...“Miss Kinnian says maybe they can make me smart. I want to be smart.” (Keyes, 53) Is what Charlie Gordon tells the readers as he is writing in his progress report. In the story “Flowers For Algernon,” written by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon has an IQ of 68. He doesn’t spell very well and really tries as hard as he can to fix that. There is an operation that helps him and triples his IQ, but there are many side effects. He will eventually die of brain deterioration which ultimately makes him end up moving away so that his teacher, Miss Kinnian, and the doctors don’t feel sad. I really do not think Charlie should have gotten the operation. First and foremost, he will eventually die of brain deterioration. After Charlie triples his IQ, he starts some more research about his operation and the mouse they did it on first, Algernon. After a while, Algernon dies. Charlie gets a little suspicious and does an autopsy. He finds out that he died because of the operation and he lost a lot of brain mass. “Dissection shows that my predictions were right. His brain had decreased in weight and there was a general smoothing out of cerebral convolutions as well as deepening and broadening or brain fissures. I guess the same thing is or will soon be happening to me.” (Keyes, 80) He is realizing that his brain is doing the same thing....
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...In the book Flowers For Algernon, I think Charlie Gordon would be better before surgery rather than typically after At the end of the book (after surgery) Charlie basically lost his mind, almost literally. “Please...please do not let me forget how to read and wright…”(pg.243). He forgot almost everything he did and he also lost the knowledge of different languages, his spelling and writing abilities as well. He refused to see anyone and only after he told the women he loved to get away from him and told her he did not lover her any more, did he only then decide to get a job. “Miss Kinnian came to the door but I said go away I don't want to see you.” (pg.243). Before surgery he was his paying rent hanging out with his friends, “last night...
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...Flowers for Algernon (Writing Prompt) Overall, Charlie Gordon’s intelligence improved but his Life took upon a terrible turn. Now he is solemnly stating how he regrets the operation and that it was the biggest mistake of his life. Now because of his grasp on this deadly operation there is a possibility for him to die. When he starts to notice the aftermath signs of the operation than he says, “ I have already begun to notice signs of emotional instability and forgetfulness, the first symptoms of the burnout.” Charlie Gordon’s brain is already deteriorating back to where it once was though it won’t just stop there. His brain will keep reducing in size which is sure to cause traumatic damage. Due to the death of Algernon who went through the same operation; the reader can guess what will happen to Charlie Gordon in the future. As he is starting to catch a hold of the symptoms of his old self and the things he did....
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...The story “Flowers for Algernon” is based on the research of intellect and Charlie Gordon was the character. Charlie had an IQ of 68. To strengthen his I.Q. and to obtain honor and notoriety for their work, doctors performed an operation on Charlie that heightened his I.Q., but it was short-lived. The first detail that shows Charlie’s advancement is told in Progress Report 2 - March 6th, “I had a test today. I think I failed it and I think that they maybe won’t use me.”, meaning he accepts that he is not performing well and reaching to the acceptance he has more than failed. The second detail is told in Progress Report 11- April 28th, “You’ve got to be a little patient. You’re accomplishing in days and weeks what takes normal people to do...
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...of moral principles or beliefs. Ethics are the standards known as right and wrong, and help to guide humans on what they consider to be right and wrong. The story "Flowers for Algernon" is about a thirty two year old man named, Charlie Gordon. Charlie has an IQ of 68, and undergoes a surgery to triple his IQ. Charlie Gordon's doctors did not act ethically when they performed the surgery to make him smarter. Charlie's doctors neglected to inform him of all of the risks involved. The doctors neglected to inform Charlie that his improved IQ could not be permanent, or even that his life would not be the same after the surgery. Charlie was very happy when his IQ got better, but did not seem to understand why his IQ returned to its previous level. One of the first indications that his IQ could return to its previous level, was when Algernon's IQ returned to is original level. According to the article about the five steps to ethical decision making, step one is to gather all of the facts. If Charlie's doctors had done adequate research, they should have found that the results are not always permanent, and quickly...
