Charlie vs. Doctors
“Intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings.” -Salvador Dali. Throughout the story, Charlie Gordon experiences life and learns many valuable lessons. All he wanted was to be intelligent and have friends, and he definitely had the motivation. Before the procedure, he had an IQ of sixty-eight, and after, it was tripled to two hundred and four. But now, Charlie is going to die because of the results from the surgery. In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur made a poor decision by choosing Charlie Gordon as the test subject for the intelligence-changing procedure.
Charlie should not have taken place in this surgery because he would still end up being an outcast. His motivation
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Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss picked Charlie for the experiment because they knew he was gullible and he would not understand the risks. When Charlie was talking about the doctors, he quoted, “He said I had a good motor-vation. I never even knew I had that” (Keyes 185). Charlie often times takes things literally and does not have a wide set vocabulary. The Belmont Report also states that the subject can not have diminished autonomy, which means a person has to be able to do things and make decisions on their own. They have to be self-reliant. Charlie has a hard time reading, writing, and especially spelling. He noted in a journal entry, “He rote somthing down on a paper and I got skared of faling the test” (Keyes 183). If Charlie can not even spell, how can he be able to do things solely on his own? If he can not be an independent person, he should be ineligible for the surgery. Others may say that it is Charlie’s fault for not wanting to know more about the risks, for not asking more questions. Once again they are wrong. Charlie is stupid, vulnerable, and is easy to take an advantage of. He states that the doctors say he has “good motor-vation” (Keyes 185). Charlie easily misunderstands concepts, which shows there is no way he could have understood all the dangers of the surgery. Being so naive made Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur’s job of finding a willing patient …show more content…
On Progress Report 13, Charlie says, “I visited the lab to see him as I do occasionally, and when I took him out of his cage, he snapped at my hand” (Keyes 203). Slowly, Algernon begins to deteriorate, which makes Charlie realize that his knowledge is only temporary. Then Algernon dies, which leads Charlie to conclude that the same things will happen to him. Charlie says, “Anyway I bet Im the first dumb person in the world who ever found out something importent for sience” (Keyes 210). It is not that he is saying he is going to die, but the tone of his sentence seems very negative. Charlie sounds as if he is giving up on his knowledge because he knows it is not worth it, because he knows he is going to die. Arguing that his death will be okay because he made contributions to science is disrespectful and just wrong. In addition, the Belmont Report states that “We can not sacrifice humans for scientific advancements” (Belmont Report). The doctors knew the dangers of the surgery, yet they failed to communicate with Charlie how severe those dangers were. They risked Charlie for science, for their own
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
'"What's wrong with a man becoming intelligent and wanting to acquire knowledge and understanding of the world around him"' (pg.528). This quote comes from the Short story, Flowers for Algernon. The quote shows how all Charlie wanted was to be normal and smart, like everyone else on planet earth, and wanted to understand what was happening around him. Also to make the most out of the things around him and make himself and others proud of what he can do, but people are not understanding him. Flowers for Algernon the novel and the film Awakenings can be studied together because of their important similarities along with some notable differences regarding Lenard and Charlie, making it difficult for the reader and viewer to refrain from
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
Before the operation, he exhibited some clear strengths such as determination, a positive attitude, friendly with people and some weaknesses such as education and inability to understand the adult world. After the operation, he begun to change in numerous ways. Charlie started out as being not really intelligent. Being around with “smart” people made him want to change and became “intelligent” just like his “friends.” I think its all crazy. If you can get smart when your sleeping why do people go to school. That thing I don't think will work. I use to watch the late show and the late late show on TV all the time and it never made me smart (Keyes 118). This part of the book led Charlie’s flashbacks takes place of how he was raised or nurtured through his childhood, Of how he wanted to try to become smart. However Dr. Strauss believes that his sleep would help Charlie be able to learn. However in his nature, his disability cannot help him at all, doesn’t matter how much he tries to watch TV and tries to go to sleep, I wouldn’t allow him to learn anything at all. The nurture of this is having the doctor recommend Charlie to do this. His disability also not just affects him but his family as well. His disability kind of makes his sister miserable as well, jealous over how the parents focus on Charlie due to his disability, despite the successes the sister achieves in school. Thus Charlie’s nature towards others has a negative effect which is towards his sister. Charlie was raised by his parents but through a condition that would then follow him probably for the rest of his life as well as being mainly raised through this experiment, which possibly wouldn’t help him at all in the near
With his simple minded approach to life, he was able to live happily without problems or difficulties that we face in relationships today. Although he was never smart, Charlie was a good person before the surgery.
