What if it were possible to triple human intelligence by surgical means? This is the question that Daniel Keyes answers in the story “Flowers for Algernon.” Charlie Gordan is the main character who wants to be smart and has brain surgery. After the surgery Charlie improves, learning how to read many advanced books. He also learns to write better using punctuation, and grammar correctly and falls in love with Alice. With the result of the surgery, he has more emotion expressing affection, grief, and guilt. However, Charlie regresses and loses his best friend, Algernon, his relationship with Alice, and all the knowledge he gained from the surgery. Wanting a fresh start, Charlie moves away from New York, leaving his relationships behind. Ultimately, this story …show more content…
Charlie also loses relationships with things in his life after the surgery. For example, we can see that this event occurs in the story when, after the surgery, he says, “I'm forgetting things that I learned recently.” Charlie writes, “I dont know why im dumb agen or what I did wrong maybe its becaus i dint try hard enuff.” By looking at the quote, we can see that Charlie loses his knowledge and is also forgetting many things. Charlie regressed further than before the surgery, losing memories, knowledge, and relationships. However, some would say that Charlie should've had the surgery because he found love and learned new stuff. Irregularly, Charlie shouldn't have had the surgery because he forgets his relationships and loses the knowledge he gained from the surgery. Losing feelings for Alice, forgetting everyday things, and forgetting proper English. Second, Charlie is incorrect in having the surgery because he gained memories and experiences just to forget them, also likely bringing him a premature death. For instance, we can see Charlie is incorrect in undergoing the surgery when he realizes he will lose his memory and
treat those who are different in a negative or positive way? In the novel Flowers for Algernon, the author Daniel Keyes shows an in depth look at the treatment of individuals in today's society. Firstly society tends to discriminate against those whose IQ does not fit into the norms of our society. The physically handicapped in today's world are not considered to be "equal" as those who fit into the normal physical appearance, Keyes portrays this through Charlie's thoughts while in the café. Although
Response to Literature Flowers for Algernon, a classic written by Daniel Keyes, explores the changes a medical surgery can bring to a man’s life. Keyes unfolds the story of a mentally disabled man, Charlie, who is given the ability to become intelligent after pioneering a medical surgery. Charlie, with his new-found intelligence, has to come to terms with his previous life as well as tackling with the effects of being a lab rat. The moral issues behind science altering humans is a prominent theme
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a classic science fiction set in southeastern New York, New York City. The fictitious prose traces a man's inner psychological journey within from a world of retardation to a world of great intelligence. Narrated through a series of empirical "Progress Reports", Flowers for Algernon follows the intellectual and emotional rise and fall of Charlie Gordon, a young man born with an unusually low Intelligence Quotient (IQ), as he becomes the first human pilot-study
With all of his heart Charlie wants to be smart. In the story “flowers for Algernon” Charlie is the main character. He is a thirty seven year old man who wants an operation to become smart. The story was written by Daniel Keyes. I think that he should not have the operation. My first reason that I think that he should not have the operation is because a while after the operation he becomes dumb again. In the beginning he gets to experience some of the advantages of being smart such as being able
To begin, the novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes reveals the evolution of a being. The protagonist, Charlie Gordon is a thirty-two year old man, studying at a school for the mentally challenged and working as janitor in a bakery. He goes through an operation to make him into an intelligent human being. Throughout the novel, Charlie evolves and learns from many experiences, each situation he deals with leads him into becoming a more complete person. He overcomes various obstacles and grasps
“Flowers for Algernon” follows a young man in his journey through scientific experimentation to (hopefully) cure him of his suspiciously low IQ. Written by Daniel Keyes in 1958, the story has become a somewhat classic piece of literature, captivating its’ readers in the intensely real, fascinating, yet somewhat agonizing tale of Charlie Gordon. The book started out as a short story published in a 1950s magazine. The “story” emotionally moved so many people that eventually, Daniel Keyes decided to
After reading the short story “Flowers for Algernon,” by Daniel Keyes, I was telling my brother Taber about the story because it really affected me due to the topic.” I said, “This book is so interesting to read, it really shows a perspective of life and how you shouldn’t take things for granted. Like your ability to read, write, teach and acknowledge different things. Even tests, society shouldn’t give tests or operations even if you're smart enough to make the decision on your own.” “I feel the
has rapidly increased throughout the years until today. For many years, scientists have been trying to discover different ways to categorize human intelligence in an orderly manner. This is a crucial part of the plot in the story Flowers for Algernon, written by Daniel Keyes. Charlie Gordon, the main character of the story, took part in an experiment to see if he would get much smarter. This is an experiment to see if a person’s specific type of intelligence can drastically improve. Further in the story
Flowers for Algernon: Comparison Flowers for algernon the book by Daniel Keyes, had more detail and better display of emotions/changes in charlie's life than the movie. This is proven because the book had been written in charlie's perspective, so you knew how he felt about what was going on around him. Another reason why is because there was a lot more symbolism in the book than the movie ever had for love. Charlie loved algernon with all his heart because he was just like him. So when he dies a
Daniel Keyes “Flowers for Algernon” exploits the change in relationships through the protagonist, Charlie Gordon. In the beginning of the novel Charlie is numb. His emotional and intellectual abilities have not developed. He believes his coworkers: Joe, Frank, and Gimpy are his true friends. Charlie Gordon does not feel intimacy physically or emotionally toward anyone and does not know much about his family. Relationships in Flowers for Algernon continue to manifest during the entire story line.
Why in the world would you even to begin thinking that? In “Flowers for Algernon” wrote by Daniel Keyes, this is some things I think in my view. I believe that Charlie and Algernon were true best friends. They were true friends because they had operations together they also did almost everything together. I don’t think that Charlie needed the operation. This can be clearly seen first of all when, Charlie keeps talking about Algernon and how they do mazes and operations together. It all seems weird
Flowers for Algernon Analysis Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, is a book about Charlie Gordon, a man with a cognitive disability, who was given the opportunity to undergo an operation to gain intelligence. The topic of whether or not he was better off having the surgery is very controversial. Charlie is better off with the surgery, even though he lost his intelligence in the end, because Charlie got to experience new things, he got to prove people wrong, and he fell in love. Charlie’s decision
Daniel Keyes expresses how it is human nature to want friends and to need love, he also shows how hard it is to find that friends are not always there for you when you need them most.In the short story "Flowers for Algernon" the author Daniel Keyes weaves the theme of friendship through the story. It is human nature to want friends, and Daniel Keyes expresses this need through the main character Charlie's interactions with his peers. Everyone wants friends or just someone they can rely on and talk
Be happy with who you are. This is a main theme in the short science fiction story, “Flowers For Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. In the story, Charlie has an operation as part of an experiment to triple his intelligence. The operation changes his life, and there are many joys and pains. Although Charlie was intelligent for some time, overall the operation was negative because it was temporary, he didn’t achieve his goal of “fitting in”, and he ended up lonelier than he was before. The operation was
If you had the chance to triple your I.Q, would you take it? Not knowing the consequences or how long this boost of intelligence will last? In the story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, the main character Charlie Gordon did. He took that chance. I agree that he should have had the operation. In my opinion the operation had both positive and negative effects. I think that Charlie should have had the operation because it benefited him. All Charlie wanted was to be smart, just like everyone