Paying the Price in Flowers for Algernon Medical operations are carried out everyday, but for some, an operation can change a person's life. One experiment was done on a mentally retarded person to try to raise his intelligence. The experiment worked, but after months, the patient regressed dramatically. In the book, Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, this intelligence operation was preformed, and the patient was Charlie Gordon. After the operation, Charlie was very bright, but experienced psychological traumas, loneliness, disillusionment, and social inadequacies. Charlie's psychological traumas or emotional upset was caused by his memory recalls. After his operation, he remembered every aspect of his childhood, whether it was good or bad. "...He's normal! He's normal! He'll grow up like other people. Better than others..." Charlie had dreams of how his mother was ashamed of him. His mother always thought her son was normal and would grow up and be somebody. "...He's like a baby. He can't play Monopoly or checkers or anything. I won't play with him anymore..." Charlie's sister also ignored him. To her, Charlie was dumb and could not do anything. Charlie had dreams of his sister yelling at him and making fun of him. He also had memories of the night his parents took him to the Warren Home. He was terrified and his dad would never answer his questions. Charlie remembered his childhood and through his memories, he felt guilty for hurting his family. After the operation, Charlie also suffered from disillusionment. In the bakery he used to have friends. Friends that would talk to him and care about him. "...Why? Because all of the sudden your a bigshot. You think you are better than the rest of us..." Charlie then realized that he had no friends but merely knew people that made fun of him. The bakery employees just liked him because they could blame their mistakes on Charlie. Then, they could not do this after the operation, so they all turned against Charlie. "...I had to find out just how much they knew. I found out. Nothing..." "Both frauds" Charlie also found out about Nemur and Strauss. He realized they were not professionals, but two men that were taking a shot in the dark. Charlie felt like an expendable lab specimen. Thus, Charlie had lost his friends and knew now he was just a like a lab rat. Charlie had lacked faith in his fellow man. "...Thoughts of suicide to stop it all while I am still in control..." Everyday Charlie lost a piece of himself. He was starting to regress and thought about suicide to end his up and down life. He became irritable and edgy around people at the university. He would become mad at people very quickly and then yell at them. His self-centered and arrogant personality was a symptom of his regression. People stayed away from him because he was becoming a madman and was unpredictable. Because of this, Charlie became lonely in his last weeks before he regressed totally. "...Intelligence without the ability to give and receive affection can lead to a mental breakdown..." Charlie experienced social inadequacies while he was intelligent. "...You know as well as I do, you don't need to work here anymore..." Charlie lost his job because he was to smart to work in a bakery. He could not socially interact with people he worked with and the people he met. Also, Charlie could not perform with Alice or Fay. "...I saw him watching me with his eyes wide open. I couldn't do it..." He experienced illusions when he tried to make love with Alice. The "Charlie" inside of himself emerged and started to regain control of his mind. All in all, Charlie suffered from the pain of not knowing how to deal with his peers and decisions. Therefore, after the operation, Charlie became a smart man but he had to pay the price for it. He had psychological traumas, suffered from loneliness and illusions, and did not know how to act with his peers. Charlie regressed and finally went to the Warren Home, but he at least experienced the world through normal eyes. On the other hand, Charlie might of been better off without the experiment. He would still have friends and a job, but most important of all, he would have a life.
On that day he picked up Algernon like normal but got bit. Charlie watched afterward for some time and saw that he was disturbed and vicious. Burt tells me that Algernon is changing. He is less cooperative, he refuses to run the maze any more, and he hasn't been eating. Burt and others have to feed Algernon because he refuses to do the shifting lock. This a indication that the procedure isn't permanent and Charlie may start to lose intelligence. On May 25 Dr.Nemur and I told Charlie not to come to the lab anymore. Then on May 29 we gave him permission to start a lab and he worked all day and all night on the reason he is losing intelligence. On june 5th he is forgetting stuff which leads up to him becoming absent minded on June 10th. The other indications the procedure wasn’t permanent was once they dissected Algernon who died on June 8th Charlie predictions were correct. Charlie also can’t read or remember books he already read. Soon Charlie can’t remember where he put stuff, forgets punctuation, and spelling reverts back to before. These indications are clear that the procedure wasn’t
If Charlie didn’t have the operation he would not be able to realize that Joe and Frank were making fun of him. Joe and Frank would just keep making fun of him and he would not be able to stick up for himself. Once in the story Charlie said,“It's a funny thing I never knew that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have me around all the time to make fun of me. Now I know what it means when they say "to pull a Charlie Gordon.” I'm ashamed” (page 524). Somebody who has been made fun of before should know that anybody would want to stick up for themselves. This shows that it was a blessing for Charlie to have this operation because now he can stick up for
He was much happier before the operation. The situations were the same before. But, after the operation, he had started noticing the obstacles. Joe and Frank used to tease Charlie before, but now he was ashamed and realized that they had befriended him to make fun of him. He now started noticing the wicked incidents in his surrounding and started to compare them to his life. He became lonely after he got fired from his job. His life had become a track lane with obstacles all along the way after he became intelligent. Intelligence does not always lead to happiness. The story “Flowers for Algernon” proves that ignorance is
One of the main themes in That 70’s show is that the show addresses many of the social issues of the 1970’s. These issues include the following prejudice, sexual attitudes, generational issues, the money-making hardships of the 1970’s downturn, suspicion of the American government by blue-collar workers, and the main one that will be focused on in this paper teenage drug use and the use of alcohol. Throughout the series of That 70’s show the main characters are often seen either smoking marijuana or doing other types of drugs. They do not show the characters doing these things directly however, an audience member can tell that they are using these drugs or smoking. Throughout the paper famous examples from the show will be mentioned especially how the characters don’t actually show the audience they are either smoking or taking drugs.
