Ignorance In Flowers For Algernon By Charlie Gordon

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or experience about a certain topic. When a person is labeled as “ignorant,” it means that they either haven’t been fully educated on a subject or they are choosing to remain uneducated about it. At a young age, a child could be considered ignorant because they’re uninformed about almost everything going on in the world. An adult that is labeled ignorant could simply be uninformed, or they could be intentionally shielding themselves from the issues going on in the world. The effects of an individual's ignorance will show themselves eventually, whether it affects the individual themselves or the people around them.

The phrase “Ignorance is bliss” has been used quite frequently. I remember first hearing it in the movie Matrix, when Cypher is talking to Smith but it has been around for much longer, since 1742. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, ignorance is illustrated by Miss Stephanie Crawford, Miss Caroline and Mayella Ewell. On the first day of first grade Scout’s teacher, Miss Caroline, tries to give Walter some money. “She went to her desk and opened her purse, Here is a quarter.

Ignorance is the lack of knowledge or experience. When someone is ignorant, it means that they either haven’t been informed about something or are choosing to ignore that it is happening. At a young age, ignorance about issues of society simply comes from a lack of understanding or information. As an adult, ignorance about the issues of society is most likely willful. Ignorance can come in the form of blissful unawareness, willful ignorance, or simply lack of knowledge about a certain issue, but all forms of ignorance have an effect.

Everyone has ignorance and it will always be present. It is a matter of how knowledge intervenes that judges the outcome. James Madison describes a similar aspect. He mentions knowledge as the power that relieves ignorance and allows people to be their own governors. In Fahrenheit 451, the character of Montag is a great example. He is once an ideal, ignorant citizen, but it all changes once he meets Clarisse, who unlocks a vault full of knowledge to him. Moreover, the crave for knowledge grows and Montag meets Faber who helps reveal the meaning of knowledge, allowing Montag to

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.", says Martin Luther King Jr. Truer words have never been spoken, for when ignorance is bliss, there is a steep price to pay. In The House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer creates a character named Matteo Alacrán, and for the first half of the book, he is ignorance personified. When Matt learns the truth about his identity, his bubble of bliss is shattered, but perhaps it was for his own good. The great poet Thomas Gray writes, "Where ignorance is bliss, / Tis' folly to be wise." Yes, ignorance is bliss, but it is just as much of a "folly" as wisdom.

Imagine yourself as a young child. You’re extremely happy and you have little to no worries. Now imagine yourself as a teenager or adult, and you’re the exact opposite, because of school, relationships, jobs,money, or responsibility. These contrasts tie into the theme I’m about to introduce you to. This theme is expressed thoroughly in many parts of the story, Flowers For Algernon, which is “Ignorance is Bliss”. In the story, the main character Charlie Gordon undergoes an operation to gain intelligence. After a while, he finds out the operation is only temporary, which leads many negative things to his mind including stress. Two reasons this story explains great examples that “Ignorance is Bliss”, is that when you’re ignorant or unintelligent or even young, you’re upbeat and when you are smart, you endure much more stress and worries. I remember when I was young, and I had nothing to worry about in life.

Since ancient times, knowledge and wisdom have continually developed and improved. As they develop throughout time, people feel enlightened and satisfied. However, there have been plenty of instances when ignorance was truly bliss. Even in the first chapter of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, it states that the same amount of grief can be found in the identical amount of wisdom, and more knowledge leads to more sorrow. It is a true fact that in moments of depression, no one willingly wishes to acknowledge his or her state of distress. However, is ignorance truly better than knowledge? Would one prefer to stay thoughtless? This greatly depends on the circumstance; some situations are better left unknown.

Why is gaining knowledge so important? Throughout history people have been pursuing knowledge. Humanity as a whole has always strove to learn new things or make new discoveries; however, is the saying “ignorance is bliss” true? In her novel Frankenstein Mary Shelley explores the idea that it is not always a good thing to pursue or gain knowledge.

Contrary, ignorance must be a part of society in order for it to keep moving forward. If the human race were to be full of all knowing individuals then work as a society would come to a stand still. Ignorance is mandatory for cultural sanity, sometimes it is better not to know than to worry over the truth. If a loved one has terminal cancer, the family can decide whether or not to tell the individual or to keep it from them to better their remaining time as a living person. This is to justify the fact that ignorance is beneficial in some circumstances as opposed to

Ignorance is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: The state or fact of being ignorant: The lack of knowledge, education, or awareness. Despite the fact that the definition may imply that Ignorance can go unnoticed and unaffected, ignorance is incredibly powerful as well as dangerous. As we have been able to see ignorance is powerful in that all people are astonishingly susceptible to it. All those who fall victim to ignorance have the ability to not only endanger themselves but others as well. If we use the painting above by Henri Rousseau as an example of the dangers of ignorance, one thing is immediately evident.

Lee Sigelman once informedly wrote about the emotional effect knowledge has on human beings. Sigelman proves the notion “Ignorance is bliss” to be inaccurate evidenced by recent scientific studies. Lee expresses that ignorance can often be the cause of feelings of discontent and suffering. This can be proven wrong in the plays, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Both works show that knowledge has the power to make people feel unhappy and can be the reason people take drastic measures.

When talking about knowledge most assume it is good. And in most cases knowledge is good. Look what it has done for us as society and as a world. When someone gets sick we give them medicine instead of trying to cleanse the “evil” by cutting them and making them bleed. Most people can see how knowledge is good. But too much of anything is bad, there are a couple of exceptions but I don’t think knowledge is one of those exceptions. Look at what happened in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein was a great scientist but he did not have the foresight to know the consequences of his creation. That is why I am going to make the argument that ignorance is bliss.

The idea of the acclaimed saying "knowledge is power" is the contradiction of the idea that ignorance is bliss. In the book, "The Great Gatsby"; authored by F. Scott Fitzgerald; it communicates the concept of ignorance being bliss by a quote by Daisy saying, "a beautiful little fool" (Fitzgerald 17). While the idea of ignorance being bliss, in this quote, is alluring, this thought is, in fact, less valid than the idea, "knowledge is power." This is because, on account of Daisy's quote, it gives the character more knowledge about what is going on around their environment and to have the capacity to recognize what is wrong with that knowledge. The saying, "knowledge is power" is more valid than the saying, "ignorance is bliss," because having more knowledge about something can give a person/main character an advantage.

It is often debated whether ignorance is bliss. Is not being conscious of one's surroundings truly happiness? In the novel entitled Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, ignorance is Charlie’s peace. Not realizing that, he undergoes a procedure to make him knowledgeable. As his intelligence progresses, relationships begin to deteriorate with the ones he cares for most. Furthermore, his brain began to process memories, leading to anxiety in sexual situations. Finally, because his blindfold disappeared, he sees the truth behind all of his encounters, which ends up being too much for Charlie to withstand. He did not have the capacity to understand the sorrow that would come with knowledge; therefore, Charlie was better off before the surgery.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” - Harriet Tubman. Charlie Gordon is a very welcoming, playful, and genuine man. He attends Beekman College for Retarded Adults and has a strong motivation to learn and to improve his intelligence. He dreams of being popular, and making friends. Throughout the novel Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon changed in many ways. Prior to his life changing operation, he was not able to grasp that the people at Donner’s Bakery were not his friends, they only spoke to him to make fun of him. Charlie acknowledged their harsh actions, and started retaliating. Charlie is a very open