Argument Analysis: Flowers For Algernon

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

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

In Flowers for Algernon, the main character, Charlie Gordon is a 32 year old who is mentally disabled. He has been living his life thus far with an IQ of sixty-eight. Although Charlie is not smart, he is very happy, but being happy does not always mean being content, and Charlie is a perfect example of this. Charlies teacher, Miss Kinnian, explained to him that there is a chance for him to get smarter, and that is through a secret surgery. He wants to fit in and be smart like everyone else, but the outcome of the surgery may not be as planned. Charlie’s increased intelligence causes him to lose his innocence. When Charlie loses his innocent mindset he gains experience, which also brings him emotional outbursts. The sacrifices Charlie makes

Charlie Gordon's doctors were not ethical when they made the decision to perform the experiment. Charlie has an IQ of 68 and cannot make decision to perform an experiment on his brain. It

Charlie experiences drastic changes throughout the story. All of them are mentally due to the experimental operation he had. In the

One thing Charlie repeated many times before the surgery was “I want to be smart” (Keyes 225) also that he would do whatever it takes to become smart he would work really hard so he could be smart and fit in. That is why Charlie should have had the A.I. to give him what he really wanted even if it wasn’t permanent. A common argument against this position is that the surgery wasn't permanent and that it is not worth being smart for a few weeks. But i argue that Charlie was very grateful for being smart even for just a little while. While he was smart he was able to make scientific advances that most people could not od in a lifetime And he did it in a few weeks and he was grateful to give back to the people who made him

Another piece of evidence that Charlie's doctors weren't ethical when preforming on Charlie is the question "Has the patient been informed of benefits and risks, understood this information, and given consent?" (Seigler). Even though both Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss told Charlie the benefits, and Charlie understood the information and gave consent, the doctors didn’t inform Charlie of the risks. They didn’t tell him that not only he would lose all of his intelligence in a short matter of time, but most likely die. Charlie found that information on his

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.

Do you choose intelligence over happiness? “I don’t know what’s worse, to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you’ve always wanted to be, and feel alone.” Writes Charlie Gordon (Keyes 298). In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon is a young man who struggles with mental retardation. His dream is to be intelligent so he can be like the rest of the world. Charlie goes through an experimental surgery that increases his intelligence. But the consequence of his tripled intelligence is that Charlie Gordon is not as happy as he was before surgery. Before his surgery, Charlie was oblivious to his “friends” being mean to him. After, he realized what kind of people they really were. Before surgery, Charlie’s ignorance hid him from the true, harsh reality. After surgery, Charlie’s ignorance disappeared, making him realize how fake and disappointing the world can be. Before Charlie’s surgery, he was happy, but felt oblivious to the world surrounding him. After surgery, he was pleased with his intelligence when it reached its peak. But when Charlie’s intelligence began to deteriorate, he became upset that he couldn’t think the way he could when he was smart. From the reasons stated above, In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon is better off before surgery.

Charlie Gordon was not fully aware of the surgery. All he was fully aware of was that he was going to be smarter and that’s all he wanted. Also, Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur should have waited to give Charlie the surgery. Instead of giving him the surgery the same time as Algernon, they could have waited, saw Algernon died and then this wouldn’t have happened to

Firstly I would like to start off with an example the backs up, why i think Charlie should have gotten the operation, because with him getting the operation it helps advance science. “ Anyway i bet im the first dumb person in the world who ever found out something important for science”(keyes, 86) this means he did do something important to help science. The way it helps advance science is it helps them see what they have done wrong by all the data they have collected and learn what their mistake was. Another way it helps advance science it that he just helped with an important partin science that could potentially make the whole world smart. If scientists are to figure out what the mistake was they could make all mental and even advanced people even more smart. Also you never know if it would have stayed permanent and if you are Charlie you have to do whatever it takes to

You wouldn't like it if you had a below average IQ level, would you? Well, that was the case for Charlie Gordon, a thirty-two year old man with the below average IQ of 68. All Charlie wanted was to become smarter and understand. He got the opportunity to participate in a scientific operation to see if you could surgically increase someone's intelligence. This raises the question of whether or not it is right to try to increase the intelligence of a person if the outcome is unknown. Ethics are ideas that guide people in their daily life of deciding what is right or wrong. They are centered around the virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty.

Charlie’s doctors acted like they knew what to do with Charlie.The gave Charlie the operation and over time he got smarter. The operation helped and Charlie got Smarter. The doctors gave Charlie tests to prove that he got smarter and it all worked in the end. Charlie’s doctors did act ethically when they gave Charlie the operation.

Charlie Gordon was born with an extremely low IQ and although he may not realize all that is going on around him, he does realize that he is not smart. More than anything he wants to learn to read and write and impress his family and co-workers. That opportunity comes along for Charlie and although he does not understand the consequences fully, he takes it. Charlie was not going to just go to school and learn to "be smart" because he did not have the capability, although he went to a class for retarded adults three times a week. Instead his teacher suggested he talk to Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur who were looking for a retarded adult to test a new operation on to enhance the IQ of not only retarded people, but later for people with average IQ levels and even geniuses, to further knowledge for the human race. Although the operation did work, it did not last and Charlie was left struggling to hold onto the knowledge he had acquired over the few months where his IQ had increased three fold, then dropped again. This experiment was dangerous and unethical. It affected Charlie

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),