For Charlie, Ignorance is bliss. He realizes that his so called ? friends? were just using him to entertain their perverse humor. Also, he was also fired from the job that he loved so much because his new intelligence made those around him feel inferior and scared.
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.
On King William IV’s death in 1837, it became clear that Queen Victoria had to take the throne at age of eighteen. Queen Victoria reigned for a total of sixty-four years, longer than any other British monarch. During her reign, Victoria is associated with the great industrial developments, economical success, and of course the expansion of the British Empire (Victorian). After Britain’s civil war, the Parliamentary Monarchy government was set up, encouraging people to set up businesses in search of profit. Over time, most commercial monopolies were abolished. As a result, merchants could invest money and receive profits with little intervention from the government. With the newfound purposes for coal, and the children ‘slave’ workers, factories powered by steam engines popped up overnight (Colville). Money poured in with the imports and exports of goods. Expensive jewelry, fabrics and clothing previously was only bought by the upper class, was now affordable to the middle class (Isaac). The middle class gradually became wealthier as the time period continued (Levine 652).
Japan is known for its unique gardening style, their diverse plants, their food, and their beautifully woven tapestries. Yet, most do not know about the history of their drama. Japanese Noh theatre is one of the most precise and prestigious art forms. It has been this way since the fourteenth century when Zeami first created Noh theatre. Zeami’s most famous plays, such as Kinuta, are still performed today. Japanese drama has not changed much since the fourteenth century because it has made a lasting effect on the culture. Noh theatre had a major influence on fourteenth century Japan and has affected modern day drama.
Charlie struggles with apparent mental illness throughout his letters, but he never explicitly addresses this problem. His friends make him realize that he is different and it is okay to be different from everyone else. This change in perspective gives Charlie new opportunities to experience life from a side he was unfamiliar with. Without these new friends, Charlie would have never dared to try on the things he has. His friends have helped him develop from an antisocial wallflower to an adventurous young man who is both brave and loyal. Transitioning shapes how the individual enters into the workforce, live independently and gain some control over their future
We can all sympathize with Charlie on the surface, we have all made mistakes that we have to live with. Charlie is attempting to move forward with his life and erase the mistakes of his past. The ghosts of his past torment him repeatedly throughout the story, his child's guardians despise him and his old friends do not understand him.
I have chosen Saint Anthony because of two things: what he is the patron saint of. The patronages of Anthony that I am focusing on are lost articles and animals. I am focusing on lost articles because I often lose things, so I find myself praying to him quite a bit. The reason Anthony is patron of lost items is because one day while in Bologna, he had a book of psalms. The book of psalms had then been stolen. Upon finding this out, Anthony prayed to God that it be returned. The next day, the thief returned the book, and Anthony was forever grateful. I am focusing on animals because animals are a very big part of my life and they make very happy. That’s why I thank Anthony for keeping watch over all my pets and for keeping them safe. It is most noted that the reason he is patron of animals is that he was a very good companion and assistant to Frances of Asisis.
That theater has undergone many changes since its early incarnation in ancient Greece is a fact obvious even to the casual observer. And it is likewise clear that, as the cultural and social structure of the world shifts and changes over time, it is appropriate that its art forms change as well, in order to address appropriately the new reality in which they exist. However, perhaps not too unexpectedly, there are those who reject our modern manifestation of theater as insincere or false -- indeed, as there are in every time those who contest the latest evolutions of all types of art.
Because of the parties he attends with his new friends he has tried using some drugs. These new friends help Charlie see things with a positive perspective, and to be confident in himself. When his friends move away, Charlie experience isolation and has a mental crisis that leads him to be internalized in a clinic.
Suddenly, because of the abundant rain and wind, Nicholas lost control of the car. Twisting and turning, unable to gear it, they landed in a place neither of them knew.
The Elizabethan age was a very important time in the history of England. The time period is named after the queen who ruled England during this time, Queen Elizabeth I (Haigh). This time was a great time for the advancement of England, as they were ushered out of the Middle Ages, and into this new era. While there were many hardships, and plague was a common occurrence, the people lived a much more comfortable life than they ever had before (Jonson). Many great accomplishments were also achieved, including Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation around the world, which was only the second time it had ever been done, and the victory of the British navy over the Spanish Armada (Haigh). Another one of the things that affected the Elizabethan age so greatly was the theater.