Charlie Gordon Flowers For Algernon Analysis

“I reread my paper on the ‘Algernon-Gordon Effect’ and I get the strange feeling it was written by someone else. There are parts even I do not understand” (337). Charlie becomes upset, as his own piece of work he was so proud of, cannot even be understood by the man who had made it; that being himself. Charlie knew he could not read it, which made him understand more about the operation and what it had done to him. The loss in his intelligence also removed some important memories. Charlie went for a walk one night to clear his head, bur as he started to walk back, he could not remember where he lived! Because Charlie could not remember, it caused a big jump in his deterioration, from forgetting grammar skills, to forgetting where he lived. Charlie starts to have mood swings when he could not do previous things that made him happy, like read. Charlie’s mood constantly switches between Neutral, to Angry, to Sad, and repeat. Charlie cannot grasp any one of those emotions to even save his own life, since they are running wild. All other factors mentioned indicate that before the operation, Charlie’s life was amazing.

In this novel, Flowers for Algernon, written by Daniel Keyes, a man named Charlie Gordon has an operation done to increase his intelligence. He started as a mentally retarded man and slowly became a genius. He seemed to soak up information like a sponge and he was able to figure out the most complex scientific formulas. The only problem with the operation is that it does not last for ever and in his remaining time he tries to figure out why it is not permanent. He will eventually lose everything he learned and become worse off than when he started, so Charlie was better off before he had the operation.

Imagine being three times smarter than you already are through a simple, painless surgery, but there’s a catch. The effects of the surgery that can make you a genius could be temporary, and have not been studied and may be dangerous. Flowers for Algernon, a short story, describes a character who is intellectually disabled. He has to make a choice between having doctors conduct an experiment that involves surgery on him to make him three times smarter or staying the way he is. Charlie Gordon should not have the surgery because it is highly experimental and theoretical, as well as the negative social effects.

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”-James Madison. In the science fiction story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes Charlie Gordon always wanted to have the power of knowledge. Ever since he was a boy, his life goals were to be smart, have friends, and be respected. All of this was hard for him, as he only had an IQ of sixty eight, so he agreed to an A.I. surgery that would hopefully triple his IQ. Charlie Gordon’s life was much better and easier after the A.I. surgery. After the operation Charlie finally had an imagination, experienced adult emotions, and had a second chance to contribute to the real world and science.

Have you ever found yourself less educated than others around you? Well, Charlie Gordon had to experience that almost his entire life. In the short story "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, the protagonist, Charlie Gordon, undergoes an experimental surgery that dramatically increases his intelligence. Whether Charlie was better off before or after the operation is a complex issue that has divided readers. However, I believe Charlie was better off after the operation, even though he eventually regressed back to his original condition.

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

The more obvious ways he had changed was his intelligence, and the memories that slowly came flooding back to him after the surgery. He had went from an IQ of 70, to an IQ of 185 and counting. It had a tremendous impact on Charlie, for he was like a sponge, absorbing as much knowledge as possible, refusing to stop. He had exceeded the expectations, surpassing the IQ of the doctors that worked at Beekman University, and even the ones that constructed the experiment that changed Charlie’s life. He had managed to learn French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, Hindi, and Japanese in an extremely short period of time. Before the surgery, Charlie wanted to partake in conversations with the college students about politics,

Doctors save many people's lives, they can make their lives even better than they are now. In the short story "Flowers for Algernon," by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon performs an operation to make him a genius. Charlie Gordon is a mentally challenged 37 year old man, who is trying to become smart. Being mentally challenged has been hard for Charlie, but this is his chance to forever change his life. The experiment was an incredible thing for Charlie because he realized he is in love with Miss Kinnian, figured out the flaw in the experiment, and got the experience of what it is like to be smart.

