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How Does Daniel Keyes Use Direct Characterization In Flowers For Algernon

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The story, "Flowers for Algernon", by Daniel Keyes, articulates a vacuous man's journey as he undergoes an operation which will lead him to being a genius. Charlie Gordon was born mentally challenged, but precedes an honest, kind, and simple mien. Throughout his journey, Charlie saw the world in a different view as his intelligence increases, but it had drew a wedge between him and the world. As a man who no longer owns the enjoyment of life, Charlie turned into a somber loner. Daniel Keyes used this story to convey that people are each created beautifully and uniquely; intrusions will only take away the arcane happiness inside life's marrow.

Charlie's childish naiveté made him a target for people to laugh at. Nevertheless, he didn't know the sophistication of people's words and was simply enjoying tangible things. "Everybody laughed and we had a good time...I don't know what that means, but everyone likes me and we have fun." (pg. …show more content…

Strauss and Dr. Nemur worked as cunning opportunists who intervened Charlie's life just to prove their hypothesis. In their specialization of psychology, they decided to perform an operation on Charlie to improve his intelligence. However, the operation had changed people around Charlie. He said, "Everybody seems to be frightened of me...People don't talk to me much anymore or kid around the way they used to. It makes the job kind of lonely." (pg. 232, C2, paragraph 4&5). Although before the operation people laugh at Charlie, but in his eyes they're being friendly. While after the operation people tend to avoid contact with him. Earlier in the story, Daniel Keyes foreshadowed Charlie after the operation using the book "Robinson Crusoe". Charlie showed sympathy from Crusoe as he wrote, "Only I feel sorry because he's all alone and has no friends...I hope he gets a friend and not be lonely. "(pg.229, C2, paragraph 1).Therefore, it's better to leave Charlie as he was before than to intervene and take his friends

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