How Does Charlie Change In Flowers For Algernon

Charlie said that he wanted to “get smarter” so that he would fit in with all of his friends. Charlie wanted the operation but I think he wanted it for the wrong reasons and he didn't fully understand all the risks that it could have on his life. He didn’t even think about what would happen if something went wrong or if it didn't work, he was only focused on the fact that he was going to be smart. Charlie’s agreement to get the operation done was based off of his hopes and dreams, which was to be smart, and that was all Charlie was thinking

Many people believe that achieving great intelligence will bring them great happiness. This was what Charlie Gordon imagined for himself, that if he could only get the surgery that was supposed to make him smart, then he could finally fit in and be really happy. In the end, though, was Charlie really better off after he got the surgery? No, he wasn’t. Charlie was ultimately better off before he got the surgery to make him intelligent because if he had never done the surgery, then he would never have had to experience the trauma of having to go back to not being intelligent after knowing what intelligence felt like. Also, before the surgery, Charlie didn’t realize how un-faithful his friends were, and how naïve he actually was, which ultimately caused him a lot of shame. Finally, if Charlie had never gotten the surgery, he wouldn’t have had to leave New York.

First of all, why Charlie shouldn’t have gotten the surgery is because he started understanding everyone and how they felt. This stressed him out a lot. He felt like he didn't belong with others. “Now I know what it means when they say “to pull a Charlie Gordon.” I'm ashamed.” (209). In this sentence, Charlie recognizes why his friends liked having him around so much. It was so that they could make fun of him and play tricks on him for their own fun. Also Charlie had felt bad about a kid at a restaurant. “I jumped up and shouted, “Shut up! Leave him alone! It's not his fault he can't understand! He can't help what he is! But for

The more obvious ways he had changed was his intelligence, and the memories that slowly came flooding back to him after the surgery. He had went from an IQ of 70, to an IQ of 185 and counting. It had a tremendous impact on Charlie, for he was like a sponge, absorbing as much knowledge as possible, refusing to stop. He had exceeded the expectations, surpassing the IQ of the doctors that worked at Beekman University, and even the ones that constructed the experiment that changed Charlie’s life. He had managed to learn French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, Hindi, and Japanese in an extremely short period of time. Before the surgery, Charlie wanted to partake in conversations with the college students about politics,

Charlie was better off after the surgery. After the surgery, he had real friends, loved Miss Kinnian, and beat Algernon. After all what happened after the surgery, at least he knew what it felt like to be

After the operation, in only a couple of months, Charlie starts showing signs of new intelligence. His grammar, improved, and he is able to reflect on what his does in the past something he wasn’t able to do before. He had finally gotten something use had always desired. Then, everything and everyone turned on him. In “PROGRESS REPORT 12” April 30th (pg. 60) Charlie writes: “now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding. What in the name of god do they want of me? They’ve driven me out of the factory. Now I more alone than ever before…” Charlie got what he always wanted, and now he lost everything he had. It was a sacrifice it sounded like he didn’t want to make. I can tell just be the tone of his writing. This shows that we should embrace everything that we have. Charlie didn’t embrace everything, although he appreciated most of the thing he never became happy not being able to just enjoy life as it is.

Charlie may have had some disadvantages to his tripled IQ, such as the struggle of talking to regular people, but he was better off with the surgery; everything was easier for Charlie. If the surgery’s effects lasted forever, he would have had everything easy. He’d have a good life, a better job, and he would be with Ms. Kinnian rather than see her as just a teacher, like his former self did. He would notice whenever someone made fun of him, or bullied him. Charlie was much more aware of various things after the surgery, so in general, Charlie was better off with the effects after the

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 should have chosen to have had the operation because he got to achieve his ultimate dream, he got to form new relationships, and he was able to contribute new information to others; One argument that can be made for why it was beneficial for Charlie to have the surgery is because he got to live out his dream. Prior to having the IQ increasing procedure done to him, Charlie, was an optimistic and good-hearted man. Unfortunately for Charlie though he was disabled and had a low IQ, this caused Charlie to dream of becoming smart and fit in with others. One quote that can support the claim that Charlie got to achieve his dream of becoming smart is, “Im glad I got a second chanse to be smart becaus I lerned alot of things that I never new were in this world and Im grateful that I saw it all for a littel bit (245).

He is motivated to learn before the surgery, which is why Miss Kinnian suggested him for the surgery. Charlies main goal is that he wants to be smart like everyone else. In “progris riport 6th Mar 8,” Charlie says, “and he [Prof Nemur] said that meens Im doing something grate for sience and Ill be famus and my name will go down in the books. I dont care so much about beeing famus. I just want to be smart like other pepul so I can have lots of frends who like me” (Keyes 12-13). He is trying so hard because he wants to fit in. Fitting in is a big deal to Charlie because he has always felt outside, especially with his family. He wants his mother to be proud of him, he wants her to know how smart he is. After the surgery Charlie’s intelligence increases so much over a period of time that he is now at what is considered the genius level. Ironically, when Charlie’s intelligence increases his relationships and friendships start to be harmed, which is the exact opposite of what Charlie believed would happen. Charlie found his dad’s barber shop and decided to go see him. When Charlie started talking to him though, Charlie knew his father Matt did not recognize him. “I wasn’t his son. That was another Charlie. Intelligence and knowledge had changed me, and he would resent me—as the others from the bakery resented me—because my growth diminished him. I didn’t want that” (Keyes 188). Charlie starts to realize that

Another reason Charlie is better off without the surgery is because he doesn’t gain anything from the surgery. Even though Charlie does get smart and his intelligence boosts, it declines in the end of the story. When this happens, Charlie doesn’t remember to how to write or think in depth as well as he did before, so he is just the same as he was before surgery. Charlie even stated it himself in his July 10th progress report, “I try to read a little bit every day, mostly stories, but sometimes I have

One thing Charlie repeated many times before the surgery was “I want to be smart” (Keyes 225) also that he would do whatever it takes to become smart he would work really hard so he could be smart and fit in. That is why Charlie should have had the A.I. to give him what he really wanted even if it wasn’t permanent. A common argument against this position is that the surgery wasn't permanent and that it is not worth being smart for a few weeks. But i argue that Charlie was very grateful for being smart even for just a little while. While he was smart he was able to make scientific advances that most people could not od in a lifetime And he did it in a few weeks and he was grateful to give back to the people who made him

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

He had the operation and it would not be permanent, it will make people not expect him to be the Charlie he was, and he then had no friends, or jobs, and he put his life in danger. Will Charlie ever change his mine? . I think that it's hard to do things, or pick something that may be a dream at first, and then have it become something that wasnt expecting. When Charlie thought that the operation was going to make him smarter, it turned out that everything he cared about, or was close to him,all slipped through his