Charlie Getting Smarter

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

Before the operation, Charlie Gordon, from Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, is happy. He may have a simple, pitiful existence, but he thinks his friends like him, and enjoys being with them and Miss Kinnian at the Learning Center for Slow Adults. However, Charlie wants to be smart, the one dark cloud in his sunny sky of life. Because of this, Charlie volunteers for an operation to triple his IQ of 68. With a high IQ comes awareness of the world around him, so Charlie suddenly becomes conscious of his previously pitiful existence which leads to a slew of feelings such as embarrassment, shame, and superiority. Charlie thinks that becoming smart will make him happy and well-liked, but the operation works the opposite effect. Charlie starts to look down on everyone, and cannot socialize with others because of his IQ. As a result, Charlie becomes almost depressed. His depression deepens when Charlie discovers that his intelligence will not be permanent. Soon, Charlie regresses to his former childlike mentality. Although at the end of the novel, Charlie does not find himself any worse off after the operation, the few months he spent smarter are not terribly enjoyable for him, and his changing mentality negatively impacts those he is close to, namely Miss Kinnian. Because the effects are not permanent, Charlie would be far better off without the operation.

The author uses communication style as a method of character development, which the author utilized to build Charlie Gordon’s character. Throughout the book, Charlie’s communication changes from when his IQ is merely 68 to when the surgical procedure raises his IQ to 125. Initially, his grammar is full of errors and simple vocabulary but later improved drastically, after the procedure, by use of complex wordings (Allan 31). The communication style is different between the two phases especially through differentiated personalities and speech between two periods. Daniel Keyes also endeavors to capture the character’s history to enable the audience to understand the events that shape Charlie’s personality.

“Eagar, Determined, and Motivated:” these three words describe Charlie Gordon in Daniel Keyes’s story “Flowers for Algernon”. Daniel Keyes writes about a thirty two year old man with a low IQ (Charlie Gordon) who strives to become “normal”. Charlie will do anything to become smarter even letting two doctors preform brain surgery to enhance his learning capability. Charlie evolves throughout the novel and by the end of his journey although his IQ is low he is a more complete person. He learns the true meaning of friendship and demonstrates intellectual growth as a person by overcoming obstacles and understanding various lessons.

“I said Miss Kinnian never gave me tests like that one only spelling and reading. They said Miss Kinnian told that I was her bestist pupil in the adult nite scool becaus I tryed the hardist and I reely wantid to lern” -Charlie. Concluding that if you could feel smarter than you are now, would you. That's what Charlie feels like until he has an operation that makes him smart. The theme of this story I think is that people change over time. Like charlie changes throughout the story. In the story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes Charlie patarys the theme that people changed overtime.

When Charlie was intelligent he often got irritated at the doctors because they weren’t as smart as him. He had also dealt with a lot of emotion with Miss Kinnian, Charlie was in love with Miss Kinnian. When he regressed, he was embarrassed to see her because he thought she would think he was dumb. When Charlie was at a diner, he saw a kid with disabilities, and everyone was laughing at him and so was Charlie. He was upset with himself that he laughed at him because that kid was him before he had the surgery to make him smart.

Many people detest animal testing, but in some cases, it can be useful. In the short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, scientists take animal testing to another level by performing tests on a human. The story is about a mentally challenged man named Charlie who scientists perform an experiment on. He receives a surgery, which makes him very intuitive for a short time, and experiences a decline in intelligence, until he is once again mentally challenged. Some readers might argue that Charlie is worse off after the experiment because he lost all of his friends when he was smart, but Charlie is better off after the experiment because he gains self-awareness, feels satisfied for receiving a second chance at being intelligent, and regains all of

In the book "Flowers for Algernon" a man named Charlie, who's intellectually disabled, wants to become smart. Since that's the only thing he wants, and he'll do anything to do it, two men choose Charlie to have the operation done on, which will "open up the gates" to him learning. Before they did it on a human, they did it on a mouse named Algernon, who became very smart. After Charlie had his operation, he was frustrated because he wasn't smart. The two men, Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur, had Charlie do many things such as read and write down progress reports. Charlie was learning at a very fast rate. He read

“Don’t be in such a hurry to condemn a person because he doesn’t do what you do, or think as you think. There was a time when you didn’t know what you know today” (Malcom X). In 1965, Charlie Gordon of New York, a 37 year old with an IQ of 68, who is continuously humiliated and judged by people due to his disability, becomes a candidate for an experimental operation performed by Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss after his teacher, Mrs. Kinnian, recommends him. While Charlie’s intelligence increases at a rapid rate, surpassing an IQ of 200, Algernon, a mouse who is previously operated on, begins to exhibit signs of violence and mental deterioration; it is at this point where he realizes his fate. Working day and night, Charlie writes a report titled

This book follows Charlie Gordon, a 32-year-old man with an extremely low IQ. He becomes the subject of an experimental surgery to raise his intelligence, however, this experiment has only been preformed on mice. Written in the voice of Charlie, readers are able to see his progression through journal entries and progress reports.

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 acted ethically when they performed the surgery to make him smarter. In the beginning Charlie took a Rorschach test to test his personality. When he took the test, he said he saw nothing in the inkblots. Charlie Gordon is in his 30’s; his IQ was 68, despite this fact, Charlie spends time with his teacher Miss Kinnian to get smarter. Miss Kinnian teaches at a school for slow adults.

Charlie Gordon a 32-year-old man with an IQ of 70. Not the smartest man ever don't you think? But everything has changed. Charlie is enrolled in a clinical trial that involves a surgery to block the enzymes from his brain that are making him dumb. Charlie is an oblivious, ignorant man who works at a bakery and earns only 11 dollars a week, before the surgery.

Flowers For Algernon Essay In Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes, the main character Charlie Gordon under goes in an operation to increase his intelligence as a mentally disabled person. Later on in the story he looses the intelligence he gained and could be on the road to dying. He is better off with the surgery because he gained so much such as, social cues and intelligence. Before the operation Charlie could barely say complete sentences let alone spell, but after the operation he was becoming smarter than his teacher, Mrs. Kinnian.

The Temporary Genius Man The death of a human being is not worth intelligence. Charlie Gordon is a thirty-seven year old, mentally handicapped, with a childlike but very kind personality. Charlie goes to doctors, Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur, to get a life-altering surgery. Knowing that Charlie is not fully aware, I feel they take advantage of Charlie.