Was Flowers For Algernon: Was Charlie Better Off Before Or After The Surgery?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like making yourself smarter and/or increase your ability to learn? In the story “Flowers for Algernon”, a 37 year old man named Charlie Gordon wasn’t the smartest person in the world but, he was able to function and maintain a job. Charlie had an I.Q. of 68 before being approached by Dr.Nemur and Dr.Strauss. They wanted him undergo a surgery that would triple his I.Q. Charlie had the surgery and became, at one point, the smartest man in the world with an I.Q. approaching 210. After this he began to lose the intelligence, knowledge, and emotions he just recently gained. This begs the question, should Charlie have had the surgery. Charlie, in most minds, was right for having the surgery, it not only gave him genius level intelligence, but allowed him to make great leaps in science and technology.

An experience that changes Charlie is when Charlie’s father dies. This experience changes him when he says, “When the undertakers came to wheel my father’s lifeless body out to the hearse, it was as if they took my childhood with them. Like other boys, I still wore ‘Knickerbockers’ in the schoolyard. I played ‘queenies’ and marbles too. But once the lessons were over, I returned home and stepped into the long pants of adulthood. I tell you I got so confused sometimes I didn’t know who it was I was supposed to be.” (p.28) Charlie needed to become an adult because his father passed away was a big inspiration for him and no one in his family can take that responsibility but he doesn’t know if he is still a child or an adult.

As Collinsdictionary.com defines, mental disability is a general handicap, resulting directly or indirectly from injury to the brain or from abnormal neurological development. Charlie was a mentally disabled adult who faced many challenges throughout his life, which impacted him in spelling, grammar, memory, ability to make friends, and much more. In Daniel Keyes’s science fiction short story, “Flowers for Algernon,” Charlie Gordon should not have had the operations to increase his IQ. After getting the surgery, many positive aspects of his life disappeared, and shortly after, caused his life to take a turn down the wrong road. Charlie before he had the surgery was much better than his life afterwards.

Charlie Gordon was better off after the surgery more then before. He was better off because Charlie got to learn harder words and his vocabulary developed. He learned how to read at a faster pace then before, he learned who his true friends were and got some lost memories back. Charlie was glad in the end that he got to see a whole different view of life. In the end, it also shows that he would like to do it again if he could.

Entering a rocket, risking life, exhilarating adventures waiting. Travelling to the moon, to the endless possibilities in outer space, just like what 37 year old Charlie Gordon feels in the science fiction short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. He has a surgery, risking his life. There are highs and lows waiting for him the minute the surgery is complete. The operation is meant to increase his intelligence and with intelligence he can touch the sky. With education, there are endless possibilities. In the story, Charlie does not know how to read, write, or spell. After his surgery, he meets

Ethics are referred to as the right and wrong things a human being does. They include what society thinks is good and bad. Secondly, ethics are referred to as the study and production of a person's ethical quality. Charlie Gordon did not have the pleasure to be treated with dignified ethics. Charlie was a man young aged at thirty-seven with an IQ score of sixty-eight. All he wanted was to be intelligent. Charlie finally got this opportunity when two doctors decided he was a perfect candidate for a surgery that would greatly improve his intelligence. However, Charlie Gordon's doctors did not act ethically when they performed the surgery

“ I don’t feel any smarter” this is what Charlie said about a week after he got the surgery to make him smarter. He has many pros and cons about getting his surgery. In this essay I have chosen to stay on the more positive side and put the benefits of Charlie’s surgery. Charlie had many positive effects of the surgery, however at certain times there were cons, but most of the time there were pros. For example, he got to experience what it was like to be smart, and have feelings for someone emotionally.

