Flowers For Algeron Analysis

Charlie Gordon was fighting, working hard, and struggling for being smart. Charlie had a once in a lifetime to increase his I.Q. three times as much. In the story “Flowers for Algernon,” written by Daniel Keyes, the genre is Science Fiction. Charlie has a low I.Q. of sixty eight, and wants to be a genius. Charlie Gordon’s life is better with the A.I. Surgery.

The protagonist of Daniel Keyes’ Science Fiction short story, “Flowers for Algernon” Charlie Gordon should not have gotten the experiment. Charlie would have lost everyone he held dear, such as Miss Kinnian because he held a strong bond with her.As well as people he holds dear, his IQ dropped well below what it was before hand. Charlie had made a

“I wanted to race algernon some more but Burt said thats enough for one day. They let me hold him for a minit. Hes not so bad,” (Keyes 120). Charlie Gordon has a good heart, but a very low intelligence. In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon is eager for a surgery that will hopefully triple his IQ and make him much more intelligent than the average man. After Charlie gets his operation, he meets a lab animal, a mouse named Algernon, who has had the same operation that Charlie had. Dr. Strauss, the man who started this all, has Charlie and Algernon race to solve mazes that measure Charlie's intellectual growth, which increases proving the operation successful. Daniel Keyes focused on multiple craft moves: simile, foreshadow, and personification to give the reader a way to associate the story with ways that they can relate to.

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.

“Eagar, Determined, and Motivated:” these three words describe Charlie Gordon in Daniel Keyes’s story “Flowers for Algernon”. Daniel Keyes writes about a thirty two year old man with a low IQ (Charlie Gordon) who strives to become “normal”. Charlie will do anything to become smarter even letting two doctors preform brain surgery to enhance his learning capability. Charlie evolves throughout the novel and by the end of his journey although his IQ is low he is a more complete person. He learns the true meaning of friendship and demonstrates intellectual growth as a person by overcoming obstacles and understanding various lessons.

In the movie “Flowers for Algernon”, tells a story about a man named Charlie that isn’t so smart. His dream is to become a genius. He suddenly gets picked for an experimental surgery to boost his I.Q. Alice Kinnian (Charlie’s teacher) suggest him because, of his dedication to be intelligent. The surgery is a success and Dr. Strauss was the surgeon. After Dr. Nemur helps track his intelligence and how it builds. He records most of his lessons and tests. One of the tests that he did was racing a mouse named Algernon. Charlie must complete a maze before the mouse. He fails the first couple of times ,but finally gets the hang of it. While his journey of becoming a wise man is taking place, he works at a bakery named Donneans. Many of his co workers

“Flower for Algernon” is an outstanding story about a Man named Charlie Gordon with an I.Q. of 68, and a small white mouse named Algernon who can beat Charlie in any maze. The story begins when Charlie's Support teacher, Miss Kinnian, advise Charlie to do an experiment that Dr.Nemur and Dr.Strauss believe that a surgical operation could possibly have Charlie's I.Q. raise up triple the amount it was once before. In the beginning, it was a thank took months for success to happen in the experiment.However, the success was only temporary. Charlie with once with an I.Q. of a genius know back to his original self.

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

People believed that Charlie was artificial, man-made, a lab rat. Professor Nemur thought that he had created Charlie, and that he was nothing before the operation “It might be said that Charlie Gordon did not really exist before this experiment…”. Charlie was a human before and after 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!”. (p.161) As Charlie began to grow mentally and become intelligent, his understanding of the world became clearer than before. Although he could understand reality, he couldn't understand his feelings. Charlie thought he could understand his feelings but he really didn't, especially love “Something inside is burning me up, and all I know is it makes me think of you.”. Later, as he continues to grow, he decides that he could let his feelings rule him only during his relationship with Alice but not during anything else. He realized that he really loves Alice because his feelings and emotions go wild when he's with her. Also because he sees the old Charlie when he's with her helping him realize he loves her. Charlie loved her enough to let her go because he didn't want her to see him deteriorate. Charlie decided to go to the Warren Home because he

“Don’t be in such a hurry to condemn a person because he doesn’t do what you do, or think as you think. There was a time when you didn’t know what you know today” (Malcom X). In 1965, Charlie Gordon of New York, a 37 year old with an IQ of 68, who is continuously humiliated and judged by people due to his disability, becomes a candidate for an experimental operation performed by Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss after his teacher, Mrs. Kinnian, recommends him. While Charlie’s intelligence increases at a rapid rate, surpassing an IQ of 200, Algernon, a mouse who is previously operated on, begins to exhibit signs of violence and mental deterioration; it is at this point where he realizes his fate. Working day and night, Charlie writes a report titled

This book follows Charlie Gordon, a 32-year-old man with an extremely low IQ. He becomes the subject of an experimental surgery to raise his intelligence, however, this experiment has only been preformed on mice. Written in the voice of Charlie, readers are able to see his progression through journal entries and progress reports.

In Flowers for Algernon, the main character, Charlie Gordon is a 32 year old who is mentally disabled. He has been living his life thus far with an IQ of sixty-eight. Although Charlie is not smart, he is very happy, but being happy does not always mean being content, and Charlie is a perfect example of this. Charlies teacher, Miss Kinnian, explained to him that there is a chance for him to get smarter, and that is through a secret surgery. He wants to fit in and be smart like everyone else, but the outcome of the surgery may not be as planned. Charlie’s increased intelligence causes him to lose his innocence. When Charlie loses his innocent mindset he gains experience, which also brings him emotional outbursts. The sacrifices Charlie makes

Before the surgery Charlie's “friends” could laugh at him without him even realizing it. “Joe Carp said I should show the girls how I mop out the toilet in the factory and he got me a mop.” (Keyes 290). This quote shows his “friends” being able to make fun of him without him even realizing it. After the surgery he learned his “friends” where not really his friends.

The surgery made Charlie see the things his friends did to him. Before Charlie had the surgery people at work picked on him and he didn't understand what was happening “Sometimes somebody will say hey look Joe or Frank or George , he really pulled a Charlie Gordon. I don't know why they say that but i always laff.” (Keyes 227) if Charlie wouldn’t have had the surgery he would have been made fun of and picked an and even hurt by his so called “friends”.

Charlie still should have gone through with the experiment. Charlie was never very intelligent. He was determined to be as smart as he could get no matter the struggle. As well as wanting to be intelligent, he learned that people are mean and not everyone is your friend. Learning about how people were really were treating him, hurt Charlie’s feelings. Nonetheless, Charlie would have never been the same if he never knew what the real world was like. He would have never done what he had a dream about accomplishing.