Flowers Of Algernon Character Analysis

Character development is the core for Daniel Keyes endeavor to convey themes to his audience by developing the character of Charlie Gordon. One way to develop his character is through relationships with other characters, which is critical in conveying the themes in the book. Another way through which Keyes develops Charlie Gordon’s character for his audience is through letting in the audience on the thoughts of the character in the book so they get on a ride with his emotion, conflict, and dilemmas. Flowers for Algernon illustrates how cruel the society treats the mentally disabled with the use of literary elements. Daniel Keyes conveys the message that the grass is not always greener on the other side through character development.

On the contrary, the naysayers may argue that Charlie should have had the operation because he had gotten an experience to be smart;however, the operations negatives outweigh the positives. However, the other side experienced many difficulties. Such as when Dr.Strauss and Dr.Nemur the doctors that performed on Charlie; had a conversation with him and struggled on a response. As Charlie explains in

After Charlie’s surgery, he is smart for about three to four weeks and then this brain start deteriorating, I don’t think that surgery was a good idea because the doctors didn’t do enough tests or wait long enough to make sure the operation worked. The doctor’s didn’t wait until Algernon died to see if it would shorten the lifespan. They didn’t do multiple tests on animals to see if the operation was constant. The doctors were also at fault because Algernon died after they already gave Charlie the operation.

Do you choose intelligence over happiness? “I don’t know what’s worse, to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you’ve always wanted to be, and feel alone.” Writes Charlie Gordon (Keyes 298). In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon is a young man who struggles with mental retardation. His dream is to be intelligent so he can be like the rest of the world. Charlie goes through an experimental surgery that increases his intelligence. But the consequence of his tripled intelligence is that Charlie Gordon is not as happy as he was before surgery. Before his surgery, Charlie was oblivious to his “friends” being mean to him. After, he realized what kind of people they really were. Before surgery, Charlie’s ignorance hid him from the true, harsh reality. After surgery, Charlie’s ignorance disappeared, making him realize how fake and disappointing the world can be. Before Charlie’s surgery, he was happy, but felt oblivious to the world surrounding him. After surgery, he was pleased with his intelligence when it reached its peak. But when Charlie’s intelligence began to deteriorate, he became upset that he couldn’t think the way he could when he was smart. From the reasons stated above, In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon is better off before surgery.

It is important for doctors to think ethically about any situation that could effect their lives and the patients life. Because, Doctor Nemur and Strauss were not thinking anything about how much it would effect Charlie, and how much the operation would confuse or disorganize Charlie's mental health. It was also the doctors job to think ethically and wisely about testing an operation on a mentally retarded patient who only did the experiment to quickly become

People now days treat others with disrespect and look down upon on other who are mentally challenged, and this is not right. In the story “ Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, Charlie gets the opportunity to get an operation that could potentially make him smarter. The bad news is it could have side effects and he could lose everything he has learned from the operation and it not work. I believe in this story Charlie should have gotten the operation.

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.

Charlie’s doctors acted like they knew what to do with Charlie.The gave Charlie the operation and over time he got smarter. The operation helped and Charlie got Smarter. The doctors gave Charlie tests to prove that he got smarter and it all worked in the end. Charlie’s doctors did act ethically when they gave Charlie the operation.

One of the most significant themes of Flowers for Algernon is Change in yourself changes everyone around yourself. Charlie's odyssey of growth begins from March and ends in November. Between these two months, you can spot an obvious transformation in Charlie. At the beginning of the story, despite the fact that Charlie was 37, he was not fluent in his only language, English. His progress reports all seemed structured by a second grader, and there were multiple crucial spelling mistakes. Since he wasn't intelligent as others, his co-workers mocked him. They used his name to offend people. In fact, on page 4 it says " Ernie for god sake what are you trying to be a Charlie Gordon." However, Charlie had people who complimented him for having the motivation to learn too. For Example, Ms. Kinnian, Charlie's English teacher said on page 2 that he was her best pupil.

Algernon, the play’s secondary hero, is closer to the figure of the dandy than any other character in the play. A charming, idle, decorative bachelor, Algernon is brilliant, witty, selfish, amoral, and given to making delightful paradoxical and epigrammatic pronouncements that either make no sense at all or touch on something profound. Like Jack, Algernon has invented a fictional character, a chronic invalid named Bunbury, to give him a reprieve from his real life. Algernon is constantly being summoned to Bunbury’s deathbed, which conveniently draws him away from tiresome or distasteful social obligations. Like Jack’s fictional brother Ernest, Bunbury provides Algernon with a way of indulging himself while also suggesting great seriousness and sense of duty. However, a salient difference exists between Jack and Algernon. Jack does not admit to being a “Bunburyist,” even after he’s been called on it, while Algernon not only acknowledges his wrongdoing but also revels in it. Algernon’s delight in his own cleverness and ingenuity has little to do with a contempt for others. Rather, his personal philosophy puts a higher value on artistry and genius than on almost anything else, and he regards living as a kind of art form and life as a work of art—something one creates oneself.

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

One reason that the surgery was not ethical is that Charlie didn't know what was going to happen before and after the procedure. The doctors did explain very briefly to Charlie what will occur, but the doctors knew that his brain couldn't comprehend what they were saying to him. All that Charlie knew is that he might become smart. Charlie thought that meant he will become smart forever or everything will

In the story "Flowers For Algernon" Drs. Neimer and Strauss had considered a group of candidates before choosing Charlie, they ended up choosing him due to his motivation and desire to learn. When they were considering the study they had to know if this was going to be right for the patient and their research. They had to think about the patients and their ability to live a normal life and have positive effects, but they also had to consider the possibility of a negative outcome including failed attempts, side-effects, health issues, or even death. They most likely thought through some other steps before starting the project, including evaluating the subjects. Charlie was given tests to see his intelligence and help them decide his status for the surgery; he also had to race the mouse Algernon throughout the study to see the progress in his intelligence. Before the operation even happened the doctors behind it were considering the ethics, outcome, and worth of this study.

While reading “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, many thoughts about the story were going through my head. Certain parts of the story caught my attention but none more than when Charlie falls into the same trap as everyone else by laughing at the mentally disabled dish-washer until he suddenly remembers that this used to be him once. This story enters the debate on the treatment of people with below and above the average intelligence. By being part of society, we all fall victim to judging people based on their intelligence even though we should be treating them based on who they are as a person and their personalities. Within my class many people believed the main problem of the story of Charlie was his trying to improve his way of

The brain surgery was unethical as it did not meet the standards of professional conduct, because Charlie did not understand potential side effects. Charlie had an IQ of 68 and was at this time intellectually disabled. It had to be known to the public so everybody knows what is going on with Charlie Gordon. The neurosurgeons, Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss may operate an illegal surgery