Why Is Charlie Gordon Wrong

“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.

Have you ever wanted to have an IQ of 200+ and be considered a genius. That’s exactly what Charlie Gordon got but it didn’t last as long as he wanted it to. Charlie was selected to be the only human to undergo this experiment. First it took a while for his intelligence to start to increase and Charlie thought it wasn’t working. Then Charlie saw a huge difference in his spelling. Charlie’s IQ sat at 300+ plus for a couple of months and then he realized that Algernon, the mouse, was starting to be vicious and biting people. That was the first clue that the surgery may not last forever. Charlie had some very difficult times because of the surgery and because of that I think he should have never have gotten it.

Charlie got smarter after the surgery, because Algernon was experimented on during the surgery and was really smarter than Charlie

After Charlie’s surgery, he is smart for about three to four weeks and then this brain start deteriorating, I don’t think that surgery was a good idea because the doctors didn’t do enough tests or wait long enough to make sure the operation worked. The doctor’s didn’t wait until Algernon died to see if it would shorten the lifespan. They didn’t do multiple tests on animals to see if the operation was constant. The doctors were also at fault because Algernon died after they already gave Charlie the operation.

In the short story, "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon is a 37 year-old man who has learning disabilities, with an I.Q. of 34. Charlie wants to be smarter. Charlie is tested for an operation that will increase his intelligence artificially. His doctors offer him this operation before they know how it fully affects the lab rat, Algernon, who is being watched for effects after having the same surgery. Charlie Gordon's doctors did not act ethically when they performed the surgery to make him smarter. They should have waited to see the full effects of the surgery on Algernon. They also should have identified that Charlie's I.Q. made him incapable of making a decision if the surgery was safe for him. The doctors did

Have you ever wanted to know several languages, be able to learn everything easily, or even have an IQ of at least 200? Charlie Gordon, in the story “Flowers for Algernon,” was a man who had an IQ of 68, but he went through a surgery that made him smarter than his own teacher at a school for the mentally challenged, and his own doctors. Charlie’s IQ was tripled after the surgery once he began to practice different languages as well as the English language. Charlie soon reverted to his former self at the end of the story, and this tripled intelligence that he possessed once before was soon back to the IQ of 68 Charlie had it easier in life after the surgery.

But, the reason why was all because he was starting to feel things. Emotions are normal and that surgery made him feel like that. Itś honestly not a bad thing. Other readers may also think he shouldn't have had the surgery because it led him to get fired from his only job, however, it wasn't his fault. The other guys were uncomfortable and were afraid only because if they tried to pick on him, that Charlie would out-smart them all. One last reason people with my opposite idea believe that he shouldn't have had the surgery because in the story, Charlie says he didn't want anyone to feel sorry for him, so he left New York. However, most people wouldn't want anyone to feel bad or sorry for them and Charlie made a good choice because if Miss Kinnian was going to cry when she saw Charlie, he wouldn't want to hurt her more even though he was hurt by himself

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.

As a consequence, having the operation created the chance for unpredictable and unwanted outcomes. Charlie was the first human patient for the experiment. Since the doctors have never tried the operation on a human being before, the chances for making mistakes are higher. This was proven as Algernon soon experiences side effects as his intelligence regresses and he eventually passes away. Soon, Charlie also regresses back to his original intelligence state. In conclusion, having the operation created unpredictable and unwanted outcomes. I inferred that Charlie wouldn’t die like Algernon did because the last line in the book in which he asks that someone puts flowers on Algernon's grave shows that he hasn't lost 100% of his memory of what happened. The fact that he remembers Algernon and his meticulous ritual of placing flowers on his grave shows that with repetition and reminders, he does have the capacity to recall details about the time he spent with intelligence. It's there somewhere in his subconscious, just like his childhood memories were before. While Charlie maintains most of his intelligence, 16 days after Algernon bit Charlie, Algernon died. And even after 13 days realizing his intelligence is regressing, he isn't showing signs of sickness, just showing that he is absentminded. Having all these different factors influenced all these different outcomes. In

The doctors should have waited! When doctor Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur told Charlie that he got in to the surgery or meet the criteria. They didn’t know all of the effects and they didn’t stress it enough of what the risks were and how he can end

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.

One reason why the operation on Charlie was unethical was that he could not fully grasp the concept of the procedure. For example, in Progress Report 1, Charlie wrote that Miss Kinnian, Charlie's teacher, told him about the procedure and he jotted down, "I hope [Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur] use me ... I want to be smart[sic]" (Keyes 514). To receive the operation was Charlie's dream because he wanted to enhance his intelligence, however, that was all he knew about the procedure. Since Charlie had a low intelligence, he could not see the pros and cons of the surgery, only what he wanted, which was to become smart, making the operation unethical. Also, in Progress Report 3, Charlie recorded his past on how people would ask him why he wanted to become smart. "I told them becaus all my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb ... I dont care if it herts[sic]" (Keyes 515). Being born with low intelligence made Charlie yearn to get smarter. However, because getting smarter

“It’s a good feelings to know things and be smart. I wish I Had it right now, if I had I would sit down and read all the time. Anyways I bet i'm the first dumb person in the world who ever found out something important for science”. The operation was for Charlie to become smart permanently. It didn’t work so I agree of the operation being bad.

The decision for Charlie to have the operation done is made by Miss. Kinnian, Dr. Nemur, and Dr. Strauss. Charlie’s disability causes limitation in intellectual functioning like making decisions, reson, learn, and solve problems, that means that Charlie was not mentally able to make the decision.(Intellectual Disability (Mental Retardation): Causes, Symptoms) Miss. Kinnian might have made the decision for selfish reasons such as her thinking that if Charlie was smarter they could be together. The doctors made the decision because they had already tried on a mouse and it seemed to work, so they wanted to try it on a human. I think they should have waited to see if Algernon’s intelligence would be permanent or not before they operated on 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