The Role Of Intelligence In Flowers For Algernon By Daniel Keyes

In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon, a mentally disabled man, is transformed and made intelligent through surgery. As the story develops the reader notices changes and new hardships that Charlie begins to face as a result of the life changing operation. In our society intelligence is seen as the golden ticket to every opportunity imaginable. What people fail to realize though is that it is not through easy access that intelligence is acquired but by experiencing and learning new ideas. Keyes, makes an absolute statement about the role of intelligence in human life, by showing that having immense intelligence is not always ideal because it forces one to realize not only how different they are from others in their society, but also how they are expected to behave with this intelligence.
After Charlie Gordon’s surgery he begins to realize what the society he lives in is truly like. An early example comes from when Charlie returns to the bakery he works at to continue his job. Upon arrival Charlie assumes that everything is fine, until he begins to interact with the other employees. Keyes writes, “everyone seems frightened of me. When I went over to Gimpy and tapped him on the shoulder to ask him something, he jumped up and dropped his coffee all over himself. He stares at me when he thinks I’m not looking. Nobody at the place talks to me any more, or kids around the way they used to.” Emphasis on the change in attitude of the employees is significant,