Juxtaposition In Flowers For Algernon

In Flowers for Algernon, a science fiction novel by Daniel Keyes, Charlie undergoes an experimental surgery that has negative results. The first negative result of the surgery is that he is very depressed. From his Progress Report on June 19, he says, “I feel the darkness closing in. It’s hard to throw off thoughts of suicide.” This clearly shows that since he has lost his intelligence he is having darker thoughts, while before he had never thought of these things. The second negative result of the surgery is that he leaves everybody behind intellectually. In his Progress Report from April 28, Miss Kinnian says, “I don’t feel intelligent. There are so many things I don’t understand. You're accomplishing in days and weeks what it takes normal

Before his brain operation, Charlie Gordon was made fun of due to his low IQ by his coworkers and other members of his community. Whenever anybody had done something they would regard as ‘stupid’, his so-called friends would say they “pull[ed] a Charlie Gordon” [Keyes 293]. Gordon, in his feeble-minded phase of the novel, was the running gag of his neighbours and coworkers. Whenever a member of the community would ridicule Charlie, “they always laft” [Keyes, 289] but he “do[esn’t] know why they say that” [Keyes 289].

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

Every day, people go through operations and sometimes experience unpredicted and unwanted outcomes. The story, Flowers for Algernon, is exactly like that. In this story, a 37 year old man, named Charlie Gordon, has a mental disability and participates in an operation/experiment to increase his knowledge. After taking part in the operation, Charlie’s intellect gradually escalates to a genius status. Charlie, the man who had an IQ of 68, was slowly maturing mentally and he started seeing the world with a whole new different perspective. However, near the end of the story, his brain regresses back to where he started from. Charlie shouldn't have taken part in the operation: he started seeing the world in a different perspective, he

I am against the costly, stressful, and unethical practice of altering genetics to improve human intelligence, as imagined in Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. To illustrate, at the beginning of the passage Charlie journals what Dr. Strauss explains, “…that he will be the first human beeng ever to have his intelijence trippled by surgicle meens.” (287) This means the operation is risky and per the New York Times, “Depending on the area of the brain where cranial procedures will be performed, serious risks like changes or loss in the functions of vision, mobility, speech, memory, coordination, and more can be permanent.” Charlie Gordon was pioneering an experimental research project in electing to undergo his procedure in the fictitious

Charlie’s psychological adulteration caused him to falsely assess interactions. Truthfully, Charlie believed Joe and Frank were his friends when in fact they could be considered anything but friends. Prior to the corrective surgical procedure, Charlie perceived Joe and Frank’s laughter erroneously; it was his belief that it was in companionable style. The procedure permitted him to finally see that they were laughing at his actions. A few weeks following his return to work after the surgery, Charlie was greeted with a petition requesting his removal from the workplace. This was a direct result of the uneasiness people had due to his operation. At Charlie’s work, idiotic deeds were referred to as “Charlie Gordon’s.” It was under his impression this was complimentary. However, after the drastic increase his IQ, Charlie could, at that point, see it was an insult. Subsequently following the corrections to his flaw-a low intelligence quotient-Charlie at long last saw the improper treatment of the intellectually disabled. While at a restaurant, Charlie observed the mistreatment of a teenaged boy. The boy was unaware of the destructive comments and was enjoying the glory of attention. Upon seeing this, Charlie visualized his previous struggle with verbal abuse. This interaction pained Charlie emotionally. Enduring the operation’s after-effects was mentally harmful for

During their quarrel, Alice states that Charlie “...had a smile...a warm real smile, because [he] wanted people to like [him].” (Keyes 299). As Alice says, Charlie used to be a very happy person, but as time progressed, with his intelligence increase and his deterioration following, he became less jovial and outgoing. In response to Alice, Charlie claims, “Maybe that’s why it was so important for me to learn. I thought it would make people like me. I thought I would have friends. That’s something to laugh at, isn’t it?” (Keyes 299-300). This declaration further proves Charlie’s cynicality. He is expressing pessimistic behavior by affirming that it was humorous for him to gain intelligence so he could obtain friends. In reality, however, his friend-count downsized. Based on this altercation, the audience can derive that Alice deems the operation ruined Charlie’s personality, and that she valued his warm, loving personality over his artificial

