the bakery poke fun at him because he does not have the same mental capabilities as they do, and then criticize him once he has surpassed them in intelligence. Professor Nemur and other members of the scientific community do not even recognize the old, mentally retarded Charlie as a person. Although it is impossible for many people to relate to extreme intellect-based struggles like Charlie encountered, they still should not disregard or condemn them. People should be more accepting of others’ differences, and should not judge them based on things they cannot control. If everyone was accepting of others, the world would be a much better place.