Themes In Flowers For Algernon

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.

The surgery made Charlie see the things his friends did to him. Before Charlie had the surgery people at work picked on him and he didn't understand what was happening “Sometimes somebody will say hey look Joe or Frank or George , he really pulled a Charlie Gordon. I don't know why they say that but i always laff.” (Keyes 227) if Charlie wouldn’t have had the surgery he would have been made fun of and picked an and even hurt by his so called “friends”.

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.

Daniel Keyes decided to use Charlie Gordon as a symbol of motivation. Before the plot twist, he was a friendly man who sees the good in everything and puts trusts in his friends. But his lack of intelligence makes it impossible for him to truly see that his ‘friends’ are victimizing him. And was given the opportunity to let the doctors operate on his brain to help him to get smarter gradually. After the operation, Charlie became smarter and smarter.

A lot of people like the season of spring. Students have spring break, so they may be going on vacation. The springtime is when flowers begin to bloom, and when allergies are really bad. For this reason, people that have allergies most likely do not like the spring season. The weather starts to become warmer in the spring season, but there are tornados and storms.

American novelist Ernest Hemingway once said, “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” This is especially true in Daniel Keyes’ science fiction short story, “Flowers for Algernon.” The main character in the book, Charlie Gordon, is a man who has struggled with a learning disability, and desires to become more intelligent. He is offered a chance to become smart through an operation. It works, but as Charlie gains knowledge, he loses his friends and his teacher Miss Kinnian. However, he finds out the operation’s effects are not going to last. So, Charlie starts to loose all of the knowledge he has gathered. Then, as people start to feel sympathetic for him and treat him different, Charlie becomes frustrated and decides to leave

Flowers for Algernon/The Awakening I am doing the compare contrast of ¨The Awakening¨ and ¨Flowers for Algernon¨. Both of the story are of a medical administration or procedure that allows the recipient to become more aware of themselves and others. They both have the same idea but they are distinctly different from each other in the way that one is a mental incapability and the other is of disease related and many other things. In ¨Flowers for Algernon¨ the procedure is of surgical means but in ¨The Awakening¨ is works by chemical stimulation of the brain. I believe they both have the same idea and a couple of the stories end alike

Have you ever heard the expression, “be careful what you wish for”? The saying applies to Charlie in “Flowers for Algernon”. Some may think he was better off after his operation, others may think before. His IQ was way lower than an average person’s, but his life was better that way. He was happier, had friends and a job, and the world was a wonderful place to him.

Charlie reveals his suffering through the story, “Flowers For Algernon.” Charlie is a young adult who, his whole entire life, only wishes to be smart. An event that Charlie suffers through is when he had to go through an operation. Charlie was scared but he was determined. He also felt discourage because Miss Kinnian didn’t want Charlie to suffer through an operation to get smart.

In the short story, “Flowers for Algernon”, and the movie, “Charly”, there are some similarities, but there are more differences. As you can see the titles of the book and the movie are different from each other. The book is titled, “Flowers for Algernon” while the movie is titled, “Charly”. In the story when Algernon dies Charlie goes to his grave to give him flowers, although in the movie this does not occur. Even though the book,”Flowers for Algernon” it does not show when they bring Algernon to Charlie’s house as it does in the movie.

Imagine a young adult who is struggling in school and they can’t get their grades up. Their scraping the bottom of the bucket C’s and D’s all thee way. They have stopped believing that they can change that but they don't realize that if they only believe that they can change their intelligence they can. My question for this essay is intelligence is changeable and I believe that you can change your IQ level completely. You can change and manipulate your intelligence if you believe that you can you will be able to do it.

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” This quote means that you don’t have to be intelligence to think, and unintelligence people can always learn. Charlie, who is a 37-year-old man, is convinced that happiness is to be intelligent. Intelligence does not explain what kind of a person somebody is, but it shows people's ability to solve problems, and all sorts of skills how they learn from experience. To become intelligent it takes a lot of time, practice, and study new things to the best of your ability. However, I think it’s not necessary to have intelligence to lead a happy and productive life because everyone learns differently in their own imagination.

At some point in our lives we wish we were someone else or want something to change about ourselves. All Charlie Gordon wants to change about himself is his brainpower. Daily Charlie saw himself as intellectual, yet while others feel bad about themselves because they will never be able to change what they dislike about themselves Charlie does everything he possibly can to progress. All Charlie wants is to change and sometimes that is all we hope for, however change isn't always for the best. After Charlie's procedure he begins to change and discover a person inside of him. As Charlie became more aware of the world around him he changed. What he once thought to be a kindhearted world with a positive future turned into a world of disappointment and disorientation. Charlie wasn't meant to change and it took a

This was serious. Charlie was going to die. Charlie researched many ways to prevent his death but he had no luck. All his friends were supportive and continued to treat him the way they did when he was smart. This made Charlie feel a little better about the situation and let him know that he made a little bit of benefit out of it.

“I see now that the path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not the only a thing, but also a way of being---one of many ways---and knowing the paths I have followed and the ones left to take will help me understand what I am becoming.” Throughout the book, Dr. Strauss tells people that he made Charlie. Before the surgery, Charlie, did not really understand. During the process of his surgery he understood more and he realized several people were making fun of him. After, the surgery had the same effect as the first, he did not really understand much. This will be about Charlie, before, during, and after the surgery.