Charlie Gordon In Flowers For Algernon

Charlie Gordon was fighting, working hard, and struggling for being smart. Charlie had a once in a lifetime to increase his I.Q. three times as much. In the story “Flowers for Algernon,” written by Daniel Keyes, the genre is Science Fiction. Charlie has a low I.Q. of sixty eight, and wants to be a genius. Charlie Gordon’s life is better with the A.I. Surgery.

“I wanted to race algernon some more but Burt said thats enough for one day. They let me hold him for a minit. Hes not so bad,” (Keyes 120). Charlie Gordon has a good heart, but a very low intelligence. In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon is eager for a surgery that will hopefully triple his IQ and make him much more intelligent than the average man. After Charlie gets his operation, he meets a lab animal, a mouse named Algernon, who has had the same operation that Charlie had. Dr. Strauss, the man who started this all, has Charlie and Algernon race to solve mazes that measure Charlie's intellectual growth, which increases proving the operation successful. Daniel Keyes focused on multiple craft moves: simile, foreshadow, and personification to give the reader a way to associate the story with ways that they can relate 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.

In this novel, Flowers for Algernon, written by Daniel Keyes, a man named Charlie Gordon has an operation done to increase his intelligence. He started as a mentally retarded man and slowly became a genius. He seemed to soak up information like a sponge and he was able to figure out the most complex scientific formulas. The only problem with the operation is that it does not last for ever and in his remaining time he tries to figure out why it is not permanent. He will eventually lose everything he learned and become worse off than when he started, so Charlie was better off before he had the operation.

“Before, they had laughed at me, despising me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hated me for my knowledge and understanding… This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I knew and loved…” (Keyes 108) . Charlie finds that even after his operation, there are still barriers between him and his coworkers, acquaintances, and family. “...language is sometimes a barrier instead of a pathway. Ironic to find myself on the other side of the intellectual fence.” (Keyes 114). This idea that language is also a barrier is significant because it shapes Charlie’s relationships with Professor Nemur and Dr.Strauss. “... he has succumbed to arrogance and superiority over those who have provided the opportunity for his intellectual development.” (Wroble). This criticism describes the effects of the growth of Charlie’s ego as his IQ grows too. Not only does Charlie face an intellectual barrier, but also faces an emotional

“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 preformed 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 aspect. After the operation Charlie’s intelligence increased rapidly and soon became a genius. Charlie

Charlie Gordon is a thirty three year old mentally retarded man who is chosen by a team of neurologist scientist to undergo an operation. The operation is designed to enhance Charlie’s intelligence although it has only been tested on a mouse by the name of Algernon, and has yet to be proven successful. He is recomended this operation by his teacher Alice Kennan who teaches mentally disabled adults at Beekman College For Retarded Adults. Throughout the story, the reader sees Charlie’s mental process beginning to develop through the progress reports Dr Stratus and Professor Nemur has provided Charlie to write. As Charlie begins to become aware of his intelligence increasing , he gradually starts to notice the different treatment he begins to receive from long time “friends”. Charlie Gordon’s conflict with how he must contend with some aspects of his past teaches the reader the importance of learning about oneself through Charle changing his lifestyle and identity in a diminutive amount of time.

A high Intelligence Quotient may not always correlate with one's happiness. In the short story, “Flowers for Algernon,” by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon is a mentally challenged man with an I.Q. of sixty-eight. Due to his motivation, and desire of becoming “smart,” he attends an adult night school class with his teacher, Miss Kinnian where “[he tries] the hardist and reely… [wants] to learn” [sic] (6). Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur select Charlie upon the proposition by Miss Kinnian. The doctors will perform an operation which may triple Charlie’s I.Q. and “make [him] smart” (5). The operation on Charlie made; him into a social outcast, lose his routine and income, and bring him to an early death. Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss’ operation on Charlie Gordon should not be performed.

Intelligence is like a key, opening new doors and passages, unique ways of seeing the world. Intelligence makes people aware of their surroundings. Charlie Gordon, the main character in Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, started the story as an intellectually underdeveloped man who had an Intelligence Quotient of 68. He attends a night school for “ slow adults”, which is taught by Mrs. Kinnian . When Charlie is offered the opportunity to receive an experimental surgery, which claims that it will triple the participant’s Intelligence quotient, he accepts it.

Flowers for Algernon is a short fictional story that is written in the form of a journal by Charlie Gordon, a man with a clearly illustrated learning disability. In this story Charlie Gordon was picked as the first human and second test subject for an experiment that was meant to triple any ones IQ level. Dr. Strauss tells Charlie Gordon to write Progress Reports about his days and this is how the story is presented to the reader. When Charlie Gordon has his surgery that was meant to make him starter, did he actually get smarter, or does he only perceive that he gets smarter?

"...all my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb and my mom always tolld me to try and lern just like Miss Kinnian tells me but it’s very hard to be smart and even when I lern something in Miss Kinnians class at the school I ferget a lot" (Keyes 4). Flowers for Algernon is an outstanding novel written by Daniel Keyes. The story is based on a mentally challenged man named Charlie Gordon and a fluffy white mouse named Algernon, who goes and becomes two super geniuses. Charlie Gordon faces many challenges, whether it was finding out that most of his early life was an entire lie or making decisions on whether or not the surgery was ethical. Charlie Gordon’s will-power helped him conquer the task that was thrown at him.

Flowers for Algernon the two main characters a mouse named Algernon and a young man named Charlie Gordon a thirty-two year old who has a very low I.Q. of sixty-eight from any other thirty-two year old man. Charlie Gordon works at Donner’s Bakery Charlie isn’t just any oh employer Charlie has very poor Intelligence Quotient. And he knows that he is different from everybody else, that’s why he has being seeing Dr.Strauss about is condition. What can he do to make his I.Q the same as everyone else? Charlie’s intelligence is an important role of Dr.Strauss and Prof.Nemur to, be able to perform this important surgery on him. He writes seventeen progress reports. Charlie Gordon is not just a thirty-two year old man that works at Donner’s bakery.

He is therefore is a very different person. He no longer innocently gawks at people who are mean to him. He is able to have a decent conversation with others, and continues to be very analytical. Due to these personality traits and changes, at this point Charlie is ISFJ on the MBTI scale. This is shown when Charlie is consoling himself about his feelings for Mrs. Kinnian and he remarks, “I kept telling myself that the sweating palms, the tightness in my chest, the desire to put my arms around her were merely biochemical reactions.” (Keyes 95) He is analyzing his feelings and then taking action in a way that he never would have before the operation. With his new-found intelligence, Charlie realizes things about people and subjects that change who he is as a person. The flood of newfound knowledge makes him act differently around other people and think differently. Charlie also is now introverted and spends much of his time at the library and reading

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.

Flower for Algernon is based on a novel, the novel is written by Daniel Keyes. Charlie Gordon is the main character. He is a kind and gentle man with an IQ of 68. He decided to do a mettle operation that will increase his intelligence. The same operation was done on a mouse, Algernon, that was the instrumental part since he was one of the animals who lived the longest. Charlie received a chance to be the brightest star in the sky, and he reclaimed his family at the same time he discover love. As Charlie gets to go on adventures; Algernon starts to lose his IQ. Will the same thing happen to Charlie? Or will he be a scientific miracle?