Flowers For Algernon Case Analysis

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

How does the diary or journal-entry form affect the emphasis of the narrative? How dependable is Charlie as a narrator as he progresses through his various stages? Discuss Charlie’s capability of providing insight to the other characters.

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

Charlie was better off after the surgery. After the surgery, he had real friends, loved Miss Kinnian, and beat Algernon. After all what happened after the surgery, at least he knew what it felt like to be

Once Charlie is at the peak of his intelligence, he starts regressing. He then writes a report to try and figure out what went wrong with the operation, so maybe he can fix it and stay a genius, or maybe if he can’t help himself, at least know what went wrong so he can prevent future operations from failing, too. He writes the Algernon-Gordon Effect, which states that human-made intelligence deteriorates at a rate of time directly proportional to the quantity of the increase. On page 333, he says, “These and my people. Let me use my gift to do something for them.” Charlie mentions that he is the only person who had both been smart and dumb in the world. Therefore, he is more knowledgeable than everyone who is working in this field. He will now be able to work out problems with the procedures so they can use it for many people, and make other people in Charlie’s predicament smarter. Other people may say, “Charlie just became stupid again, so what’s the point in the procedure? They just gave him what he wanted his whole life, only to have it forcefully taken away from him, and he could do nothing.” This is a valid point, but I believe that Charlie gets what he wants, so who cares if he becomes stupid again. All of his life, he wants to become smart, and he gets this chance through

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.

Charlie may have had some disadvantages to his tripled IQ, such as the struggle of talking to regular people, but he was better off with the surgery; everything was easier for Charlie. If the surgery’s effects lasted forever, he would have had everything easy. He’d have a good life, a better job, and he would be with Ms. Kinnian rather than see her as just a teacher, like his former self did. He would notice whenever someone made fun of him, or bullied him. Charlie was much more aware of various things after the surgery, so in general, Charlie was better off with the effects after the

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

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

He is motivated to learn before the surgery, which is why Miss Kinnian suggested him for the surgery. Charlies main goal is that he wants to be smart like everyone else. In “progris riport 6th Mar 8,” Charlie says, “and he [Prof Nemur] said that meens Im doing something grate for sience and Ill be famus and my name will go down in the books. I dont care so much about beeing famus. I just want to be smart like other pepul so I can have lots of frends who like me” (Keyes 12-13). He is trying so hard because he wants to fit in. Fitting in is a big deal to Charlie because he has always felt outside, especially with his family. He wants his mother to be proud of him, he wants her to know how smart he is. After the surgery Charlie’s intelligence increases so much over a period of time that he is now at what is considered the genius level. Ironically, when Charlie’s intelligence increases his relationships and friendships start to be harmed, which is the exact opposite of what Charlie believed would happen. Charlie found his dad’s barber shop and decided to go see him. When Charlie started talking to him though, Charlie knew his father Matt did not recognize him. “I wasn’t his son. That was another Charlie. Intelligence and knowledge had changed me, and he would resent me—as the others from the bakery resented me—because my growth diminished him. I didn’t want that” (Keyes 188). Charlie starts to realize that

Another reason Charlie is better off without the surgery is because he doesn’t gain anything from the surgery. Even though Charlie does get smart and his intelligence boosts, it declines in the end of the story. When this happens, Charlie doesn’t remember to how to write or think in depth as well as he did before, so he is just the same as he was before surgery. Charlie even stated it himself in his July 10th progress report, “I try to read a little bit every day, mostly stories, but sometimes I have

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

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.

One reason why the operation on Charlie was unethical was that he could not fully grasp the concept of the procedure. For example, in Progress Report 1, Charlie wrote that Miss Kinnian, Charlie's teacher, told him about the procedure and he jotted down, "I hope [Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur] use me ... I want to be smart[sic]" (Keyes 514). To receive the operation was Charlie's dream because he wanted to enhance his intelligence, however, that was all he knew about the procedure. Since Charlie had a low intelligence, he could not see the pros and cons of the surgery, only what he wanted, which was to become smart, making the operation unethical. Also, in Progress Report 3, Charlie recorded his past on how people would ask him why he wanted to become smart. "I told them becaus all my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb ... I dont care if it herts[sic]" (Keyes 515). Being born with low intelligence made Charlie yearn to get smarter. However, because getting smarter

Dilemmas happen everyday. Some dilemmas can be good, and some can be bad. A dilemma is a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives.  In the story, Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes wrote a story about a 37 year old man named Charlie  who has a disability, he doesn't understand thing that normal people can. He then is encouraged by his teacher to get a surgery done to become smarter. Some people think that the surgery was a good idea,or some think it was a bad idea. In my opinion, I think that Charlie made the wrong decision about the surgery. Some people think that Charlie should of have the operation to make his dream come true In my opinion, I think he shouldn't have had the surgery because, people weren't expecting him to be new, it would not be permanent, and he put his life in danger.