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...Charlie Gordon is the protagonist in the short story “Flowers of Algernon,” written by Daniel Keyes. He is a 37 year old with a mental disability and an IQ of 68. Charlie works as a janitor and although he has quite a low IQ, he has a good attitude about changing his life, and to do whatever it takes for him to get smarter. Charlie goes to Miss Kinnian’s class for slow adults to get better at spelling and writing and potentially get smarter. Miss Kinnian teaches literacy skills to mentally retarded adults because she believes that being mentally disabled doesn’t make you less of a Human. Charlie and Miss Kinnian start out the story with a teacher-student relationship, but soon, it becomes a little more than back, but as the story reaches it’s...
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...Charlie Gordon is the protagonist of “Flowers for Algernon”, which is written by Daniel Keyes. He is a mentally retarded man who volunteers to go through a experimental brain operation. It was supposedly going to make him a genius. Charlie is determined to become an astute man, but lots of obstacles get in his way. Charlie is a static character since his spelling, low intelligence level, and his belief in superstitions has stayed the same all through the story. His spelling in the beginning of the story is comparable to his spelling in the end. It is seen through his progress reports. His spelling was terrible at the beginning of the story since he has an IQ, an intelligence quotient, of sixty eight. This number is lower than the IQ of an average person, so a bunch of things in his daily life are affected, such as his ability to learn, and remember things. Having a hard time to learn means that Charlie could not remember how to spell. The quote, “I think I faled it”, is a segment from the beginning of the story, proving his spelling skills are not too strong. His not too strong spelling skills still move on towards the end of the story....
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...The Wrong Choice “Charlie Gordon “wants to be smart.” His is a passion which leads to risk greatly and achieve greatly--at great cost.” (“CAN HUMAN INTELLIGENCE BE INCREASED?”). Charlie Gordon from the story Flowers for Algernon had a lifelong goal to be smart, so he decides to take part in an intelligence-altering surgery. Due to the operation, his IQ increases to 208, but this comes with side effects and death. In the story he competes with a mouse named Algernon, later they become friends. The doctors in the story were Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur, and the lab worker's name was Burt. In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, doctors Strauss and Nemur made the wrong choice by selecting innocent Charlie Gordon for the intelligence-altering surgery. Dr. Strauss...
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...Charlie Gordon is a gentle, happy, thirty-two-year-old with an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 68. For seventeen years, he has worked at Donner’s Bakery, a job his Uncle Herman found for him. He also attends evening classes at the Beekman College Center for Retarded Adults to learn to read and write. His teacher, Alice Kinnian, recommends him for a research experiment on intelligence conducted by Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur. This experiment, funded by the Welberg Foundation, has already been successful on a white lab mouse named Algernon, so the researchers are ready for a human participant. Professor Nemur tells Charlie to keep a journal in the form of progress reports for the experiment. The first such “progris riport,” dated in early March, documents Charlie’s illiteracy and strong hope to be selected for the “operashun.” Charlie worries that he will fail the personality and intelligence tests, especially after Algernon beats him when they compete in solving puzzles. He also describes, in a childlike manner, his desire to increase his intelligence to participate fully in discussions and make more friends. Despite Professor Nemur’s reservations, Charlie is selected to undergo neurosurgery along with enzyme and hormone treatments intended to triple his intelligence. He is...
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...Flowers for Algernon -Mikkel Bæk Rasmussen The way people connect by emotions and similarities, show us the level of intelligence the human race have in comparison to animals. We connect in ways that no other living species does and have time and time again proved that we are the most technical gifted race. But some people aren't as lucky. Some people are born with disabilities, that makes it impossible to understand and communicate normally with other human beings. Should we try and do something about that? or continue to ignore the problem? Charlie Gordon is 37 years old and he's working as a janitor. Charlie has an IQ of 68, which basically means that he is a retard. Because of this, he's having a huge issue understanding the social behavior of other people. He goes to Beekman College Center which is a school for mentally retarded adults. It is here, he met miss Kinnian, his teacher. Miss Kinnian advised Charlie to apply as a test person for some medical research which should make him smarter. It's here that Charlie meets Dr. Nemur and Professor Strauss who is going to perform his surgery. He starts taking a lot of tests, where he is feeling very insecure, because he keeps failing them, what he doesn't know is that failing the tests is what got him in. The tests keeps on coming, and he is competing against a mouse called Algernon, which had gotten the same surgery as Charlie. Suddenly Charlie shows progress by beating Algernon for the first time, and from that point...
