Selfishness in Algernon Greed is sometimes known as ones utter demise and it is a reason why the person often meets an unfortunate end. A great author by the name of Daniel Keyes once wrote, “ The mind absorbed in and involved in itself as a self as a self-centered end, to the exclusion of human relationships, can lead only to violence and pain.” This extraordinary quote is accurate in many cases especially in Charlie Gordon’s circumstance. Charlie Gordon’s new greedy persona prohibits Charlie to partake in a relationship; Charlie Gordon’s indecency towards the feelings of others has forbidden a friendship from ever taking root, and lastly Charlie’s new skeptical and angry persona …show more content…
Charlie grew suspicious and cold when learning how his friends harmed him, this resulted in Charlie making his “friends” feel inferior and lesser then him as they did to him before his intelligence germinated. His friends experienced a taste of their own medicine, due to his new attitude he possessed a gargantuan amount of greed forced him neglect the emotions of others, his co-workers loathed what Charlie was becoming and wanted to put an end to his evil and selfish behavior, so as a result Charlie Gordon was discharged from his duties at Donner’s Bakery. The monster deep within Charlie did not just stop at destroying the relationship between Charlie and his co-workers at the bakery; instead it also damaged the friendship between him, Dr. Strauss, and professor Nemur severely. The new selfish Charlie has also established a burning hatred for Dr. Strauss and professor Nemur, because he strongly believed that they did not treat him as a human but as a lab rat. Sympathy was one quality the new Charlie lacked, as a result his deep angry and selfish persona led him to sabotage the convention in Chicago by leaving the scene and stealing Algernon. Charlie and Algernon were key for the experiment and Charlie decides to leave with no regard to what could happen to Dr. Strauss’s experiment, instead he did what would benefit him the most and what would be easier on him, “I’ve walked out on the whole thing.” (Charlie, 154) This monster within Charlie was leading him to a path where he would have no friendships and a place where he would grow angrier with those around him due to his selfishness; however as the regression approaches his self-centered qualities begin to fade until they evaporated. Charlie’s new friendly personality resulted
The societal problems became a reality for Charlie as he overtook the brain of a genius. Every day, Charlie woke up thinking he was best friends with Joe and Frank; nonetheless, after the operation, Charlie’s brilliance knew Frank and Joe were not his legitimate cohorts. All the mocking was assumed to be friendly until Charlie was able to comprehend the actuality. Charlie’s acquaintances turned around
In 2013, Philip Schultz spins “Greed”, an intricate piece of literature allowing readers to superficially experience the struggle of racial injustice; however, as one dives deeper between Schultz’s lines, the oceanside town’s complexity becomes apparent. Through the eyes of a wealthy son of a poor man, Schultz explores the relationship between greed and “happiness,” causing his narrator to question who is deserving of the fleeting feeling that possesses many forms. Although the narrator appears to advocate for equality, his voice is drowned out by the deafening silence greed emits as for he struggles to reject the wealth he allows himself to wallow in; thus, the narrator emphasizes the control “abundance” possesses over happiness (Schultz
He is then judged even harsher which is why you shouldn’t try to be someone that you’re not. You should stay true to yourself. In the story, it says “Their going to use me! I am so exited I can hardly write” (Keyes page 351). This implies that Charlie is anxious to undergo the surgery that will make him smart. Another part says “If you volenteer for this experament you mite get smart”. (Keyes page 351) This shows that the operation will make him more intelligent so he can fit in with everyone else. This proves that Charlie is trying to be someone he is not in order to fit
The American stock market crash was a pivotal point for Charlie. When Charlie is institutionalized, he loses custody of his young daughter, Honoria. It becomes increasingly evident that Charlie has recognized the error of his old ways and shows great promise in proving his reformation. He is no longer institutionalized and he has successfully limited his alcohol consumption for some time. Charlie limits himself to one drink per day to make sure that his behavior remains decent. In addition, When Charlie encounters his old friends, Lorraine and Duncan, he is very cautious about his decisions. During his visit to London, Charlie reconnects with his former brother and sister in-law. They allow him to spend some time with his daughter but Marion is adamant about blaming her sister’s death on Charlie. She is also somewhat reluctant towards allowing Honoria to be with her father. Fitzgerald created Marion to be cold and mean-spirited which allows the reader to feel sympathetic towards Charlie. Despite all his efforts to regain custody of his daughter, Charlie ends up in the same place he started: having a drink at the Ritz bar thinking about getting his daughter back (Churchwell,
Charlie soon becomes aware that his smartness may not stay forever, that he might lose his genius. He starts to research the experiment himself. He studies a little mouse named Algernon who they did the experiment on first. Charlie starts to become attached to the little white mouse. Together they are the smartest of their species. When Charlie and Algernon have to go Chicago for an interview, Charlie gets so frustrated at how all the scientists are talking as if before the operation Charlie wasn’t a real person. In his frustration he accidentally on purpose let Algernon go.
The scientists finally decide Charlie is the perfect subject for the experiment due to his motivation and his eagerness to be smart. As Charlie's IQ begins to grow, so does his ability to understand how cruel the world around him really is. While Charlie's knowledge grows, his attitude changes along with those around him. Charlie loses his job, friends, happiness, and even his willingness to care or learn. On the contrary, Charlie also experiences and learns a lot from this experiment.
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.
He doesn’t lack of encourage anymore, he has overcome his fear and despair. “I have to go. I have to disobey every impulse and leave her for Jasper Jones, for Jack Lionel, for this horrible mess.” We see a different Charlie from his determination. From escape to face up, he shows us more responsible. From helpless to assertive, he comes to realize what he really wants. He knows the dark side of human nature and this unfair and cold world. His innocent, his perfect world has been destroyed by those horrible things; because of these, he knows the part of real world, he knows how the ‘dark’ actually changes this world, his friends, his family, included
The drastic contrast between Charlie’s positive view of Aunt Helen and what is later learned adds to the unexpected nature of the reveal and betrays of the trust of the audience. Charlie no longer having a smoking addiction changes the story by removing a character flaw Charlie had. By removing the flaw, Charlie’s character is changed from a high school student that has flaws that he brought onto himself to a victim of circumstance. The book portrays Charlie as a boy that not only
Before Charlie had the operation preformed on him, he had friends at the bakery he worked at. They were not really his friends because they always made jokes about Charlie, but he was not smart enough to realize it. As he gets smarter he loses his friends because they think he is just trying to act smart.
The nature of greed is insatiable. It thrives on human weaknesses, and therefore, has no limits on how much it can grow to be stronger and more profound, within a human. Each person is unique in the way how they express their geed. For many, taking advantage of others is a prime example of how greed exerts itself. In the story, Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury, by Ray Bradbury, the author demonstrates how people who highly value self-importance, leave no room for compassion and are driven to manipulate others for their own selfish desires. The author shows us how there are multiple ways a person can manipulate others. For some, lying becomes an effective way of manipulation. Others like
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.
Greed, being a key human condition, has shaped society from the very start. In fact, some scholars believe that greed was the first major milestone of human success, when the first human wondered why he/she had to scrounge around for necessities; it is a part of being human to be greedy. Wanting a new car, to be loved by another, or to desire the feeling of well doing when feeding the needy, these are all factions of greed...
Perhaps most disturbing is the fact that greed has also torn apart countless families who would have otherwise been living in happiness. Indeed, one may say that greed is one of the greatest sins. Yet there are those who proclaim that greed is necessary for mankind to evolve and rise above themselves. Such is the paradox of our time. In today’s society, it does not take astronomical efforts to see the prevalence of greed.