This part of the story is really ironic because Charlie talks about how he wants to get the operation, primarily because he wants to be more social and have friends. Later on in the story, when Charlie only gains intellectual intelligence, he finds out that he still cannot get any friends. Charlie realizes that just because his IQ is high, doesn’t mean that everyone will like him. Another crucial literary element that Daniel Keyes uses is dramatic irony. In progress report 9 Charlie wrote down, “They were all around in a circle watching and laughing at the way we were doing the steps.

In “Flowers for Algernon,” numerous themes appear throughout Charlie Gordon’s journey. Charlie Gordon, the story’s protagonist, is considered to be used as a test subject for an original experiment that can potentially change the face of science. After many tests, Charlie undergoes an operation, as a result, a slow progression begins in his overall intelligence levels.

“Before, they had laughed at me, despising me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hated me for my knowledge and understanding… This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I knew and loved…” (Keyes 108) . Charlie finds that even after his operation, there are still barriers between him and his coworkers, acquaintances, and family. “...language is sometimes a barrier instead of a pathway. Ironic to find myself on the other side of the intellectual fence.” (Keyes 114). This idea that language is also a barrier is significant because it shapes Charlie’s relationships with Professor Nemur and Dr.Strauss. “... he has succumbed to arrogance and superiority over those who have provided the opportunity for his intellectual development.” (Wroble). This criticism describes the effects of the growth of Charlie’s ego as his IQ grows too. Not only does Charlie face an intellectual barrier, but also faces an emotional

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),

The result of gradually becoming more intelligent causes him to become over-confident and arrogant. Additionally, in the text, a quote by Charlie states, “Only a short time ago, I learned that people laughed at me. Now I can see that unknowingly I joined them in laughing at myself. That hurts the most”(Keyes 199). This quote displays his callous behavior towards an innocent boy, who was in fact, very much like Charlie.

Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes is not your average book. It is written in a progress report format, and from the point of view of a mentally challenged man named Charlie Gordon. During the book, you follow Charlie's life before, during, and after he has an operation to make him smarter. It contains a lot of themes, but the theme that stuck out the most was both harm and good can come from technology.

Once Charlie is at the peak of his intelligence, he starts regressing. He then writes a report to try and figure out what went wrong with the operation, so maybe he can fix it and stay a genius, or maybe if he can’t help himself, at least know what went wrong so he can prevent future operations from failing, too. He writes the Algernon-Gordon Effect, which states that human-made intelligence deteriorates at a rate of time directly proportional to the quantity of the increase. On page 333, he says, “These and my people. Let me use my gift to do something for them.” Charlie mentions that he is the only person who had both been smart and dumb in the world. Therefore, he is more knowledgeable than everyone who is working in this field. He will now be able to work out problems with the procedures so they can use it for many people, and make other people in Charlie’s predicament smarter. Other people may say, “Charlie just became stupid again, so what’s the point in the procedure? They just gave him what he wanted his whole life, only to have it forcefully taken away from him, and he could do nothing.” This is a valid point, but I believe that Charlie gets what he wants, so who cares if he becomes stupid again. All of his life, he wants to become smart, and he gets this chance through

It is often debated whether ignorance is bliss. Is not being conscious of one's surroundings truly happiness? In the novel entitled Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, ignorance is Charlie’s peace. Not realizing that, he undergoes a procedure to make him knowledgeable. As his intelligence progresses, relationships begin to deteriorate with the ones he cares for most. Furthermore, his brain began to process memories, leading to anxiety in sexual situations. Finally, because his blindfold disappeared, he sees the truth behind all of his encounters, which ends up being too much for Charlie to withstand. He did not have the capacity to understand the sorrow that would come with knowledge; therefore, Charlie was better off before the surgery.