Flowers for Algernon (Persuasive) Essay

Disability has been a difficult topic of society for years. Many people find discomfort in the presence of the disabled and many feel pity for those who are disabled. Back in the 1800s, the disabled were perceived as unable to contribute to society, often forced to undergo sterilization, and forced into institutions and asylums (“A Brief History”). In fact, this treatment of the disabled and mentally ill has been persistent until somewhat recently, when the Civil Rights movement took place, and those with disabilities decided to take a stand for their rights. Although people with disabilities continue to face difficulties in finding jobs, legitimizing their opinion, having the right to vote, and choosing whether or not they receive or refuse

“Hey guys! This is the last communication you shall receive from me. I now walk out to live amongst the wild. Take care, it was great knowing you” (Qtd. In Krakauer 69). After graduating from Emory University, Christopher McCandless abandoned everything, gave his entire savings account to charity, and then hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wild. In the novel, Into the Wild, Was McCandless justified in shunning society? McCandless was justified in shunning society because he simply wanted to find himself and be independent without any distractions from his friends or family.

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.

People with disabilities have not been treated fairly in the past. I believe that that those with disabilities have been treated worse than the elderly. They were not allowed to go to school with the normal kids; they were not allowed to work at most jobs. They were teased and made fun of, sometimes there were rejected by their own families. When they were in the mental hospitals they were treated very harsh, they sometimes had to go through shock therapy. Even though they are different types of disabilities, if was something that was noticeable you were treated different, as if you did not belong.

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

The world can be cruel and unkind to those who aren't deserving. Children and adults affected with a physical or mental handicaps may not understand that people are being malicious towards them. Just because

In the book “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, the story describes Holden Caulfield as a mystery man that a rReader would have to find clues to discover the hidden truth behind him. Holden is afraid to go into the adult world and he wishes he can stay in his childhood world, because Holden wants to avoid the adults world phoniness and it's painful for holden to grow up; knowing thats he’s been through so much as a boy and how he has heard so many lies growing up.

If you had a chance to have a surgery that will make you smart for a few months would you take it? In the story “Flower for algernon” Charlie Gordon is a 37 year old man and he has a 68 I.Q. Charlie is selected to have a surgery that will triple his I.Q. Charlie’s life was better before the artificial intelligence surgery. After the surgery Charlie lost his job, became paranoid and lost his friend Algernon.

Being an athletes is one of the best-paid jobs on Earth. Being that they are paid so much the cost for the consumer is very high. The prices of tickets and sports memorabilia have been steadily rising over the years. The average ticket prices for the NHL, MLB, NBA and NFL all rose 5% to 10% this year, according to Jon Greenberg, executive editor of Team Marketing Report. (Mihoces).

Many individuals with disabilities, including physical disabilities, have been treated harshly throughout history. Physical disabilities were thought about and viewed differently in history than they are viewed today. Many things that people do not see as a physical disability, today, were seen as a physical disability in the past. These people were discriminated, murdered, and even experimented on.

“This fall I think you’re riding ride--it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time other in the lives, we're looking something their own environment couldn’t supply them with. Or they thought their own environment couldn’t supply them with. So they gave looking. They gave it up before they really even got started.” Antonelli said to Holden. Kicked out of 5 school, Holden faces his struggle with commitment in terms of holding things close to him when he can’t hold himself together. The environment around Holden wasn’t something he fit into easily because we get the sense that he couldn’t find something he had a deep interest in other than getting into trouble and alcohol. He judges other people by what they wear, and how they say things, but this hypocrisy surely didn't get him

Source: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Health, United States, 2002. Flegal et. al. JAMA. 2002;288:1723-7. NIH, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, 1998.

“Your assignment is to write a persuasive essay and present it to the class in a week. You will be graded based on how convincing it is. Today we will be choosing topics,” announced Mr. Bowerbank, my 7th grade English teacher and ruler of classroom 110. My class simultaneously groaned at the prospect of work. I simply lifted my head with intrigue as it was already May and about time we had our first essay. He then proceeded to give examples of topics we could choose and gave us some time to think before we had to tell him our topic. My classmates were already rushing to tell the teacher their idea lest someone else steal it. That meant the usual abortion, death penalty, or drug use topics were out. I really couldn't think of anything and the teacher was slowly making his way through the remaining students like an executioner beheading criminals in a line. I have always thought that he would make a marvelous supervillain if he had a curly mustache, a tophat, and a cape. Eventually my name was called. I slowly dragged myself over to his desk. Even sitting down, he still seemed to tower over me. “What is your topic Cindy?” As usual in such desperate times, my mind turned to food. “Waffles are better than pancakes.” I figured that a waffle was just a differently shaped pancake with a nicer texture. “Hmm. Excellent topic. I look forward to your essay!” I survived to live yet another day.

Why spend money that is really needed for other things? Why live uncomfortably? Why be trapped in this hole called a home that belongs to another person? Why not live free and peacefully? When a person rents he or she usually throws away money that could be used to purchase something that belongs to them. Money is not easy to come by so why pay out hundreds toward something that is not benefit to the person paying it out. There is no good explanation for making a decision like this. The best option in a situation like this is to buy a house. Buying a house is a better option than renting an apartment.

The object we use twice a day, and neglect quite a bit has proven to be one of the most successful devices to prevent gum disease if used. 7 in 10 Americans use it daily, and in a world with a population of 7.5 billion people, only 4.2 billion people own them, while 5.1 billion own a phone.(Hopkins Jeanne) Each one of them costs around 2 dollars, while the electric ones cost up to 4,000 dollars. (Green, Dennis)This device was voted as the number-one invention that most Americans could not live without. In fact, the average person spends 2,920 dollars a year on this.(How much could you potentially spend on toothbrushes?) While the average American spends 38.5 days of their life using it.( Hygiene, Oral) The toothbrush has to be one of most magnificent devices ever created, from whitening your teeth to making sure you have good hygiene, the toothbrush has made the impossible possible. To understand and learn about this miracle. We will first brush our way through it’s interesting and unique history. Second, we will rinse through why we should only use our brushes and not anyone else’s. Third, we learn about Ordontalophobia. Lastly, we will learn how to pick the perfect brush for us and how an old invention as the brush is still thriving.