Artificial Intelligence In Daniel Keyes 'Flowers For Algernon'

Have you ever attempted something that you were really looking forward to? Something that would be a life-making opportunity for you? Well, Daniel Keyes writes about a retarded man who has a potent dream of becoming smart. This man is Charlie Gordon, or the main character in Flowers For Algernon. Becoming intelligent is Charlie's most important desire! He does not care about having to cope with any operations to make his dream happen! He struggles and perseveres throughout a big portion of his life in order to improve upon his limited abilities. Surely, the chance to become more intelligent, even if only temporary is not an evil act. It is an opportunity for him to experience a snapshot of a life with intelligence and make contributions to

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

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.

“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.

Imagine the possibility of a surgery that could dramatically increase your intelligence. Imagine what a change of life that could mean if you were a mentally handicapped person. This is exactly what happens in the story, Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes. Charlie Gordon, is a mentally handicapped man living alone in New York City. He who undergoes an operation that increases his intelligence he realizes how poorly he was treated by people including his family and friends. Although most mistreated Charlie there was one who was kind and caring towards Charlie and that was Alice Kinnian. The story follows the rise and gradual fall of his intelligence and with that the awareness of how poorly treated he has been treated

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

How would you feel about undergoing a procedure to grant you intelligence immediately? Charlie Gordon in Daniel Keyes, “Flowers for Algernon” has the chance to skyrocket to high intelligence by going through a life changing operation. Charlie Gordon is a 37 year old who wears glasses and attends a night school for adults. Charlie is a unintelligent adult with a learning disability. His teacher, Ms. Kinnian, discovers an opportunity for him to withstand an operation to generate intelligence, will he do it? Will Charlie put his life in danger just for intelligence? Despite Charlie’s unintelligence, he is a dynamic and intriguing protagonist. Throughout the story, Charlie proves that experiments can change a person and he takes us on his unforgettable complex journey to show us how he changed.

Think of a world where people actually use smart drugs and surgeries to get smarter. Sounds like a good world, right? In the story “Flowers for Algernon”, Charlie Gordon had an operation to make him intelligent. I personally do not think Charlie should have had the surgery. Some people disagree because they think that Charlie should have the surgery only because it has had positive results on animals, however, I do not think he should have had it. I think this because he became emotionally unstable, the surgery could have led to other illnesses, and he was happy without any worry about things before.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” -Albert Einstein. A conclusive statement about the role of intelligence is that no matter how smart you are, relationships can become critical of a person’s care and attitude towards his or her cared ones. Charlie begins to understand that when he becomes smarter, his attitude, relationship and social skills change. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes, is about a 32 year old mentally challenged man named Charlie Gordon. He attends the Beekmin College For Retarted Adults where he learns new things because he has a motivation and willingness to learn new things. Charlie Gordon undergoes several problems throughout the novel from a mentally challenged man with an IQ

Would you go through surgery to improve your intelligence? In the story Flower for Algernon, Charlie Gordon did just this. Now, this really didn’t work out for him. This test emotionally effected him. It worsened his life in many ways, such as these ones.

¨Knowledge is having the right answer. Intelligence is asking the right questions.¨ said Albert Einstein. I wonder what he would say if he saw Charlie Gordon, a 30 year old man who is mentally disabled and undergoes a surgery to make his I.Q. tripled and if what he valued was important or not. Throughout the story ¨Flowers for Algernon¨, Charlie Gordon´s experiences shape and change him for the better.

Was it really worth it? Do the pro’s of the surgery outweigh the cons? These are some questions that a reader may ask themselves to understand the theme in this short story. In “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keys, one theme is the use and abuse of science and technology. By granting Charlie the surgery he always wanted, tripling his IQ, does that constitute abuse? I feel that the surgery constitutes abuse. Science was abuse and in the end the surgery was not worth it. A few reasons the surgery wasn’t worth it for Charlie is that the doctors didn’t even know the effect of the surgery to a man's brain, his time while being smart was very short and he was more lonely than he ever was before, finally, he might even have the chance of dying.

if u had a chance to be smarter would you take the chance would you risk everything just to be smarter at your job ,? I the story flowers for algernon charlie gordon by Daniel Keyes charlie gordon is a 37 year old is a man who is going to get an operation. I don't think charlie should’ve had the operation because he will be dumb the operation will go away and he won't find love

In “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, a 37 year old named Charlie Gordon is mentally challenged and wants to get smarter. His teacher, Miss Kinnian, suggests him for an experimental operation which would help him gain intelligence. Before his operation, he was given tests to see if he was an acceptable candidate, one of which included racing a mouse named Algernon, who already had the surgery, through some mind tests. Once they deemed him acceptable, he had the surgery and gradually got smarter. Then, at the highest point of his intelligence, Algernon died and he found that he was going to follow the same steps that Algernon took before he passed. Which meant his brain was going to

I feel that Flowers for Algernon was an uplifting story about accepting ones self and making the best of life. Though a cliche quote “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.” It imcompases this story so well. Charlie; born with lower cognitive abilities than average goes to this clinic to get “smart”. He knows that his life is hard and sometimes hates what it is, but by the end of the story he comes to peace with this. After knowing the burden of being smart and how different it was he relished all he ever wanted was to be himself and not be judged for that. Though heart hitting at times Charlie is mostly happy over the course of the story, but when hit with the burden of being so smart he get sad and worried about