Flowers For Algernon: Why Charlie Is Better Off After The Surgery

Before the operation, Charlie Gordon, from Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, is happy. He may have a simple, pitiful existence, but he thinks his friends like him, and enjoys being with them and Miss Kinnian at the Learning Center for Slow Adults. However, Charlie wants to be smart, the one dark cloud in his sunny sky of life. Because of this, Charlie volunteers for an operation to triple his IQ of 68. With a high IQ comes awareness of the world around him, so Charlie suddenly becomes conscious of his previously pitiful existence which leads to a slew of feelings such as embarrassment, shame, and superiority. Charlie thinks that becoming smart will make him happy and well-liked, but the operation works the opposite effect. Charlie starts to look down on everyone, and cannot socialize with others because of his IQ. As a result, Charlie becomes almost depressed. His depression deepens when Charlie discovers that his intelligence will not be permanent. Soon, Charlie regresses to his former childlike mentality. Although at the end of the novel, Charlie does not find himself any worse off after the operation, the few months he spent smarter are not terribly enjoyable for him, and his changing mentality negatively impacts those he is close to, namely Miss Kinnian. Because the effects are not permanent, Charlie would be far better off without the operation.

In this novel, Flowers for Algernon, written by Daniel Keyes, a man named Charlie Gordon has an operation done to increase his intelligence. He started as a mentally retarded man and slowly became a genius. He seemed to soak up information like a sponge and he was able to figure out the most complex scientific formulas. The only problem with the operation is that it does not last for ever and in his remaining time he tries to figure out why it is not permanent. He will eventually lose everything he learned and become worse off than when he started, so Charlie was better off before he had the operation.

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

It is possible to live without intelligence. Intelligence is important but if you don't have it, then it is fine. You can try to become intelligent by being yourself, but there is no need for getting surgery to get smarter. Charlie shouldn’t have gotten the surgery. He was living happily. He wasn't sad about anything, so he wouldn't need to go through any stress.

Charlie shouldn’t have had the surgery because it was dangerous. To begin with, the doctors didn’t even know what all would happen with the surgery, which is dangerous. They only knew that the surgery should triple IQ, and it could ware off. The surgery killed Algernon, which is obviously a sign of danger. The surgery could’ve been dangerous to the rest of the world if Charlie’s smarts would’ve reached to the outside world more.

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.

Charlie was very happy that he was becoming smart, "Anyway, now I know I'm getting smarter every day. I know punctuation and I can spell good. I like to look up all the hard words in the dictionary and I remember them" (Keyes 231). All of his life, he had wanted to be smart, and now he finally is. Not only did the operation make him smarter, it also made him much smarter. This was new for everyone, "You're accomplishing in days and weeks what it takes normal people to do in half a lifetime. That's what makes it so amazing" (Keyes 233). He was doing things that no one else had ever done, which is amazing for him. This made Charlie finally feel like he was a normal person, which he had never felt before. Charlie had everything he had ever want for a short period of time, which the operation gifted to

In the story Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon a 37-year-old mentally disabled man is better off before his intelligence enhancement surgery as opposed to after the procedure. This is because he is happier and does not understand flaws in others. And after the surgery, he is less happy and realizes the flaws in others. He even moves away at the end of the story to get away from everyone who knew he once was smart. Also, before the surgery, he is employed and enjoys his job. After the surgery effects wear off and he is mentally disabled again he is unemployed and just lounges around not liking someone near him, until Ms. Flynn forces him to get his job back. Although one might object that he is better off after the intelligence enhancement surgery because his friend is nicer to him and respect him more.

Human Engineering Is it okay to genetically modify humans by artificial means and tamper with nature? It is not okay, but others may disagree. An example of why human engineering should not be pursued is in the short story, “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, the main character, Charlie Gordon, strives to be smart. He undergoes an operation to obtain a greater knowledge.

In “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, a 37 year old named Charlie Gordon is mentally challenged and wants to get smarter. His teacher, Miss Kinnian, suggests him for an experimental operation which would help him gain intelligence. Before his operation, he was given tests to see if he was an acceptable candidate, one of which included racing a mouse named Algernon, who already had the surgery, through some mind tests. Once they deemed him acceptable, he had the surgery and gradually got smarter. Then, at the highest point of his intelligence, Algernon died and he found that he was going to follow the same steps that Algernon took before he passed. Which meant his brain was going to

In my opinion Charlie has a joy in learning every day. Charlie has found new ways to use and fix certain materials, after getting the operation, it’s like his mind was opened up to a new world. He as even found a way to improve the mixing machine to help speed up production at the bakery, which helped him earn more pay. Charlie’s intelligence has increased every day. He is even taking college classes and is having intellectual conversations with other students. Now that Charlie is so smart some people are frightened of him. I believe that the only reason they were so scared of him because they can’t handle a man with a disability to become smarter than them. Charlie even beliefs that college professors are beneath him or anybody in that matter. I think that Charlie was getting a little too cocky just because he became smart instead of remaining

2.2% of americans have an I.Q. lower than 70. 37 year old Charlie Gordon is part of that 2.2%. Due to a newly discovered operation he has the chance to triple that score. In the beginning, he was moving slowly on his road to intelligence, but then he started moving very quickly. He was helping the factory he worked for make new advancements, and able to understand normal human emotions better. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, and his intelligence was quickly decreasing. Charlie was not intelligent long enough to experience real intelligence, or make new friends same that possess the same intellect. For that I believe he was better off after the procedure.

As amazing it might appear that Charles got to become smarter as time goes on, however, we see the negatives far outweigh the positive. Following the operation, Charlie becomes removed from his friends due of the fact that he's not able to converse at a normal and falls into a downward spiral in both psychological and physical health. Some folks could say that the operation was good, since Charlie figures out that Joe Carp and Frank Reilly, two people he believed were his buddies, simply kept him around to laugh at him. But after that experience, Charlie begins to suspect everybody about him and becomes too sensitive- he is pushed by something further. One reason why Charles Gordon shouldn't had the surgery that made increased his intelligence level is because he becomes too smart for his own good. One example of this could be where he's trying to converse with Miss Kinnian. He states he tried to avoid all discussions of intellectual theories and also to maintain the conversation on an easy, regular level, but Miss Kinnian "just stared at [him] blankly and asked [him] what [he] meant about the mathematical variance equivalent in Dorbermann’s Fifth Concerto,” (Keyes 18) This shows that although he's trying to communicate, he's not able to discuss simple subjects. This is very ironic, because the very reason that Charlie needed to undergo

Flowers for Algernon is book about Charlie Gordon. Charlie is a 32- year man who is a developmentally disabled man who finds an opportunity to undergo surgery that would increase his mental capabilities. Charlie’s reading teacher, Miss Kinnian recommended Charlie for the experimental surgery. The scientist, Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur were very impressed by Charlie’s motivation. The surgery was already done on lab mouse named Algernon. Charlie would be the first human to undergo that surgery. As Charlie is being experimented on, he begins records everything that happens to him. With the surgery the Charlie underwent his intelligence began to increase. His intelligence increased to a genius level. The process was very slow in the beginning,

In the story “Flowers For Algernon,” by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon, a man with an IQ of 68, gets an operation to triple his IQ and make him a genius, but after a few months, his brain starts deteriorating and he becomes dumb again. So, was Charlie better off before or after the operation? Well, before the operation, Charlie had his friends, not knowing that they were laughing at him; he hadn’t known what it felt like to be smart and how it felt like to lose it; and he was overall happier and more innocent, so even though the story doesn’t show a lot about his life before the operation, it seems like he was happier before the operation.