Intelligence In Daniel Keys Flowers Of Algernon

The idea of changing someone's IQ is an interesting thing but Charlie a thirty seven year old man who struggles with learning and wants to be smart will become smart as a doctor gives him this chance by having a brain operation, Charlie should not have had the operation performed on him. “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes is a great sci fi short story that you can learn a lot from. Although I think Charlie should not have had the operation, some might say that he should have had it because he wanted to be smart so it gave him a taste of what being intelligent is all about. The operation done on Charlie had a negative impact on him in the end, poor doctor choses, weak animal testing and bad knowledge of the situation could leave many other

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.

Have you ever thought about being smart? Well, Charlie Gordon did. Charlie Gordon is a 37 year old male with an I.Q. that is not very high. In the Science FIction story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel keyes. Charlie Gordon wasn’t very smart, he has a low I.Q. of 68. Charlie wanted to be smart so he would be liked by people. Charlie had the opportunity to have the A.I. surgery to triple his I.Q. Charlie Gordon should have had the A.I. surgery.

In this novel, Flowers for Algernon, written by Daniel Keyes, a man named Charlie Gordon has an operation done to increase his intelligence. He started as a mentally retarded man and slowly became a genius. He seemed to soak up information like a sponge and he was able to figure out the most complex scientific formulas. The only problem with the operation is that it does not last for ever and in his remaining time he tries to figure out why it is not permanent. He will eventually lose everything he learned and become worse off than when he started, so Charlie was better off before he had the operation.

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

“I said Miss Kinnian never gave me tests like that one only spelling and reading. They said Miss Kinnian told that I was her bestist pupil in the adult nite scool becaus I tryed the hardist and I reely wantid to lern” -Charlie. Concluding that if you could feel smarter than you are now, would you. That's what Charlie feels like until he has an operation that makes him smart. The theme of this story I think is that people change over time. Like charlie changes throughout the story. In the story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes Charlie patarys the theme that people changed overtime.

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 was known to have the personality that was always bright and talkative. Charlie had the lowest skill level out of all his “friends” and he didn't understand how real friends should treat one another so he never thought anything of it. Charlie felt good about himself but he wanted to be smart and know what his friends and other people around him knew. He was ready to learn and he wasn’t scared because he pushed fear away; he just wanted to know what it was like to comprehend what was going on in the world. The

The award-winning short science fiction, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, digs deep in how society reacts to different levels of intelligence. The book covers a wide variety of society from the creative minds to world-renowned scientists. When a retarded adult becomes one of those brain maniacs through a scientific operation, you get the full spectrum of what it is like personally as a handicapped person and through the minds of a genius. In the reports, you can see the progress and comparison of Charlie’s realization towards other people’s capability of intelligence.

Have you ever read the book "Flowers for Algernon"? It is a great story, It's all about this man named Charlie. Charlie had a mental disability and was determined to become smart like his friends Frank Rylee, and Joe Carp. In the book, he did a surgery that he thought could help him become smarter and more self-aware. But I disagree with Charles actions on getting smarter.

Mr. Donner says he will save labour cost and increase profit."(Keyes 59). This illustrates Charlie's rapid advancement in intelligence. Charlie shows enormous improvement in his intelligence throughout the novel. This helps to mature him by increasing his understanding of the bigger truths in life. Near the end, Charlie’s mental condition deteriorates as he starts to go back to his mentally retarded self, but be he still keeps most of his intelligences, which contributes to make him a complete and wholesome person.

Charlie got upset because he thought Mrs.Kinnian was really smart, but it just turns out she is just as smart as an average person. Charlie now spoke really intelligent words and no-one could really understand

Daniel Keyes point of view of improving intelligence by artificial means, is that he is against it. In the end he told through Charlie in an odd way that he had wished he never would have had the operation because he now people will have seen how he was once mentally challenged, then became smart and then became slower again. He was afraid that society wouldn’t accept him. "I dont want Miss. Kinnian to feel sorry for me. Evry body feels sorry at the factery and I dont want that eather so Im going someplace where nobody knows that Charlie Gordon was once a genus and now he cant even reed a book or rite good." When Charlie went back to work he was confronted by a man who made a rude comment, but a CO-worker who used to make fun of him and set him up to fail stuck up for him. But later Charlie said that he wishes to go to New York to get away from everyone. That is where Daniel Keyes states that he wouldn’t want the operation to be done. This is the statement Charlie made: "…Im going someplace where nobody knows that Charlie Gordon was once a genus…" I think that where Daniel Keyes point was made because if he (Charlie) had never had the operation, he wouldn’t be trying to get away from society, he would have never known what being a "genius" even meant. Daniel Keyes stated in the story, " It was evil when Eve listened to the snake and ate from the tree of knowledge. It was evil when she saw

“How strange it is that people of honest feelings and sensibility, who one­ would not take advantage of a man born without arms or legs or eyes-how such people think nothing of abusing a man born with low intelligence.” This quote from "Flowers for Algernon" shows how many with a higher intelligence than others often take advantage of those who do not understand what is going on around them. Throughout this novel by Daniel Keys, Charlie Gordon proceeds to undergo a surgery to enhance his intelligence. After tripling his IQ, he realizes that those who posed as his friends turned out to be taking advantage of him. Instead of people laughing with him, Charlie came to a realization that they were laughing at him. As he begins to lose intelligence, Charlie desperately clings to what is left of his intelligence and does not want to continually be mocked. I believe it is unacceptable to make fun of someone’s lack of intelligence because they cannot change who they are and how they view the world. The ignorance they have can be altered, but not erased permanently. In "Flowers for Algernon", there are two instances where Charlie is taken advantage of because of his lack of intelligence for a portion of the novel.

Throughout the novel Charlie’s personality and intelligence level changes a lot. In the beginning Charlie is happy, has friends, he’s retarded, and can’t remember a lot of things. “I fergot his last name because I dont remebir so good.” (Keyes 2),