The Operation Effect on Charlie Intelligence means having or showing intelligence, especially of a high level. Charlie is a thirty-seven-year-old man who was given an opportunity to increase his intelligence from an IQ of sixty-two to two hundred. A science fiction short story, “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, was about a man named Charlie who had an operation to improve his intelligence and why it was necessary for him to have the surgery. Charlie, before the operation, could not understand other people. After the operation, he became closer to the characters in his journal, and he was also able to use his skills and intelligence. The operation affected Charlie in many ways because he use to misunderstand others when he was spoken …show more content…
Charlie worked at a factory and saved the factory ten thousand dollars of work and made the products more efficient. He changed the way the machines are set up in the factory that saves them thousands of dollars and required less work. Charlie understood the concept of the factories and was able to make improvements. The operation was supposed to increase Charlie’s IQ and that is what he was hoping would happen. Charlie’s spelling and grammar improves throughout his progress reports and his IQ dramatically improved from a sixty-eight to two hundred. Charlie wanted to become smart and improve his English after the surgery and that is exactly what happened. Charlie is so fascinated with how the procedure on the brain worked that he wanted to improve the way they did the intelligence surgery. Charlie then discovered new knowledge of the function and the increase of human intelligence. Charlie's wisdom was so high, he was able to uncover important discoveries of the complex human mind. The procedure affected Charlie and increased his skills and brilliance.
In conclusion, the science fiction short story by Daniel Keyes “Flowers for Algernon” tells how Charlie needed the operation, and is better off with the operation than without it. Before the surgery, Charlie struggled greatly communicating
Is becoming smart always better than staying dumb? After considering Charlie’s situation, I have decided that the answer to this question is no. Charlie is the main character in the science fiction story Flowers for Algernon written by Daniel Keyes. In the book, Charlie is a 37 year old man who has an I.Q. of 68 and is on a mission to become smart. When the opportunity comes for him to participate in an experiment for an operation that can triple his I.Q., he willingly takes it. It turns out that the operation only grants a temporary intelligence boost, and Charlie experiences high intelligence only to have it start deteriorating. I think that Charlie was wrong to have the operation that temporarily made him smart.
After the surgery, Charlie learned that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and that many of his old friends wouldn’t see the same person in him. Charlie suddenly had to experience drastic changes in his lifestyle, and the story revolves around these complications. Charlie’s story began with the surgery, the biggest decision he made in his life. Although he was a guinea pig during the procedure, he wasn’t worried at all about the surgery, but rather on becoming smart as fast as he could. Supposedly these doctors were doing Charlie the greatest favor he would ever receive, and he was so eager to learn as much as he could.
Because of this operation, Charlie gained intelligence topping even the doctors and having a greater understanding of everything around him. Another great example is that he could show all of his co-workers at work how much he cared about what they think of him. The final example is the strongest in my opinion because of all the friends he gained in the process. So in conclusion, I think Charlie made the right decision in trying and getting the operation done to make him
As a result of the operations, Charlie gains the experience of what it is like to be intelligent. Therefore, he sees the world as it is. “Only a short time ago, I learned that people laughed at me. Now I can see that unknowingly I joined them in laughing at myself. This hurts most of all” (76.) He can now truly understand how the outside world functions and how he is truly treated.
The only positive effects of the intellectual growth that one can gain is to be able to experience what the concrete definition was like in one’s own personal experience. Yet the negative effects of the operation, which were great, was the intellectual and emotional growth colliding.
Surprisingly, intelligence is not defined as a single ability, but by a combination of related abilities. For instance, a savant that discerns numbers different than the average human, and uses those numbers to connect with others is an unconventional show of intelligence. And there are even infographics that people design, and dedicate time and effort into, showing their thoughts on intelligence. Lastly, there have been articles written about intelligence that layout the author’s thoughts on how intelligence should be viewed. While some people label intelligence as academic skills, an individual can actually develop many different forms of intelligences, outside of academics.