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...Flowers for Algernon Rita Ghatourey, a famous Indian writer, once said “I do not exist to impress the world. I exist to live my life in a way that will make me happy.” Flowers for Algernon is a story, in which a man by the name of Charlie Gordon tries to change to impress the world. After reading Flowers for Algernon, one can see that Charlie Gordon was far better off before the surgery. He was happier, content with his job, and he had friends. He was living in a way that made him happy. In this story, Charlie Gordon is a man with very low IQ. He is chosen for an experimental surgery that can greatly increase his intelligence. Before the surgery, Charlie’s IQ is 68. He is living in his own apartment, going to night school to better himself, and is working as a janitor at Donnegan’s factory. Charlie has guys that he thinks are his friends. While he longs to be smarter, he is for the most part happy. After the surgery, Charlie slowly begins to get smarter; starts seeing things differently. He now notices that Ms. Kinnean, his night school teacher, is his age, and that she is very pretty. This was something he hadn't noticed before. He also realizes that the guys that he thought were his friends, are not. They make fun of him and laugh at his expense. Charlie’s intelligence goes from being inferior to greatly superior. In this story, there is character who is similar to Charlie, his name is Algernon. Algernon is a mouse who ...
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...I believe it was a good thing that Charlie Gordon had the operation to triple his I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient). Charlie looked forward to the positive outcomes of the operation. On page 23 Charlie says, “When I become intelligent like Dr. Strauss says, with three times mt I.Q. of of 68, then maybe I’ll be like everyone else and people will like me and be friendly”. What he said became true. As he got smarter more people were respecting him and treating him like an adult. After the surgery he was not the joke at the bakery anymore. Charlie’s intelligence did not last very long but he was proud of accomplishing his goals. “I beat Algernon!”, Charlie said on page 319. Charlie got excited when he realized the operation was starting to give...
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...story “Flowers for Algernon” is about a boy named charlie gordon who was chosen to be involved in an experimental surgery that was said to triple his intelligence. the reason that he was selected for this is because he has an extremely low IQ level. although he faces many hardships throughout the story, he is determined to succeed. That is why I think that the theme of the story is that if you put your mind to something, you can accomplish anything. First, at the beginning of the story, charlie is just an average person with an immense desire to become smart. He was going to school after work every night and his teacher, Mrs. Kinnian said that he is one of the most hard working students in her class. In the story when charlie first takes the Rorschach test, the tester asks...
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...Were Charlie Gordons doctors ethical? Ethics are the reasons for a persons or groups actions. Ethics are the reasons why people do the things they do. Charlie Gordon is a 37-year-old man with an I.Q. of 68. Charlie wants to have this surgery done to him that will supposedly make him much smarter. The doctors that are behind the surgery did not prepare the surgery ethically. Charlie Gordons doctors did not act ethically when preparing for the surgery. The doctors did the surgery to a mouse named Algernon. In order to find the results of the surgery they gave Algernon tests to do. Animals are not humans, they do not have the same brain as us, so even if it works on Algernon, they would have no proof that it works on humans. Even...
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...“ HARRY you're a hero! ” Lady 2 said Charlie was faced with a difficult situation in his search for identity, with having tests in his life which taught him something about life. He was on his search for identity when he lost his memory, when he saw the mentally challenged boy, and when Algernon died. First, he was on his search for identity when he started to lose his memory. Charlie is on a search for his identity as the author states on page 219, “I am forgetting things I have...
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