Essay on Charlie Gordon in Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keye

The protagonist and author of the progress reports that form the text of Flowers for Algernon. Charlie is a thirty-two-year-old mentally retarded man who lives in New York City. At the start of the novel, he works at Donner’s Bakery as a janitor and delivery boy. Charlie’s friendliness and eagerness to please, along with his childhood feelings of inadequacy, make him the hardest-working student in Alice Kinnian’s literacy class for retarded adults. When Charlie undergoes an experimental surgery to increase his intelligence, his IQ skyrockets to the level of a genius. His obsession with untangling his own emotional life and his longing to reach an emotional maturity and inner peace to match his intellectual authority inform many of the novel’s

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.

Have you ever wanted to know several languages, be able to learn everything easily, or even have an IQ of at least 200? Charlie Gordon, in the story “Flowers for Algernon,” was a man who had an IQ of 68, but he went through a surgery that made him smarter than his own teacher at a school for the mentally challenged, and his own doctors. Charlie’s IQ was tripled after the surgery once he began to practice different languages as well as the English language. Charlie soon reverted to his former self at the end of the story, and this tripled intelligence that he possessed once before was soon back to the IQ of 68 Charlie had it easier in life after the surgery.

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.

Flowers for Algernon has a difficulty with technology when Charlie’s brain begins to deteriorate. Scientist Dr. Nemur and neurologist/psychiatrist Dr. Strauss did an operation on Charlie to higher his I.Q. At first, the surgery seemed to be a huge success making Charlie even more intelligent than themselves. Later in the novel, Charlie realizes his intelligence deteriorates and names it the “Algernon-Gordon Effect”. The operation did successfully able him to learn at an extreme rate although, the more he learned, the faster his new intelligence would disappear. The technology made Charlie smart for only a limited amount of time, this becomes burden on him. Charlie realized how his colleagues truly

In the text, Charlie writes, “But I've learned that intelligence alone doesn't mean a damned thing”(Keyes 249). This quote explicates Charlie’s awareness to realize that intelligence is not the most essential mechanism to success in life, but being happy with the ones you love are the most important. Additionally, as a result of the experimental failure, it causes Charlie to lose hope and motivation to become smart again. According to Serendip Studio, “All Charlie really wants is that he can be friends with Gimpy, Frank, Joe Carp and the others at the bakery he works in. He knows that he can only be friends with them when he can read, write and join in their conversations that discuss politics and religion.

3) Some examples of how the author shows Charlie’s increased intelligence is when Oliver quits his mixer job at the bakery, so Charlie volunteers to take his place. His coworkers give him a chance and he does an even better job than oliver. Another example is when Charlie figures out that Gimpy is

In the first place, Charlie became so smart, it started to destroy his brain. When Algernon died, Charlie knew that the same thing would happen to him, so he started conducting research. He dedicated all of his time to find out what happened to Algernon and what will happen to himself. In the story, “I’ve got to know if and when it will happen to me.” (Keyes, 78) The text implies that he knows it will happen to him and he is determined to learn more about it. He finds out that the operation is killing him, he is dying. He became so smart that his brain started to malfunction; his brain no longer worked.

Could you imagine what it would be like to become what you’ve always wanted to be? Or to have your I.Q be tripled? In the Science Fiction story, “Flowers for Algernon” written by Daniel Keyes, a 37 year old man named Charlie Gordon, whose mind is impaired, undergoes a surgery to triple his I.Q. After the surgery, Charlie Gordon’s life became much better for him. Charlie was able to make true friends, along with that he felt emotions, but most importantly, he was able to see the world through a different a different perspective.

Miss Kinnian was Charlie Gordon's teacher before the operation. She was very kind to Charlie and realized how much potential he had to become smarter. When Charlie had the operation, it took time for Charlie to become smarter. As days passed Charlie became smarter and smarter. Charlie soon became so smart he did not attend Miss Kinnian's class. Although he was not in her class anymore, Charlie felt strongly for Alice, and Alice soon felt the same for Charlie. One evening when they went out for coffee Alice told Charlie that she did not want their relationship to get in the way of his learning and did not think they should see each other anymore. This was the start of a great deal of argument. Charlie then bought his own apartment. Next door lived an artist named Fay Lillman. Charlie and Fay became friends. Fay was unaware of Charlie's operation and believed he was always that smart. When Charlie's operation deteriorated so did their relationship. Fay no longer wanted to see Charlie because Charlie was not a normal man, but a mentally handy cap man. Although Charlie and Alice argued a great deal, Alice still loved him and stayed by his side in the times he needed her most. As soon as Alice heard that Charlie was deteriorating, she went to Charlie's apartment and stayed with him, until he kicked her out. Alice was the only true friend Charlie

Charlie Gordon, narrator of the progress reports in Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon, has an intellectual growth that can be depicted as a one year old boy who becomes an extravagant 20 year old scholar in the matter of weeks. In the beginning of the story, Charlie Gordon is a student at Beekman College as a ‘mentally delayed adult,’ accompanied by his IQ (intelligence quotient) of 68. He is then selected to undergo an operation to artificially increase his intelligence similar to the successful attempt on a lab mouse, Algernon. Learning new things every day, Gordon has surpassed many people by his IQ level. This growth has gotten to the point—as seen in Algernon’s experiment—that his cerebral level will then deteriorate at the same rate as the increase. Once Charlie reaches that point, he has regressed further

The only problem Charlie has is that he wants to be smart. He is fortunate enough to cross an opportunity that would allow him to achieve his dream of being smart. Charlie would have to undergo an operation on his brain, and the results that he hopes for are not completely guaranteed. When Charlie does show signs of intellectual growth it opens up a whole new world for him. He is eager to learn more, read more, and he even wishes to speak with intellect.

“... the victories and defeats of life might link human beings in a similar way if only we could learn mutual trust and respect despite our differences” (Brynie). Daniel Keyes’ novel, Flowers for Algernon, centers around the struggle of a mentally retarded man, Charlie Gordon. Charlie learns how unaccepting society is towards his disabilities when he gains intelligence through advanced technology. Published in 1966, Keyes writes about the consequences of technology in a time where technology is quickly developing. Daniel Keyes expresses the evolving abuse of technology through recurring themes, symbols, and morals that affect the main character Charlie Gordon.

5. How does Algernon function as an alter ego for Charlie? How does Algernon’s condition represent Charlie’s condition?

“The physician should not treat the disease but the patient who is suffering from it” (Maimonides). Determined and motivated. These words describe the power of a dangerous thing. Daniel Keyes writes about Charlie Gordon, a disabled man with low intelligence who tries to become the most intelligent man that he can be by getting surgery to enhance his capability of learning. In the novel, Flower for Algernon, Charlie gets an operation to increase his intelligence, which has negative effects.