Charlie Gordon's Flowers For Algernon

“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.

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.

As a consequence, having the operation created the chance for unpredictable and unwanted outcomes. Charlie was the first human patient for the experiment. Since the doctors have never tried the operation on a human being before, the chances for making mistakes are higher. This was proven as Algernon soon experiences side effects as his intelligence regresses and he eventually passes away. Soon, Charlie also regresses back to his original intelligence state. In conclusion, having the operation created unpredictable and unwanted outcomes. I inferred that Charlie wouldn’t die like Algernon did because the last line in the book in which he asks that someone puts flowers on Algernon's grave shows that he hasn't lost 100% of his memory of what happened. The fact that he remembers Algernon and his meticulous ritual of placing flowers on his grave shows that with repetition and reminders, he does have the capacity to recall details about the time he spent with intelligence. It's there somewhere in his subconscious, just like his childhood memories were before. While Charlie maintains most of his intelligence, 16 days after Algernon bit Charlie, Algernon died. And even after 13 days realizing his intelligence is regressing, he isn't showing signs of sickness, just showing that he is absentminded. Having all these different factors influenced all these different outcomes. In

Flowers for Algernon Everyone is who they are and no one can change that no matter what. Charlie Gordon is a thirty-seven year old man who has an IQ of sixty-eight and wishes to be smart. He was chosen for the intelligence-altering surgery to become smarter and triple his IQ. After the surgery, there were huge changes in his life.

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

“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

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),

Charlie Gordon was a 32 year old man with an I.Q. of 68. Charlie has always had a goal of being smart, he achieved this goal after Dr.Strauss preformed a surgery that dramatically increased his mental capabilities. In the movie Flowers For Algernon Charlie learned a lot about himself that he never knew. Throughout the story Charlie got a lot smarter and realized he had all sorts of feelings especially for Miss.Kinnian. “Flowers for Algernon” was a great way to develop the theme for self understanding.

“Flowers for Algernon”, how does charlie’s story express that seeking truth is worthwhile no matter the outcome?in flower for algernon charlie take part in a psychological study when his IQ skyrocket he become critical intelligence regresses and the novel end with him wanting to be smart again Charlie Gordon should have had the A.I.surgery because Charlie was more mature,his memory improved and he developed an imagination Charlie became more mature and like after the A.I. surgery Charlie know became aware of how other people was treating ,him he his learning fast then he use to do and miss kinnian teach him to spell better he was was also aware of how other people was treating him. Other say that Charlie should not have had the surgery but i think he should

Charlie Gordon, a 32 year old ignoramus man is motivated to know and understand knowledge. His teacher, Miss Alice Kinnian, suggests a special experiment due to his exceptional eagerness to learn. Additionally, Charlie’s friends always mocks and ridicules him, and only after Charlie gains intelligence did he gain enough clarity to understand what it means to “Pull a Charlie Gordon”. Once the procedure was done on Charlie his brain grew, together with his partner Algernon, a mouse; to the point where his friends portray respect and reverence towards him. Unfortunately, the experiment failed and Algernon, his mouse died. At that point, he started to regress and loss all his wisdom; Although, Charlie’s intelligibility may have disappeared, but he still remains optimistic; “But if I try and practis very hard maybe I’ll get a littl smarter and know what all the words are”. In the end, Charlie manages to gain awareness even in his heartbreaking situation and decides to moves out of New York, to a place where nobody knows he was once a genius and now

Succinctly Charlie needed to be solved and mastered. After the procedure, Charlie understood the slim likelihood of the surgery’s success, for he was seeing through the eyes of a genius. Unavoidably, Charlie’s demise would be a result of the surgery; therefore, his life was crumbling. During Charlie’s progression to intellect, he noticed that reality was not the perfect world he thought it was.

In the first semester, I have read a total of four books in English class. In addition, the novel that had really stood out for me was Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. In my opinion, as I was reading the novel, I was impressed at the author’s style of writing. The story is told through a series of journal entries written by the main character, Charlie Gordon. In addition, Charlie Gordon is not normal, he is a grown man with a low IQ of 68, he wishes to increase his intelligence from an experimental surgical that has been successfully tested on a laboratory mouse named Algernon.

Charlie Gordon was the main character in “Flowers For Algernon”. The author Daniel Keyes portrays him as a brave, honest, and outgoing person who tries to get through life while living with his disability of a low IQ. Charlie loves his work at a box factory where he thinks all his friends love him, but really they take advantage of his disability and he will later figure that out while he goes through surgery that ends up tripling his IQ. Charlie Gordon is very persistent and outgoing to go through surgery and want to become as smart as normal people.

Charlie changed, learned, and had to go on an emotional roller coaster throughout the whole story. First, he went from not understanding much to being one of the smartest people in the world. For that to just be stripped away is a terrible idea to think of. Next, was that he changed a lot as a person. This was , because he learned so much about the real world and people. Lastly, this ending was tragic, because Algernon died and Charlie’s death was almost certain to come. This must have crushed his spirit, because had worked so hard to reach this point. Knowing you are going to die and trying to find ways to prevent your death, but having no way or hope to save yourself must be a tough

“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