Analysis Of Flowers For Algernon

Journal Entry 1, Pages 1-15 Starting off, I can already predict this book is going to be very controversial with the whole topic of whether or not science should be allowed to “play the role of God”. So far I believe Charlie is a very likable and friendly character. I also believe due to his mental state he is very vulnerable. I agree strongly with Prof Nemur when he said, “We will use Charlie.

He realized that he had feelings for Miss Kinnian, his teacher. For instance, “I think from the beginning I had the feeling that she was an unreachable genius-and very, very old. Now, every time I see her she grows younger and more lovely.” (Keyes 37). Before the operation, Charlie did not realize how beautiful Miss Kinnian was. After the operation, Charlie realized this. His hope for a better life increased. On the other hand, his newfound intelligence divided him from his friends. In the text it states, “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved.” (Keyes 39). Charlie’s friends kept teasing and making fun of him. He felt very lonely. As well as affecting his social life, the operation also affected Charlie emotionally. A few months after the operation, Charlie’s emotions changed negatively. He became touchy and irritable. In short, Charlie’s emotions were negatively affected after a little while, however, he got to know what love felt like and he got to know his true

[Keyes, 299] As an intelligent member of society, Charlie has a certain moment when he becomes frustrated once he understands the world he lives in, when he thinks of how “Before, they laughed at [him] and despised [him] for [his] ignorance and dullness; now, they hate [him] for [his] knowledge and understanding. [Keyes, 293]” These emotionally alienated members of society believe that they can alienate themselves, believing they can be happy alone. This happens very often. Society, in this way, doesn’t like to own up to their pain, and as such, alienates themselves. In this way, they connect to Charlie

Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a piece of literature that asseverates that perhaps intelligence is a seamless fundamental. Precisely, for 34 old Charlie Gordon who initially wants to attain intelligence because he has been dimwitted throughout his whole entire life. Mr.Gordon is given an opportunity to be chosen for an operation. Fortunately for Mr. Gordon he happens to be the perfect candidate for the operation that will result to be semi-successful. As for Charley a 1968 film that portrays a 34 year old who seeks

Through the memories the Charlie Gordon has had since his surgery, he has revealed many new and exciting feelings in himself that he has never felt before. When he got upset at one of the doctors during his second inkblot test, he described his anger as exciting. Another emotion that we also noticed in Charlie is love and compassion. On page 82, he goes on a date with his teacher, Alice and he soon realizes that he has feelings for her but can’t seem to build up the courage to kiss her. When he finds out that Alice doesn’t have the same compassion for him, he starts to hate her. Since feelings are all very new to Charlie, he does not know how to react to them. One of the important memories that Charlie had was when he was listening to his parents argue. Charlie was sitting on the floor playing with one of his toys while his parents were fighting about Charlie’s

Flowers for Algernon is about a man named Charlie who is mentally slow and not smart. Charlie had an operation to make him smart. What the doctors did was unethical.

How does the diary or journal-entry form affect the emphasis of the narrative? How dependable is Charlie as a narrator as he progresses through his various stages? Discuss Charlie’s capability of providing insight to the other characters.

Because of this Charlie gets a procedure done to make his intelligence grow and make him smarter everyday. When the procedure begins to fade away he realizes that by having hope you learn later

Charlie decides to put his knowledge and skills to good use when he sees the boy drop the dishes at the restaurant. He wants, "to work in the field of increasing human intelligence levels." The boy at the diner was so oblivious of the fact he was being made fun of, and that reminded Charlie of himself. He didn't want other people to end up like he did. (Keyes, 202)

Charlie returns to his job at the factory following his surgery, when he begins to be treated differently than he was treated prior to the surgery. He becomes more aware of his surroundings and better at his job. He also notices that those who he thought were his friends who laughed at him are those who meant to laugh at him. Soon, everyone at the company notices that he has changed and wants him gone: "They've driven me out of the factory. Now I'm more alone than ever before"(12).

“Today evolution of human intelligence has advanced us to the stage where most of us are too smart to invent new gods but are reluctant to give up the old ones” (Ruth Hurmence Green). Flowers for Algernon is about a man named Charlie Gordon, he is 37, and has a low IQ of 68. He will go through an operation that has never been done before. It is supposed to generate Charlie to three times smarter. A while after he had undergone the operation his mind starts to deteriorate. He was able to predict that his mind will deteriorate like Algernon's due to a series of experiments he did. Charlie is better off doing this experiment. Charlie is better of going through the experiment be because he can now see things clearly for the first time, he has the chance to experience what it is like to be smart, and he knows how he truly feels.

Before the enhancing surgery, Charlie Gordon seemed to have depend and trust others, while those people didn’t have his back. This could be a problem in the future, because people have to learn to be independent so when they lose someone important, they don’t crack under pressure. In the story, Keyes writes, “Sometimes somebody will say hey look at Joe or Frank or George he really pulled a Charlie Gordon. I dont know why they say that but they always laft” (Keyes, 289). Daniel Keyes uses dramatic irony as a way of displaying Charlies perception of his friends. Charlie assumes he has very nice friends, but the audience knows that his

Throughout the novel Charlie’s personality and intelligence level changes a lot. In the beginning Charlie is happy, has friends, he’s retarded, and can’t remember a lot of things. “I fergot his last name because I dont remebir so good.” (Keyes 2),

As Charlie's intelligence increases he thinks that he will be more liked the higher his intelligence climbs, but later Charlie discovers that whether you are of lower intelligence then most of the population or of higher intelligence you still will not quite fit in. "I've discovered that no one really cares for Charlie Gordon whether he is a moron or a genius. (Keyes 172) Charlie's relationship with Alice also shows how whether he is of extreme low extreme high intellect he still cannot communicate with her the way he needs to. " I'm just as far away from Alice with an I.Q of 185 then when I had an IQ of 70" (Keyes 88). In today's society if a persons thoughts slightly differ from those of the majority of the population then they will be scrutinized and shunned from the others. People are not willing to look at an idea through a different perspective and this is shown in Flowers For Algernon, when Charlie discovers the fault in Dr. Nemur's experiment and confronts him about it, Dr. Nemur treats him like the old Charlie who is to mentally challenged to be correct. It is repeated numerous times during the novel that Charlie was "created" by the experiment and was not a "human being" because of his below 100 IQ before the operation. "I'm a human being, a person- with parents and memories and a history- and I was before you ever wheeled me into that operating room." (Keyes 112). Society needs to learn that even those who are different then most of us still are humans and

Charlie’s friends even take advantage of how nice he is. They always make him the root of their jokes. When Charlie asks a barber shop owner to move his illegally parked car, the owner laughs at him and just throws him the keys to the car and tells him to move it himself. The whole town takes advantage of Charlie though, not only his friends. In the supermarket a woman asks to cut in front of him inline and then ends up having a cart full of groceries. This is Charlies breaking point. He starts tensing up, you can tell something is happening. All of a sudden he starts talking in a different voice, and finds vagaclean in the woman’s cart that cut in front of him. So to take his anger out on her he gets on the store microphone and announces she has vagaclean in her cart. We learn this new personalities name when he is drowning a young girl in the water fountain who disobeyed him earlier. When the girl says she is going to tell her father on him, he announces that he is Hank. After this change in personality he starts going