Charlie In Flowers For Algernon

Charlie said that he wanted to “get smarter” so that he would fit in with all of his friends. Charlie wanted the operation but I think he wanted it for the wrong reasons and he didn't fully understand all the risks that it could have on his life. He didn’t even think about what would happen if something went wrong or if it didn't work, he was only focused on the fact that he was going to be smart. Charlie’s agreement to get the operation done was based off of his hopes and dreams, which was to be smart, and that was all Charlie was thinking

To begin, one of the biggest reasons that Charlie would’ve been better off having never gotten the surgery is so he wouldn’t have to deal with knowing what great intelligence is like, but then having to go back to being naïve and dumb again. In the story Flowers for Algernon, Keyes says, “I learned so much so fast. Now my mind is deteriorating rapidly. I won’t let it happen. I’ll fight it. I can’t help thinking of the boy in the restaurant, the blank expression, the silly smile, the people laughing at him. No- please- not that again…” (303) This shows that Charlie realizes his mental capabilities are deteriorating and

First of all, why Charlie shouldn’t have gotten the surgery is because he started understanding everyone and how they felt. This stressed him out a lot. He felt like he didn't belong with others. “Now I know what it means when they say “to pull a Charlie Gordon.” I'm ashamed.” (209). In this sentence, Charlie recognizes why his friends liked having him around so much. It was so that they could make fun of him and play tricks on him for their own fun. Also Charlie had felt bad about a kid at a restaurant. “I jumped up and shouted, “Shut up! Leave him alone! It's not his fault he can't understand! He can't help what he is! But for

The more obvious ways he had changed was his intelligence, and the memories that slowly came flooding back to him after the surgery. He had went from an IQ of 70, to an IQ of 185 and counting. It had a tremendous impact on Charlie, for he was like a sponge, absorbing as much knowledge as possible, refusing to stop. He had exceeded the expectations, surpassing the IQ of the doctors that worked at Beekman University, and even the ones that constructed the experiment that changed Charlie’s life. He had managed to learn French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, Hindi, and Japanese in an extremely short period of time. Before the surgery, Charlie wanted to partake in conversations with the college students about politics,

Charlie wanted to be left alone because he is not a “guinea pig any more. I 've done enough. I want to be left alone now.” (Keyes 288). Charlie is fed up with how he has been treated by the doctors. He wants to be left alone, so he can do whatever he pleases. He “can’t afford to spend my time with anyone-there’s only enough left for myself” (Keyes 292). Charlie is beginning to shun his peers, and the people that love him. He has become devoured by his work, and is not able to give up any of his time to spend with loved ones. Charlie does not value the importance of having his loved ones around him, but prior to the operation, he had a strong motivation to have friends, and to be loved by his peers.

After the operation, in only a couple of months, Charlie starts showing signs of new intelligence. His grammar, improved, and he is able to reflect on what his does in the past something he wasn’t able to do before. He had finally gotten something use had always desired. Then, everything and everyone turned on him. In “PROGRESS REPORT 12” April 30th (pg. 60) Charlie writes: “now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding. What in the name of god do they want of me? They’ve driven me out of the factory. Now I more alone than ever before…” Charlie got what he always wanted, and now he lost everything he had. It was a sacrifice it sounded like he didn’t want to make. I can tell just be the tone of his writing. This shows that we should embrace everything that we have. Charlie didn’t embrace everything, although he appreciated most of the thing he never became happy not being able to just enjoy life as it is.

His IQ was originally sixty-eight. But, because of the surgery, Charlie was able to learn a lot more, and he was able to comprehend and read things correctly. He eventually got smart enough to the point he was smarter than his own doctors. “Dr. Nemur appears to be uncomfortable around me. Sometimes when I try to talk to him, he just looks at me strangely and turns away. I was angry at first when Dr. Strauss told me I was giving Dr. Nemur an inferiority complex. I thought he was mocking me and I’m oversensitive at being made fun of. How was I to know that a highly respected psychoexperimentalist like Nemur was unacquainted with Hindustani and Chinese? It’s absurd when you consider the work that is being done in India and China today in the very field of this study.” “Page 130”

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.

One of the reasons Charlie is better off after the experiment is because he becomes more self-aware. One part of the story that shows this is when Charlie goes to a party with his friends Joe and Frank, and everyone laughs at Charlie trying to dance. Charlie is now smart enough from the experiment to realize Joe and Frank just keeps him around for some entertainment, and not as real friends, so now he knows “what it means when they say ‘to pull a Charlie Gordon’” (7). Here, Charlie is benefiting from the surgery because he is now intelligent enough to be able to tell whether he has real friends or not. He realizes that they are just making fun of him, because he knows he used to be very unintelligent, which is why they say he can pull a Charlie Gordon. Now, Charlie can be more aware of who he chooses to be with, and know whether or not they are actually caring of him. He has become more self-aware in his choice of friends, and by doing so, improve his emotional situation. Another

He wears glasses but only for watching T.V. and movies. Charlie has a great motive because all he wants is to be smart for example, "After the operashun I'm gonna try to be smart. I'm gonna try awful hard. (p.11)". Charlie, being intellectually disabled, doesn't understand things, making him constantly happy. This is because he doesn't think about life. Charlie gets bullied but thinks they're being nice to him when they do things like "He really pulled a Charlie Gordon that time. I don't know why they say it but they always laff and I laff too. (p.23)". After the operation, he had a different outlook on life. He wanted to become smart so that he could talk with his coworkers about intelligent things like politics. Although, the operation made him too smart. His way of thinking was based on facts and intelligence, rather than emotion, feelings and instinct. Charlie was a genius and they weren't. He didn't know how to control his emotion because he never knew he had them, often making him go into depression and be

I believe that Charlie is happier when he is less intelligent before the operation. You know the saying ignorance is bliss? That's what I think this is. Sometimes when I get bored I think about things. This is one of them. Would you rather be happy and not know something bad is happening? Or would you rather be unhappy and know that something bad is happening. Charlie was happiest before the operation. He didn't know that his "friends" weren't really his friends. He didn't know that his whole work place was making fun of him. He was happy though. Then he was intelligent, and knew what everyone was doing, he wasn't happy. He knew his "friends" weren't his friends. He knew everyone makes fun of him. He wasn't happy. In fact, he was so upset that

After the surgery, Charlie’s mind thought completely different than what it had before the A.I. surgery, obviously,

After the artificial intelligence (A.I.) surgery Charlie was able to experience new ideas, and emotions. For example, from the text in progress report eleven Charlie says “I don't understand why I never noticed

In the first place, as a result of the surgery Charlie is no longer seen as a human being. The doctors and world view Charlie as an experiment, dehumanizing him constantly throughout the story. “Since Algernon and I are the prime exhibits.” (113) Charlie begins to slowly notice the way the doctors treat him as an experiment, talking about him in his presence and not acknowledging that he has the capacity to understand and

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),