Progress Report 8

Summary

Charlie is out of hospital but still undergoes tests. He dislikes Algernon because he still cannot beat the mouse at any puzzles. He finds writing progress reports, taking puzzles, and tests a waste of time.

Charlie has lunch with Burt in the college restaurant and is eager to eventually talk about art, religion, and politics. He tells the other students at the restaurant that he will be smarter than them but is interrupted by Burt. He comes to know that his surgery is a secret because if it fails, the doctors do not want bad publicity.

Charlie is unable to understand the dynamics of this experiment and the strategy behind it.

Charlie wakes up every morning with the hopes of finding new intelligence in himself. He is deeply disappointed and realizes that he is dumber than a mouse—something he never knew before.

Charlie is back at work at the bakery but has to be present at the laboratory for two hours every night. He is being paid by the Welberg Foundation, which also funded his surgery. He dislikes writing progress reports but is ready to write because he is being paid.

Charlie gets to know that Algernon had the same surgery as him, which is why he is smart and can beat Charlie at puzzles. This gives Charlie hope and encouragement that he too might become smarter.

Charlie is back with his friends at the bakery. The owner Mr Donner has employed a young boy named Ernie, to help with Charlie’s tasks of cleaning up and deliveries. Charlie was given the job at the bakery seventeen years ago. He is now thirty-two years old. Mr Donner and Charlie’s uncle Herman were good friends and that is how Charlie came to be employed. He was put into the Warren state home for mentally disabled adults but Mr Donner had him released. He promises Charlie that he will never have to return to Warren.

Charlie asks Mr Donner to make him an apprentice baker but is denied the opportunity. He wishes he could tell everyone at the bakery about his surgery so that they would trust him more.

Charlie is visited by Professor Nemur and Dr Strauss. Charlie does not wish to compete with Algernon anymore and seems to have given up on his desire to become smarter. He is given a learning machine by Professor Nemur, which he stoutly does not want. Dr Strauss reassures Charlie that he is getting smarter but will not be able to notice the changes as they are slow.

Dr Strauss notices that Charlie has begun to question authority as he asks a lot of questions. Charlie also wishes to return to Miss Kinnian’s classes.

Charlie is annoyed at his learning machine, which keeps him awake at night. The learning machine works like a television and Charlie declares that television does not make anyone smarter.

The learning machine helps Charlie remember and it is beginning to work on him. Charlie remembers how he joined Miss Kinnian’s classes. Charlie is asked to join therapy sessions with Dr Strauss, since he is beginning to remember things. He is not keen but has no choice in the matter. He brings his progress reports to the therapy sessions, asking Dr Strauss to read them while he naps. However, he is made to talk but falls asleep in the middle of his conversations.

Charlie learns about the conscious and the subconscious mind from Dr Strauss. He wonders if everyone has two minds or if it’s just him.

Charlie has a headache from a party he goes to with his friends. He is made to drink alcohol and gets lost on the streets and was brought home by a kind policeman. He also dreams of his parents and losing them, as a kid, at a departmental store.

Charlie beats Algernon at several puzzles consecutively. He is excited by this but also feels compassionate toward the mouse and wishes to feed him. Charlie is so excited by his slow yet steady intellectual developments that he is unable to sleep well.

Charlie remembers his parents being mean to his sister Norma, on his account. This hurts him and he wishes to visit her.

Charlie begins his lessons with Miss Kinnian. They begin to read Robinson Crusoe which is a difficult book for Charlie but he feels sorry for the protagonist’s loneliness on a deserted island. Charlie works on spelling his words better and although it is difficult, he perseveres with the help of Miss Kinnian.

Analysis

The tension is built gradually throughout this progress report as Charlie records his daily activities. His gradual improvements in spelling and punctuation show that his intellect is changing but the simplicity in his writing continues. Charlie is impatient to see fast changes in his intellect and is frustrated when he doesn’t see a noticeable change. However, while he remains unaware, the readers notice the gradual complexity of his emotions. Whereas in the early reports his attitude is consistently amiable and hopeful, Charlie now begins to experience and express anger and irritation. He is resentful of Algernon, the lab tests, and considers the progress reports as “stoopid.”

The progress report also documents Charlie’s memories about his family, where earlier he could not recall. He also joins in the camaraderie at the bakery, thus showing his need to belong. However, when his coworkers mock him, Charlie is unaware that he is a subject of their laughter, the tragedy of which is heightened when some of them try to get him drunk later, taking advantage of his simplemindedness.

At the end of the report, the readers see evidence of increasing intellect and awareness, when Charlie vows never to drink again or the fact that his parents were mean to his sister on his account. When Miss Kinnian and him start reading Robinson Crusoe, it foreshadows the eventual isolation Charlie will feel with increasing intelligence.