Charlie worked hard trying to discover how long his smartness would last. While studying Algernon, he noticed that he was becoming more jumpy and that he would attack Charlie sometimes. Charlie wondered whether this was because of the experiment. Algernon got worse and he refused to do the mazes and to work. After a few weeks Algernon died. Tests showed that Algernon’s brain had started to shrink, causing him to die.
Although Charlie was a thirty seven year-old man, his understanding and comprehension of a situation was far too low to understand such consequences that the surgery could come with. In the article, "Five Steps to Better Ethical Decision Making", it says to ask yourself if you could understand making that choice (Dobrin). The doctors in "Flowers for Algernon" did not ask themselves if they were lacking as much intelligence as Charlie, could they make the choice to have the surgery? Charlie didn't know what could happen to him if the there were side effects until it was too late. Therefore, the doctors did not act ethically when choosing Charlie as the test
My last reason why charlie should get the operation is he will be mature. Instead of
Charlie?s experiment was temporary, and overtime his IQ regressed. Algernon, a mouse that went through the same surgery as Charlie, died. If Charlie?s hypothesis proves correct, then he will die as well. Charlie?s life was better before the experiment because he was not exposed to the risks and consequences of the surgery. Without the experiment, Charlie would still be living his ignorant but happy life.
In his second progress report Charlie writes, “...I reely tryed to see. I held the card close up then far away. Then I said if I had my glases I could see better… I said let me see that card agen I bet Ill find it now… I said please let me try it agen. Ill get it in a few minits becaus Im not so fast sometimes.” (182,183) In this situation Charlie show that he is struggling to see the pitures the inkblots make. Charlie shows he is a people pleaser because he want to try everything in order to satisfy the doctor who is testing him and everything to pass the test. However, after the operation Charlie is more opinionated. In his seventh progress report, Charlie writes, “I hate that mouse. He always beats me. Dr. Strauss said I got to play those games. And he said some time I got to take those tests again. Those inkblots are stupid.” (186) This shows he is more opinionated because Charlie shows he has feelings of hate towards the mouse and that he believe the test he has to are are stupid. This change was for the better because Charlie is starting to do what he thinks and not just what other people want him to
In the end, Charlie is returned to his previous mental state proving that scientific experimentation leads to a destructive nature of man. In Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes shows the reader a destructive nature of man through stereotypes, absence of family, and the various IQ levels needed to mature. Therefore, science experiments should be left for chemicals and labs not humans and animals.
Charlie now knows he can follow in Algernon’s footsteps in the near future. Charlie later finds out what could happen to him. Charlie says, “Algernon died two days ago….. I guess the same thing is or will soon be happening to me. Now that it’s definite, I don’t want it to happen”(Keyes 205). Charlie knows that he could also die from the surgery he has been forced into to take. Some say he might not die because a human’s brain is more strong than mice brains. They say the experiment was not meant to harm Charlie. Charlie figures out, “I have already begun to notice signs of emotional instability and forgetfulness, the first symptoms of the burnout(Keyes 205). Charlie knows that this is happening to him, but he may not die from it. He knows he will deteriorate, but by how much is the
In Charlie’s case he could have died from the operation, but there is a possibility he killed himself too. Anyone can infer that he died or committed suicide because he left a note saying, “P.P.S. Please if you get a chance put some flowers on Algernon’s grave in the back yard.”(Keyes, 245). Since he left a note any person can tell that he definitely cares but, is not coming back. If he did not get the operation he would not have ever went through this and died so young. Once again this is another one of the terrible outcomes that happened with this operation. Charlie probably just felt so stressed out because of so many bad things happening so quick. Like Algernon dying, friends leaving him, and dying while becoming less and less smart everyday. All of this proves that if he never got the operation, he would never be in the
With the AI surgery, Charlie also made a contribution to science. Charlie spent some time while his IQ was increased researching the AI surgeries. Charlie realized that the Algernon Gordon Effect was a failure. Charlie said, “I’m grateful for the little bite that I here add to the knowledge of the function of human mind” (Keyes 239). Charlie knew that as quickly as he increased his intelligence is the same as the time it will take for him to decrease in intelligence but Charlie was still grateful that he made a contribution to
Obviously, the surgery had not succeeded. Since Algernon died, Charlie realistically could expect his own demise. Although Charlie’s intellect soared beyond specified predictions, the unsuccessfulness of the surgery- quite shocking, for Charlie - was uncontrollable variable! The doctors opportunists, could not reify, remedy, this traumatic outcome. Only Charlie, the genius, could analyze the surgery’s problematic components. At this point, Charlie did not regret the surgery; nevertheless, he should not have been the experimental