Charlie's Intelligance In Daniel Keyes Flowers For Algernon

As Charlie's intelligence increases he thinks that he will be more liked the higher his intelligence climbs, but later Charlie discovers that whether you are of lower intelligence then most of the population or of higher intelligence you still will not quite fit in. "I've discovered that no one really cares for Charlie Gordon whether he is a moron or a genius. (Keyes 172) Charlie's relationship with Alice also shows how whether he is of extreme low extreme high intellect he still cannot communicate with her the way he needs to. " I'm just as far away from Alice with an I.Q of 185 then when I had an IQ of 70" (Keyes 88). In today's society if a persons thoughts slightly differ from those of the majority of the population then they will be scrutinized and shunned from the others. People are not willing to look at an idea through a different perspective and this is shown in Flowers For Algernon, when Charlie discovers the fault in Dr. Nemur's experiment and confronts him about it, Dr. Nemur treats him like the old Charlie who is to mentally challenged to be correct. It is repeated numerous times during the novel that Charlie was "created" by the experiment and was not a "human being" because of his below 100 IQ before the operation. "I'm a human being, a person- with parents and memories and a history- and I was before you ever wheeled me into that operating room." (Keyes 112). Society needs to learn that even those who are different then most of us still are humans and

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.

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

To begin with, when Charlie is smart everyone avoids him and acts almost scared of him. For example, people are avoiding Charlie he “guess[s] it’ll take a little time for them to get used to the changes in me. Everybody seems to be frightened of me.” Charlie really wants to be smart to fit in but in the process everyone avoids him. Along with people avoiding him, when he is smart everyone begins to see that Algernon is getting hostile and it foreshadows what will happen to Charlie. For example,“they’re all pretending that Algernon’s behavior is not necessarily significant for me. But it’s hard to hide the fact that some of the other animals who were used in this experiment are showing strange behavior.” After Charlie realizes what will happen to him he regrets ever having the operation

Should Charlie have had the operation? In the story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, Charlie isn’t very intelligent. His teacher Mrs. Kinnian thinks he would be good to get to operation. Charlie is willing to lose his personality and everything about him already, just to get an operation that is supposed to make you intelligent. It may be temporary, but he goes for it. If he never had gotten the operation he wouldn’t have lost everything he had, such as his personality and most of all Mrs. Kinnian.

Everyone is perfect in their own way, so you should not change yourself just to be like everyone else. In the story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, a 37 year old mentally challenged man named Charlie Gordon, had a very low intelligence quotient (IQ) of 68. Charlie had always wanted to be smart like those around him. Fortunately, he was given the opportunity for this. He was chosen to be in an experimental operation that could triple his IQ. This experiment was successful on a mouse named Algernon. After some time from the experimental operation, Charlie is a genius. As Charlie gets smarter than before, he begins changing as a person. Charlie should not have had the operation because it ruined his relationships, it was temporary, and he fell into depression.

Imagine working to become intelligent, then having an operation to become intelligent, and then losing it all in the blink of an eye; motivation and intelligence, what matters more? Motivation matters more due to the fact that it can get one farther in life because it pushes to do amazing things. Intelligence is not always the answer but it can be effective when used with motivation or as a result of motivation. Charlie’s motivation shows he is working to become intelligent, finish his research, and stay intelligent. Without intelligence where would the world be?

Charlie Gordon was born with an extremely low IQ and although he may not realize all that is going on around him, he does realize that he is not smart. More than anything he wants to learn to read and write and impress his family and co-workers. That opportunity comes along for Charlie and although he does not understand the consequences fully, he takes it. Charlie was not going to just go to school and learn to "be smart" because he did not have the capability, although he went to a class for retarded adults three times a week. Instead his teacher suggested he talk to Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur who were looking for a retarded adult to test a new operation on to enhance the IQ of not only retarded people, but later for people with average IQ levels and even geniuses, to further knowledge for the human race. Although the operation did work, it did not last and Charlie was left struggling to hold onto the knowledge he had acquired over the few months where his IQ had increased three fold, then dropped again. This experiment was dangerous and unethical. It affected Charlie

Should Charlie have gotten the operation? In the story, “ Flowers for Algernon,” written by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon undergoes an operation to make him more intelligent. Charlie has an IQ of 68 and isn’t very intelligent. He wants to be smarter and wants to be able to learn. Should Charlie have gotten the operation? Charlie shouldn’t of had the operation because Charlie was hurt more in the end than in the beginning, he learned that his friends weren’t really his friends, and he became so smart, it started to destroy his brain.

His old friends didn’t like how smart he was, and his intelligence caused a social disconnect between him and his old buddies. “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved.” Mr. Donnegan, the owner of Donnegan’s Plastic Box Company and Charlie’s old boss, and his old co-workers, sign a petition that states Charlie has to be fired. Everyone signs it but Fanny Girden, but even she doesn’t like the new Charlie; she finds it strange how he got so smart. Charlie, after being fired, realizes that his intelligence caused people to not like him. This made him feel very alone because he now had no friends that were not included at school and in the lab. “Now I’m more alone than ever before…”

Towards the end of the book, Charlie’s IQ started to decrease. Charlie knew what was going to happen so he tried to come up with a solution so no one else would have to be like him. Charlie’s IQ was decreasing as fast as it had increased when he had the surgery. Charlie wasn’t all upset in the end because he’s the first mentally retarded person to come up with a scientific

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.

Daniel Keyes portrays Charlie by putting him in a situation where he would be looked down upon and putting him in a position where he can act as a superior. Society has become a shallow place and if an individual does not blend in to it then they’re treated differently from others. In the novel Flowers for Algernon, Charlie disovered that whether you have lower intelligence or lower IQ then you still won’t be able to fit in. Even if Charlie learned alot of new things in the past few months, according to the novel “in some ways, you’re so advanced, and yet when it comes to making decision, you’re still a child.” (91) defining that although he has intelligence, he still cannot communicate with those around him.

It shows that intelligence doesn’t give you happiness or friends. As Charlie got smarter he became more selfish and more people began to dislike him.