Charlie's Operation In Daniel Keyes Flowers For Algernon

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

Charlie was lucky because Algernon got the surgery a long time before so they could tell Charlie if something was going to happen to him. "He was unusually disturbed and vicious."(216). In this sentence, it shows how they found out that Algernon was acting weird, so they researched on him and they found out what was happening. This way they could tell Charlie what will happen to him and if they had any way they could stop it from happening. "Algernon died two days ago. Dissection shows my predictions were right. His brain had decreased in weight and there was a cerebral convolutions as well as the deepening and broadening of brain fissures."(219). This sentence is describing what happened to Algernon and how he died. This shows that this will soon happen to Charlie. And just like Algernon, Charlie will die. This is why Charlie shouldn't have taken the surgery to become

Have you ever wanted to be something else? Be something you dream of? In the story, Charlie Gordon , a mentally challenged man, is faced with this question in his mind and fulfills his dreams of becoming smart, so he could be accepted, to have friends, and feel normal. Charlie taught us to never make fun of someone because they have something wrong. In this science fiction story, ¨Flowers For Algernon¨ by Daniel Keyes, Charlie, a 37 year old man had the IQ of just 68, but Charlie had potential and dreams of being smart. With A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) surgery, the doctors, and Miss Kinnian, his dreams were possible. Charlie Gordonś life was better after the surgery because he had the chance to feel smart and experience the real world

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

One thing Charlie repeated many times before the surgery was “I want to be smart” (Keyes 225) also that he would do whatever it takes to become smart he would work really hard so he could be smart and fit in. That is why Charlie should have had the A.I. to give him what he really wanted even if it wasn’t permanent. A common argument against this position is that the surgery wasn't permanent and that it is not worth being smart for a few weeks. But i argue that Charlie was very grateful for being smart even for just a little while. While he was smart he was able to make scientific advances that most people could not od in a lifetime And he did it in a few weeks and he was grateful to give back to the people who made him

My first reason why Charlie shouldn’t have done the surgery is because the doctors didn’t wait till Algernon died to see if the operation was successful. On page 184 the doctors raced Algernon and Charlie against

Charlie had a chance to learn and do things that most people wouldn't have a chance to do in a lifetime, even if it was for a short time. After Charlie's regression he continued to try to become intelligent again, however, Charlie had said himself that he was grateful when he said, "Im glad I got a second chanse to be smart becaus I lerned a lot of things that I never even new were in this world and Im grateful that I saw it all for a little bit (Keyes 245) [Sic]." You have to understand that, with a mindset like this, you know you have done the right thing. Charlie was grateful for his chance to be smart and was thoroughly pleased with his decision. Nothing can be more favorable than the joyous feeling of gratitude. It can be compared to getting the gift you always wanted for Christmas, or when someone gives you a sincere smile that will brighten any bad day. This must have been what Charlie had been feeling in order to be this grateful. Another piece of evidence to prove this point is when Dr Nermur had said that Charlie was, "trying to cram a lifetime of research and thought into a few weeks (Keyes 238)." Both Charlie and Dr. Nemur both know that he was capable of this, and so much more. After the operation Charlie was super intelligent and grew the ability to understand more things socially, which is what he wanted the most, to be able to understand his friends and be smart like them, two of his greatest desires in one stone.

However, that's still not acceptable for doctors to do, especially with experimenting certain tests and operations on the patient. Also, Doctor Nemur and Strauss did proceed with the operation, but later gave him an unstable limbic system and failure in the nervous system. Which shows that the doctors weren't thinking of any future conflicts that would put Charlie in a harmful state of mind. They also kept Algernon dying confidential to Charlie since they both got the same operation, and the doctors weren't thinking ethically if they couldn't even share it to Charlie (Dobrin). Overall, Doctor Nemur and Strauss did motivate him to start making himself smart again in the end, but they should've thought about future conflicts that the operation would put on Charlie that would effect his mental health.

Some people argue that the doctors were selfish in their actions and took advantage of Charlie's innocence or that they were completely heartless after Charlie relapsed and started to become mentally handicapped once again. When Charlie began to relapse back to his mentally handicapped state of mind, he didn't blame the doctors; he understood all of the risks of the operation and faced them head on. He used what time he had left to expand the research that the doctors had done. His research would help the doctors to further expand their work and help other

Charlie wasn’t capable of knowing what was going to happen to him. The doctors didn’t tell Charlie that the operation was going to effect his outside life. One tip for making an ethical decision is to be as neutral as possible, but Charlie wasn’t (Dobrin). The doctors got Charlie smart for a little, but then his intelligence went way back down to this old IQ of 68. When Charlie was smart people were scared of how smart he was.

One may argue that the positives outweigh the negatives in this situation. After all, at the end, Charlie writes, “It’s a good feeling to know things and be smart”(Keyes 28). However, this is not the case. While Charlie is in his room, trying to make new discoveries, Algernon is slowly dying. Charlie is not informed of this until Algernon has passed. He is very upset and writes, “I guess the same thing will be happening to me. Now that it’s definite. I don’t want it to happen. I put Algernon’s body in a cheese box and buried him in the backyard. I cried”(Keyes 23). Charlie is destroyed by Algernon’s death. Charlie says, “I cried,” which shows significant sadness, especially for Charlie, whose emotions are stunted at this point. When he says, “I guess the same thing will be happening to me”, he is predicting his death. Earlier in the book, Algernon started acting strange, disturbed, and vicious. Eventually, Charlie starts to have these symptoms, too. When Algernon’s intelligence begins to decrease, Charlie is not far behind. So when Algernon dies, “It’s definite”, as Charlie says, that he will die, as well. No matter the amazing times Charlie had while he was intelligent, the cost, his life, makes the surgery not worth

Finally, one of the most probable points one would argue, is that Charlie agreed to the surgery and wanted to be chosen for it. Of course Charlie wanted to do it, all he knew of was that he was going to get smart and help out the doctors. It seemed like a completely quick and harmless procedure. If Charlie would’ve known that this was a highly dangerous operation that would change his life for the worse, it is highly likely Charlie would’ve rejected

Question 1: What is the effect on Charlie when Algernon passed? Answer: For the first time for Charlie he is afraid of the future, Algernon’s death has made everything seem real for Charlie. Question 2: What are some of Charlie’s concerns from his prediction of the experiment?

Charlie’s emotion and feeling toward Algernon changed throughout Algernon’s decline because Algernon and Charlie experienced the same operation, and underwent the same tests. Algernon was a good way to find out Charlie’s future in the experiment. Before the experiment, Algernon would always find the way through the maze faster than Charlie. However, after the operation, Charlie is successful for the first time in beating Algernon in the maze. When Algernon begins to show signs of decreasing intelligence, Charlie soon realizes that the intellect will soon diminish. Charlie's attitude towards Algernon changes, however, once Charlie discerns that the experiment will ultimately fail, as the experiment failed on Algernon. Charlie then begins to

Charlie’s doctors taking advantage of him is another reason why Charlie shouldn’t have had the operation. Charlie isn’t very smart, and the doctors used this opportunity to experiment on Charlie. For instance, Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur told Charlie that he would be used for the operation, but they didn’t give him much time to think about it. Also, the doctors didn’t tell Charlie some of the side effects. Specifically the painful migraines that Charlie experienced. Charlie went into the operation room in the laboratory not knowing if he would be harmed in the future or not. Lastly, Charlie could have died. This was the first brain surgery performed on a human. The only other person was Algernon, a rat, that ended up dying. Charlie once said,