In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie is oblivious before the surgery about what happens around him, and how
Have you ever questioned what intelligent was? Many people wish they could be more intelligent. If you could change your intelligence, would you? In the short story “Flowers For Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, the main character, Charlie Gordon, was given the opportunity to undergo an operation that increases his low IQ for a short period of time. Charlie made the decision to go through with the operation in order to experience a more intellectual life; Charlie had always wanted to be smarter, and this was his chance to live out his dream. Charlie’s life and struggles throughout “Flowers for Algernon” can be equated to the plot of “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato. As we follow the escapee prisoner in “The Allegory of the Cave” we realize that
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.
Was Charlie better off without the operation? Through Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes sends an crucial message to society that man should never tamper with human intelligence or else the outcome can be personally devastating. After Charlie's operation, he felt isolated and lonesome, change in personality made him edgy around people or (lack social skills), and suffered from traumas due to past memories.
Although it is helpful in some situations, being smart can be very challenging. In Flowers for Algernon for example, Charlie becomes less content with life as his IQ is increased. He begins to overthink everything, making him slightly paranoid. According to Anna LeMind, “Intelligent, deep thinking individuals often analyze themselves and their own behavior in such a rigorous manner like if they are intentionally seeking out things to blame themselves for.” This is true for many intelligent or even talented individuals such as Meryl Streep, Ellen DeGeneres, Charles Dickens, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Hawking, and of course, Charlie Gordon. In his case, Charlie’s intelligence comes with some arrogance. This arrogance gives Charlie very high expectations of himself, leading to a bit of anxiety when he can’t live up to those standards. For example, when Charlie catches his coworker Gimpy stealing money from the bakery, he simply cannot decide whether or not to tell his boss. Because Charlie happens to be a poor decision maker, he makes himself miserable trying to fix his problem. This issue could have been avoided altogether if it had happened prior to the surgery, and Charlie couldn’t overthink it. Intelligence can unfortunately come with some self-trust
In the short story Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, a thirty-seven-year-old man named Charlie Gordon has a low intelligence level. Charlie is chosen for an operation(after taking many tests) that could increase his intelligence level. Algernon(a white mouse) had the same operation done on him. The first test Algernon has to run through a maze while Charlie does one on paper. When Charlie loses to Algernon, he begs for the operation. After Charlie has his operation, he becomes insanely smart and can beat Algernon without even trying. Months after the operation things start to go downhill for Charlie and Algernon. They both experience a decrease in their intelligence level and show aggressive actions. Weeks later Algernon dies because of a brain shrinkage. Charlie is now worried about his fate so he publishes the experiment(The Algernon-Gordon effect) which shows how the operation fails. After the publication, Charlie moves to
Dictionaries add still more definitions: Funk & Wagnall’s defines intelligence as “The faculty of perceiving and comprehending meaning; mental quickness; active intellect; understanding” , while Webster’s defines it as “the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations; the skilled use of reason.” While some of these definitions are similar, none of them are exactly the same.
Intelligence by definition is “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). However, many psychologists argue that there is no standard definition of ‘intelligence’, and there have been many different theories over time as psychologists try to find better ways to define this concept (Boundless 2013). While some believe in a single, general intelligence, others believe that intelligence involves multiple abilities and skills. Another largely debated concept is whether intelligence is genetically determined and fixed, or whether is it open to change, through learning and environmental influence. This is commonly known as the nature vs. nurture debate.
As said in a famous quote above by Wechsler, intelligence refers to the ability to understand, act, interpret, predict the future, achieve and handle relationships, information, concepts, and abstract symbols. It is a commonly used word to express and show progress beyond the present. It is a process of cognition. “Cognition refers to how we acquire, store, retrieve, and use knowledge” (Matlin, 1996). All the basic processes such as learning, perception, memory, concept formation, thinking, reasoning, problem solving, decision-making, and creativity are related terms to the word intelligence. One’s intelligence is expressed through his or her intellectual activities, which can be measured formally or informally. Informal assessment of one’s intellectual activities can be made from some acts, such as simple puzzle solutions, filling up a gap, answering correctly with short problems, simple numerical abilities, explain a concept, and adaption to a novel situation. It is an abstract concept. It cannot be observed. It can be estimated only through one’s performance on tests or re-life situations. The concept of intelligence has terms like, emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, practical intelligence, social intelligence, vocal intelligence, and musical intelligence. There are so many ways to determine what the word intelligence means, but they all come to the same conclusion and