Charlie was lucky because Algernon got the surgery a long time before so they could tell Charlie if something was going to happen to him. "He was unusually disturbed and vicious."(216). In this sentence, it shows how they found out that Algernon was acting weird, so they researched on him and they found out what was happening. This way they could tell Charlie what will happen to him and if they had any way they could stop it from happening. "Algernon died two days ago. Dissection shows my predictions were right. His brain had decreased in weight and there was a cerebral convolutions as well as the deepening and broadening of brain fissures."(219). This sentence is describing what happened to Algernon and how he died. This shows that this will soon happen to Charlie. And just like Algernon, Charlie will die. This is why Charlie shouldn't have taken the surgery to become

Flowers for Algernon “all my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb.” In the book Flowers for Algernon a 32-year-old developmentally disabled man named Charlie Gordon has the opportunity to undergo a surgical procedure that will dramatically increase his mental capabilities. After the operation, he had difficulty making new friendships and establishing new relationships due to a lack of social intelligence that the surgery could neither correct nor anticipate. And in the end, Charlie went back to being mentally disabled. In the story “Flowers for Algernon”, the author Daniel Keyes portrays the theme that a person should be careful what they wish for because it could cause consequences in the long run.

One of the reasons Charlie is better off after the experiment is because he becomes more self-aware. One part of the story that shows this is when Charlie goes to a party with his friends Joe and Frank, and everyone laughs at Charlie trying to dance. Charlie is now smart enough from the experiment to realize Joe and Frank just keeps him around for some entertainment, and not as real friends, so now he knows “what it means when they say ‘to pull a Charlie Gordon’” (7). Here, Charlie is benefiting from the surgery because he is now intelligent enough to be able to tell whether he has real friends or not. He realizes that they are just making fun of him, because he knows he used to be very unintelligent, which is why they say he can pull a Charlie Gordon. Now, Charlie can be more aware of who he chooses to be with, and know whether or not they are actually caring of him. He has become more self-aware in his choice of friends, and by doing so, improve his emotional situation. Another

After the operation, in only a couple of months, Charlie starts showing signs of new intelligence. His grammar, improved, and he is able to reflect on what his does in the past something he wasn’t able to do before. He had finally gotten something use had always desired. Then, everything and everyone turned on him. In “PROGRESS REPORT 12” April 30th (pg. 60) Charlie writes: “now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding. What in the name of god do they want of me? They’ve driven me out of the factory. Now I more alone than ever before…” Charlie got what he always wanted, and now he lost everything he had. It was a sacrifice it sounded like he didn’t want to make. I can tell just be the tone of his writing. This shows that we should embrace everything that we have. Charlie didn’t embrace everything, although he appreciated most of the thing he never became happy not being able to just enjoy life as it is.

Imagine growing up and being told you will never amount to anything, by your parents, your friends, or people who see you on the street. The book Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a story from the point of view of Charlie Gordon a 32 year old man with an extremely low IQ. He is given an opportunity to become smart and takes it in order to fit in. He becomes the first human test subject for a surgery that raises intelligence. He navigates troubles of family, relationships, work and bad news in a journey to find the real Charlie Gordon. Through “progris riports” Charlie documents his life before and after surgery and the charge that happen when he is shown a little kindness.

One reason as to why this is the theme that sticks out the most is because the operation harmed Charlie’s social life. He had a lot of people to call friends, like Joe Carp, Frank Reilly, and Gimpy, but after he had the operation, he realized that they weren’t really his friends. “April 22- People at the bakery are changing. I can feel the hostility.” Charlie had become smarter than the people who worked at the bakery, and they started to push him away, and Charlie started to feel upset and hurt by their actions. He thought that he had lost all of his friends were lost, and that upset him. This is one of the many reasons why technology was a bad thing for Charlie.

To begin, one of the biggest reasons that Charlie would’ve been better off having never gotten the surgery is so he wouldn’t have to deal with knowing what great intelligence is like, but then having to go back to being naïve and dumb again. In the story Flowers for Algernon, Keyes says, “I learned so much so fast. Now my mind is deteriorating rapidly. I won’t let it happen. I’ll fight it. I can’t help thinking of the boy in the restaurant, the blank expression, the silly smile, the people laughing at him. No- please- not that again…” (303) This shows that Charlie realizes his mental capabilities are deteriorating and