Flowers For Algernon Analysis

Flowers for Algernon is a story that proves that one who changes themself for someone else, will only make their life worse. In various journal entries, Daniel Keyes wrote in the point of view of the main character, Charlie Gordon, to show the thought process behind his actions to change himself. It goes through the process in which Charlie undergoes experimental brain surgery to become intelligent and raise his IQ by 300 percent. In Flowers For Algernon, Daniel Keyes presents the idea that one should always stay true to one’s self, no matter how difficult life can get because the critics in the world will never be satisfied for who someone truly is.
No matter what his IQ was, Charlie’s coworkers never appreciated him for who he was. On March 25th, a couple of days after the surgery, Charlie was writing about his “friends”. He wrote, “Sometimes somebody will say hey at Joe or Frank or George he really pulled a Charlie Gordon. I dont know why they that but they always laff.” (Keyes 354) Charlie’s pursuit of intelligence was an attempt to become as smart as his coworkers and friends. Because the author, Daniel Keyes, uses the journal format, it allows the reader to understand concepts that the main character doesn’t. The statement previously quoted shows that Charlie’s coworkers and friends are actually making fun of him without him realizing it. Then later in the story on March 25th, he was recovering from a night out with his friends, and he wrote, “I didn’t know what to do