Character Analysis Of Daniel KeyesFlowers For Algernon

In Flowers for Algernon, throughout Charlie's life, the one main goal he always wanted was to be smart, including his mother. When Charlie performed the surgical procedure, his mind became more understanding which made him learn more information. Later, he learned that intelligence wasn't the only

Flowers for Algernon shows how Charlie isn’t any less human than the rest of us. He had ambition, a goal, he wanted to fit in. He can feel the pity showered on him, he even said that he didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him when Miss Kinnians cried after Charlie forgot that he wasn’t in her class anymore. Charlie’s mind was clear, he wanted to be smart like everyone

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” - Harriet Tubman. Charlie Gordon is a very welcoming, playful, and genuine man. He attends Beekman College for Retarded Adults and has a strong motivation to learn and to improve his intelligence. He dreams of being popular, and making friends. Throughout the novel Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon changed in many ways. Prior to his life changing operation, he was not able to grasp that the people at Donner’s Bakery were not his friends, they only spoke to him to make fun of him. Charlie acknowledged their harsh actions, and started retaliating. Charlie is a very open

We get to know Charlie through letters he writes to the unnamed “friend”. Charlie has a lot of internal conflicts which he deals with every second of his life. He deals with his best friend’s death and his aunt’s death and his past with his aunt. These internal conflicts make him withdrawn. Moreover, Charlie has a need to tell someone about his life and thoughts, maybe to feel less lonely. In the very start of the story Charlie expresses: “I don’t want you to find me”, which emphasizes that he does not want a concrete person to help him, he only needs to let his thoughts out. Charlie is absolutely a dynamic and round character. He is an intelligent, observant high school freshman who hides his beautiful personality because of having dealt with a lot of trauma in his childhood. Through the relationships he develops over the course of the school year, Charlie suddenly comes out of his shell and grows as a person. For example, what he tells Sam who has also dealt with a troubled past: “Even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there”. However, it is not until the very end of the book that he uncovers the repressed memories of sexual abuse of his aunt that are at the foundation of his internal

In Daniel Keyes' novel, Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon is mentally challenged. Since Charlie is mentally disabled he is treated unkindly by an abundance of people in his life. Charlie works at Donner's Bakery as a janitor and a delivery boy. Charlie's coworkers frequently made the comment, "He really pulled a Charlie Gordon that time (pg.17)." Previous to Charlie's operation, he thinks this comment made by his coworkers is a joke. Charlie thinks his coworkers are being kind and trying to be his friend. However, after Charlie's operation, he finds out his coworkers are disrespecting and mocking him on purpose by making these comments. Charlie is also mistreated by one of the doctors, Professor Nemur, in charge of the experiment that heightens Charlie's intelligence. Professor Nemur is an abnormally arrogant and career-obsessed man. In Professor Nemur's eyes, Charlie was more of a laboratory animal than a human being. Professor Nemur proves that his mentally challenged patient is barely a human being by implying that he had simply created Charlie and his newfound intelligence. This experiment is

In the novel Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, Charlie, a mentally disabled adult, has brain surgery to increase intelligence.The scientists do not have a right to surgically change his brain.Rather than think about/believe Charlie's quality of life, the scientists think about/believe their own fame.Ultimately, with the death of Algernon and Charlie's research, the operation did not yield success.

Was Charlie better off before or after the surgery had happened? Although Charlie did gain more intelligence after the surgery, there are many reasons why Charlie was better off before the surgery. One of the reasons why Charlie is better before the surgery is because Charlie was always happy no matter what people would say about him, but after the operation Charlie would always get angry when someone would say a rude comment or when Charlie would not think he was smart enough.

