“This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved.” This quote was written by Daniel Keye’s character, Charlie Gordon, in the novel, Flowers for Algernon. Charlie Gordon, a 37-year-old male who has a mental disability, is the main character of this novel, all he wanted was to be smart like everyone else around him, so to achieve this dream of his, he decides to get brain surgery, that would triple his IQ of 68. Before getting operated on, the doctors give him tests to try to complete to see the way his thought process is. After the surgery, Charlie not only improves in reading and writing, but his intelligence improves as well, not only does he gain education, he gains knowledge mentally. Before Charlie …show more content…
Although, there was one person by his side throughout his entire decision, Miss Kinnian, or Alice. Alice was the one person who truly understood Charlie and supported him no matter what, she would teach him and be patient with him, hoping to help him understand and learn better, but he never saw her more than just his educator, until after the surgery. Once he gained the knowledge of feelings, he realized he was in love with Alice and the feelings were mutual. Ultimately, this story raises the question: Should Charlie have had the surgery? In the story, Charlie should not have had the surgery because he lost everything he gained afterward, even after the surgery and before the downfall Charlie had to go through, he contemplated suicide, knowing that soon he was gonna die anyway. He had to suffer through major painful side effects as well as having to grieve the loss of his first-ever friend and the break up of his first true love. Even after the surgery, he still wasn’t accepted as who he was, even with intelligence, he was still treated like an outcast and many people thought he was unnatural. He felt as if he was accepted and couldn’t fit him, the surgery making him more alienated from