Charlie Gordon's Theme In Daniel Keyes Flowers For Algernon

Charlie Gordon was not all that smart but he wanted to be. He couldn't spell or do math. Charlie wanted to get smarter. “Miss Kinnian says Ie maybe they can make me smart.” So he took these brain teasers and was not doing so good. But before he could get smarter he had to race a mouse named Allergon. The mouse beat him in some sorta race. But, eventually the mouse dies after Charlie has the operation and it hurts Charlie. “Their going to use me! 1m so excited I can hardly write.” So he went and got an operation on his brain, and he started to get smarter. He was starting to do better at the test, so you knew he was getting smarter. But, in the end, he lost his best friend, his job, some of his smarts, and even most of his friends. The only friends he had were

Charlie had a chance to learn and do things that most people wouldn't have a chance to do in a lifetime, even if it was for a short time. After Charlie's regression he continued to try to become intelligent again, however, Charlie had said himself that he was grateful when he said, "Im glad I got a second chanse to be smart becaus I lerned a lot of things that I never even new were in this world and Im grateful that I saw it all for a little bit (Keyes 245) [Sic]." You have to understand that, with a mindset like this, you know you have done the right thing. Charlie was grateful for his chance to be smart and was thoroughly pleased with his decision. Nothing can be more favorable than the joyous feeling of gratitude. It can be compared to getting the gift you always wanted for Christmas, or when someone gives you a sincere smile that will brighten any bad day. This must have been what Charlie had been feeling in order to be this grateful. Another piece of evidence to prove this point is when Dr Nermur had said that Charlie was, "trying to cram a lifetime of research and thought into a few weeks (Keyes 238)." Both Charlie and Dr. Nemur both know that he was capable of this, and so much more. After the operation Charlie was super intelligent and grew the ability to understand more things socially, which is what he wanted the most, to be able to understand his friends and be smart like them, two of his greatest desires in one stone.

Charlie is now thinking of ending his own life. Not only did this experiment change his life, but

In my opinion I believe that everyone has to go through a bad experience to learn more about life. I think that even though most of his memories are bad, that he now knows what to do when he feels anger, love, or when he is scared. Now that Charlie is more intelligent than he was before, he could prove to all of the people that hurt him, that he is smart and knows how they have been treating them in the past. In one of Charlie’s progress reports it states that “When I went up to Gimpy he jumped and dropped his coffee.” This is proving how people that have treated him badly in the past are now afraid of him and the amount of brilliance that he has after his surgery. The bakery boys don’t know that he got the surgery so all they know is that Charlie has been acting very strange and they are scared of what he knows about his past. I envision that this surgery has helped Charlie understand what life is and the feelings that come with it. I don’t think that Charlie would have survived life not being able to recognize everything around

To begin with, when Charlie is smart everyone avoids him and acts almost scared of him. For example, people are avoiding Charlie he “guess[s] it’ll take a little time for them to get used to the changes in me. Everybody seems to be frightened of me.” Charlie really wants to be smart to fit in but in the process everyone avoids him. Along with people avoiding him, when he is smart everyone begins to see that Algernon is getting hostile and it foreshadows what will happen to Charlie. For example,“they’re all pretending that Algernon’s behavior is not necessarily significant for me. But it’s hard to hide the fact that some of the other animals who were used in this experiment are showing strange behavior.” After Charlie realizes what will happen to him he regrets ever having the operation

Algernon, the mouse they tried the experiment on right before Charlie, should have been allowed to live longer and develop before testing the project on a human. Algernon began to express odd behavior and lost his intelligence, as well as died, as time went on. Therefore, the operation could have had a dangerous end and even could have resulted in Charlie's death. For a time, Charlie was damaged, psychologically, when he realized his IQ was dropping rapidly and may not stop. On September 1 Charlie wrote, "Soon there will be signs of emotional instability and forgetfulness, the first symptoms of the burnout. Will I recognize these in myself?" Clearly Charlie was beyond nervous about his "burnout" as he called it. He was even scared that he would not recognize obvious things in himself because of his IQ

I hate that mouse.” This shows change in Charlie’s friendship with Algernon because at the end of the story Charlie was taking care of Algernon and understood what Algernon was going through. Furthermore, Charlie’s friendships changed with Fran, Joe, and Algernon. Next, Charlie is seen going through a change in his IQ. At first Charlie is able to learn how to spell, then he learns grammar, and his memory improves.

I hate that mouse.” This shows change in Charlie’s friendship with Algernon because at the end of the story Charlie was taking care of Algernon and understood what Algernon was going through. Furthermore, Charlie’s friendships changed with Fran, Joe, and Algernon. Next, Charlie is seen going through a change in his IQ. At first Charlie is able to learn how to spell, then he learns grammar, and his memory improves.

Then, Charlie is likely found searching for his identity when he takes the first test. On page 1, the author states, “I tried hard but I still couldn’t find the pictures, I only saw the ink. I told him maybe I need glasses.” This indicates that he was trying his hardest to find a picture so that he could find his identity to just be considered smart. Lastly, when Charlie had the surgical brain operation done, racing Algernon, and when he took the first test, he was found searching for his identity.

He couldn't spell very well and couldn’t remember much of anything. When they did tests on him, he got frustrated because he couldn’t do the tests and wanted to give up. After surgery however, things began to change for Charlie.

Could you imagine what it would be like to become what you’ve always wanted to be? Or to have your I.Q be tripled? In the Science Fiction story, “Flowers for Algernon” written by Daniel Keyes, a 37 year old man named Charlie Gordon, whose mind is impaired, undergoes a surgery to triple his I.Q. After the surgery, Charlie Gordon’s life became much better for him. Charlie was able to make true friends, along with that he felt emotions, but most importantly, he was able to see the world through a different a different perspective.

Mr. Donner says he will save labour cost and increase profit."(Keyes 59). This illustrates Charlie's rapid advancement in intelligence. Charlie shows enormous improvement in his intelligence throughout the novel. This helps to mature him by increasing his understanding of the bigger truths in life. Near the end, Charlie’s mental condition deteriorates as he starts to go back to his mentally retarded self, but be he still keeps most of his intelligences, which contributes to make him a complete and wholesome person.

Society has always made ignorance bad. But in these instances, ignorance has proven to be blissful. Lastly, Charlie was searching for his identity, he did not need to have an operation to find it. The operation was bad because Algernon died, his friends made fun of him, and he ended up all alone. First, the operation was bad because Algernon died towards the end of the story, greatly foreshadowing Charlie's future.

5. How does Algernon function as an alter ego for Charlie? How does Algernon’s condition represent Charlie’s condition?

On page three hundred eleven, Charlie says, “...all my life I wantid to be smart, and not dumb,” and on page three hundred thirteen, he says, “Their going to use me! Im so exited I can hardly write.” Both of these quotes show how Charlie is ecstatic to become smart, and to have the operation. It’s only fair that he should get a chance to have something that he’s always wanted. Some people think that changing people’s intelligence is unnatural, and that scientists who do this will be playing god, but why shouldn’t he have the opportunity of his lifetime, a second chance in life, so maybe he can be normal, and not constantly looked down