Charlie was always happy and never saw the actions people were exhibiting as rude, but more as funny and playful; they just wanted to have a good time with him. The reader must consider that, “…there are everyday satisfactions, too, that we often overlook like offering a kindness, telling the truth, having a good idea, paying our bills, learning something new... In their own way, these moments bring a kind of bliss, too…" (Kunst 1). For Charlie, things conformed differently, and stuff that seemed so simple like paying the bills and irrelevant like telling the truth meant everything to him. Charlie Gordon didn’t understand the way people were treating him because of his mental disability. Charlie lives alone and doesn’t understand that the reason he doesn’t have contact with his family anymore is the result of his disability. The people around him ignored him, and he never understood the concept. In the article “‘You're Not the Same Kind of Human Being’: The Evolution of Pity to Horror in Daniel Keyes's Flowers for Algernon”, it is pointed out, "if Charlie is unaware of his powerlessness in the midst of science, he is also unaware of his isolation in the midst of society. His family has previously abandoned him, something Charlie is only vaguely aware of... " (Cline 2). This quote challenges ignorance because if Charlie would’ve known all of this information before his operation, then he possibly wouldn’t have put as much effort into maturing and becoming intelligent or even gone through with the procedure caused from his lack of drive and

Furthermore, he finds happiness in the smallest pleasures in his daily life. Before his surgery, he lives happily without feeling physical and emotional pain. After the procedure, he finds out that Algernon, a mouse who goes through the same operation as him, starts digressing downhill and his mental ability to be intelligent starts to go away. Charlie is wretched because he knows that this will soon happen to him. Moreover, he has become alienated from all of the people he loves. Charlie recalls that "[he is] alone at Mrs. Flynn's boarding house most of the time I seldom speak to anyone"(___). He has nothing to hold onto, and he even has thoughts of suicide. " Dr. Straus came to see me again... I told him to go away...I am touchy and irritable.

“Flowers for Algernon” contains numerous themes throughout Charlie Gordon’s journey. Charlie Gordon the story’s protagonist is a 32-year-old mentally disabled man who has the opportunity of a lifetime to undergo very special surgeries which will most likely change his life for the better, hopefully. This operation has already been performed on a laboratory mouse named Algernon, who received astonishing and outstanding results, so the doctor is convinced it can alter a human’s disability and help millions of people. The reason Charlie was chosen for this operation is his teacher Miss. Kinnian, who said he was a very hard worker and valuable asset. After the operation, Charlie’s intelligence increased rapidly and soon became a genius. Charlie was asked to keep progress reports of his personal experiences and as he gets smarter he improves in grammar, spelling, and wordplay. However, all actions have consequences, the first side effect are flashbacks to Charlie’s childhood, which contain emotional and depressing events, the second side effect is a lack of social skills this could be the operation or not, but it certainly increased after the surgery, this shows when Charlie tries to make new friends or keep old ones but no one understands him and when people don’t understand something they get scared and destroy it or back off. The only true friend Charlie had was Miss. K, which soon became his girlfriend. After a few weeks Charlie

He realized that he had feelings for Miss Kinnian, his teacher. For instance, “I think from the beginning I had the feeling that she was an unreachable genius-and very, very old. Now, every time I see her she grows younger and more lovely.” (Keyes 37). Before the operation, Charlie did not realize how beautiful Miss Kinnian was. After the operation, Charlie realized this. His hope for a better life increased. On the other hand, his newfound intelligence divided him from his friends. In the text it states, “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved.” (Keyes 39). Charlie’s friends kept teasing and making fun of him. He felt very lonely. As well as affecting his social life, the operation also affected Charlie emotionally. A few months after the operation, Charlie’s emotions changed negatively. He became touchy and irritable. In short, Charlie’s emotions were negatively affected after a little while, however, he got to know what love felt like and he got to know his true

Charlie had a strong personality change he became more hateful towards things “those ink blots are stupid and those pictures are stupid to” “I think writing these progress reports are stupid to” he begins to realize that he’s being bullied.He gets angry fast about little things he becomes angry at himself when he laughs at the

After Charlie noticed that the people he actually thought were his friends were not, he started to look at everyone else in a different perspective as if they did not care for him. He started to analyze how society really treated mentally disabled individuals. With having the surgery Charlie has become a different man, he actually is starting to raise his IQ, and visualize things for what they are. While Charlie was beginning to see reality, he loses his job and friends. Everyone began to see Charlie as a whole different person, and knew something different had happened.

And we all know if we were given the opportunity to change something we did not like about ourselves we would all do it, so why not Charlie. Charlie is just like the rest of us. In the story Flowers for Algernon Charlie was deemed feeble minded by everyone who met him. The only person in the story who was on Charlie's side was Ms.Kinnian.

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),