Flowers For Algernon Intellectualism

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

This entire book highlights both the high and low points in Charlie’s life, and how he changed and has not changed all from his constant value of friendship to his many realizations, based on the one experimental surgery that gave him insight on what life would be like if he was “normal”.

“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

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things”, -Henry Miller. When one reads this quote, it may have a different meaning to them than to others. To Charlie Gordon, it practically defines his life journey. In the shorty story “Flowers for Algernon”, Charlie Gordon is a main who obtains an IQ of 68, and desires to be smart. Charlie finally gets his dream one day by partaking in an intelligence enhancing operation. His perspective of life is much different before and after the surgery. Although Charlie seems happy before the surgery, Charlie is able to apprehend reality through a “pair of new eyes”, regarding the operation. Three arguments why Charlie’s emotions are happier following the surgery are: He learns about lies he had in life, Charlie had a positive learning experience, and Charlie discerns his full potential.

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.

Charlie was known to have the personality that was always bright and talkative. Charlie had the lowest skill level out of all his “friends” and he didn't understand how real friends should treat one another so he never thought anything of it. Charlie felt good about himself but he wanted to be smart and know what his friends and other people around him knew. He was ready to learn and he wasn’t scared because he pushed fear away; he just wanted to know what it was like to comprehend what was going on in the world. The

| Based upon the quotes, “He’s all alone and has no friends,” “marooned on a desert island,” and “I hope he gets a friend and not be lonely,” Charlie is coming to understand what loneliness is. Some students may also see the direct comparison between Charlie and Robinson Crusoe. Also, his ability to think about someone else and their place in the world shows an increased emotional intelligence.

Being educated and learning are an essential to a “normal” lifestyle. In the novel Flowers for Algernon, Charlie has learned exceptionally quickly after the operation and impresses everyone with his quick learning skills. “... Charlie I dont know how you done it but it looks like you finally learned something.

After Charlie’s knowledge begins to improve dramatically his co-workers become scared of him and force Charlie to quit, even with Charlies increased knowledge Keyes has made it clear that Charlie does not yet fully understand emotions and socialising “what did I do to make them hate me so?” this also allows the audience to feel empathy for Charlie. The one co-worker who will talk to Charlie, Franny explains how everyone’s attitudes and beliefs are conflicted on Charlie’s intelligence with the majority believing it is wrong. When asked by Charlie what is wrong with a man acquiring new intelligence responds with a standpoint from her own belief, “It was evil when Eve listened to that snake and ate from the tree of knowledge. It was evil when she saw that she was naked. If not for that none of us would have to grow old and sick, and die.” This metaphor was purposely used by Keyes in order to not only force Charlie to undergo internal confliction of whether or not he should reconsider his choices with the use of a metaphorical question “what in god’s name do they want from me?” but also manipulates the audience’s opinion on their own beliefs on artificial

Charlie Gordon was a mentally retarded thirty-two-year-old man, who was chosen by a team of scientists to take part in an experimental surgery designed to boost his intelligence. Charlie worked at Donner’s Bakery in New York City as a janitor and delivery boy. The other employees would often taunt Charlie, but Charlie was unable to understand that he was being made fun of. He believed that his co-workers were good friends, but they were not. Charlie would go to school at the Beekman College Center for Retarded Adults, and that is where he met Alice Kinnian. Alice Kinnian was his teacher, and she noticed that he was different from all of her students. Charlie was eager to learn. So, Ms. Kinnian recommended Charlie to undergo the surgery.

Most people think that being smart is the best thing someone can have and having intellectual greatness is the key to happiness. However, in Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Charlie learns that intelligence does not equal happiness. After Charlie gets an experimental surgery to increase his intelligence, Charlie learns an important lesson. Charlie’s friendships, situations, and conclusions he draws in his writings teach him that he does not need to be smart to be happy.

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.

Analysis: Charlie is thirty-seven-year-old with an (IQ) of 68.Charlie has worked at Dormer’s Bakery, a job his Uncle Herman found for him. Charlie wanted to become smart so that he could have a lot of friends. However, becomes a genius, he finds that he is even more isolated from others than before he had the operation. Charlie’s lack of emotional maturity

Knowledge can not be obtained by a simple surgery, people must work hard for it. In the story presented by Daniel Keyes in Flowers for Algernon, this theme is presented frequently. The book exhibits the story of a man named Charlie Gordon, who has to bear the burden of having a mental illness. His life, in his perspective, seems to be one of joy and happiness until he is offered a surgery that will ostensibly increase his intelligence. Charlie, eager to obtain it, agrees, but soon realises, as his knowledge proliferates, that his life of “happiness” was not all it seemed to be. He comprehends that his once “good friends” were in fact only treating him with disrespect and deception, he realises his family has abandoned him due to his mental

In todays society, people find the need to be accepted by everyone, changing themselves into a different image of who they truly are, despite the consequences. In flowers for Algernon, set in New York in 1965, an adult man who has special needs feels the need to fit in with others and attain knowledge as quickly as possible despite the consequences. A 37-year-old man named Charlie Gordon has a learning disability and is wanting to be smart and be like others in order to be accepted. Needing to take daily progress reports, Charlie tells the readers what happens in his day-to-day life. In the beginning, Charlie is an innocent and calm man who refers to himself as “slow” and “dumb”. Charlie mentions that ever since he was young he wanted to be smart, so when an opportunity came up, he took it right away despite the consequences. In order to become smart, Charlie needed an operation. It had been functional on animals but Charlie would be the first human. Desiring to be smart and to fit in with others, Charlie undertook the operation. More and more everyday Charlie’s intelligence increased tremendously. Charlie built a relationship with a laboratory mouse named Algernon, because both Charlie and Algernon were secretly being used as lab rats. Charlie was the only one that can understand and relate to Algernon. As time went by, Charlie became more and more a genius and he began to study “the field of increasing intelligence levels”. However, at the same time Algernon was changing; Algernon was becoming less and less corporative and more restless, and a couple of days later Algernon died. This left the doctors worried for Charlie. Now Charlie was experiencing change as well but he did not cope with it well. His writing and overall knowledge started to decrease and Charlie was becoming more frustrated due to the rapid decreasing of intelligence. Now Charlie was not able to read his studies of human intelligence anymore and his writing skills have dropped tremendously. Charlie is now becoming more and more ill, and feels the need to isolate himself from everyone. Charlie wrote a note to the doctors that explained on how he is now moving on, somewhere far away from New York. On Charlies note the last thing that Charlie