Mr. Donnegan thought it was for the best to let Charlie go. There was a petition going around to get Charlie fired. There was 840 names on the petition and Charlie noticed that a certain person didn’t sign it, Fanny Girden. Charlie got upset when Fanny questioned him on how he got so smart so fast. He got angry because she was saying how it wasn’t possible for it to happen so quickly and Charlie just wanted to prove her wrong. On page 366, Fanny says, “that I don’t think there’s something mighty strange about you, Charlie. Them changed. I don’t know. You used to be a good, dependable, ordinary man-- not too bright maybe, but honest. Who knows what you done to yourself to get so smart all of a sudden. Like everybody around here’s been saying, Charlie, it’s not right.” Charlie’s response to that was, “But how can you say that, Fanny? What’s wrong with a man becoming intelligent and wanting to acquire knowledge and understanding of the world around him?”Charlie was disappointed in Fanny when she said that it wasn’t very possible for Charlie to become smart that quickly. This is another very important event that happens in this story because Charlie tries to change himself to fit in and then realizes that’s not what matters. What matters is that he’s happy and it doesn’t matter what other people

Charlie Gordon's doctors acted ethically when they performed the surgery to make him smarter. Charlie Gordon is 37 and he isn't the smartest person in the world he was a IQ of 65. Also Charlie has a mind of a five year old. So Charlie goes to night classes to get smarter. So then Charlie's teacher Miss. Kinnian admitted him to Doctor Nemur, Doctor Strauss. When the doctors found out about Charlie they wanted to work with him right away because they wanted to make him smarter.But first they wanted to test Charlie before they started to test on him. Charlie was so excited because the doctors were going to do the operation on him.So then have been experiencing different ways to make Charlie smarter.

Flowers for Algernon explores themes of ethical dilemmas in scientific research. Charlie Gordon is the first human to undergo an experimental operation to triple his IQ from 68 to 204. His mental capacities dramatically increase, but the consequences are drastic when the operation fails and he regresses. Under Charlie’s circumstances, the operation was unethical.

Imagine that you had an IQ of 68. Life would be really hard, people would make fun of you or pity you. But you have a chance to have a surgery that would triple your IQ. But there would be a risk that you could die. Would you do it? Flowers for Algernon is a story about a guy named Charlie Gordon, who has an iq of 68 he also had the chance to have his IQ tripled. He had a choice either becomes smart or stay the way he is. I think that Charlie should have the surgery because of these 3 reasons, he is super smart, he realizes a lot more things in life , and that he can power through depression.

The novel Flowers for Algernon written by Daniel Keyes effectively explores the complex human experiences of disability and the impact that it has on individuals and society through its three major themes; Self-realisation , Alienation and loneliness and treatment of the mentally disabled by society. Through these themes this response will highlight the difficulties experienced by people with disabilities and the people in their lives.

Some people argue that in the story , ¨Flowers for Algernon¨ - a science fiction novel by Daniel Keyes - Charlie should not have gotten the operation . This Operation caused Charlie to become intelligent , but lose it later on . Even though it wasn’t all great , there were actually many positive things about it , even if he didn’t keep his intelligence . For one , Charlie had always wanted to be smart . He may not have stayed smart , but he got to know what it was like , and it was still a good experience . He learned how to read and write , figured out how to line up the machines at the factory , even learned new languages . And , he was not only able to help with the experiment by getting the operation , but he also made a major scientific

Would it be worse to have an IQ of 204 or 68? Would it be worse to know everything but not be able to talk with anyone without frustration or know nothing but not be able to talk of anything more complex than third grade level? In the short science fiction story, “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon with an IQ of 68 and has a difficult time learning anything as simple as reading or writing is given the option to triple his intelligence with a suspicious surgery. Charlie, ignorant of the suspicion or risk that comes with this surgery is desperate to become intelligent as it is his only wish and nothing is more important to him. His teacher, Miss Kinnian recommend him for the surgery out of anyone in the class due to his egre and positive outlook on intelligence. However, after the surgery, Charlie finds intelligence was a nice treat but was far from an importance in life and only took him away from what truly mattered. One could believe Charlie was wrong to undergo the surgery because of the side effects that came with the surgery such as physical and emotional instability, and amnesia, the depresion it came with, and how he lost all of his friends and loved ones with his extreme intelligence.

There is an important theme in the story Flowers for Algernon By Daniel Keyes. It is a fiction novel about a thirty year old man who has been battling to overcome an intellectual deficit all of his life and has an opportunity to become more intelligent than he ever had imagined through an experimental operation. He takes the opportunity and in a few weeks he becomes a genius for a short time before his itelligence receded as fast as it increased. The author includes many important themes throughout the passage. Daniel Keyes develops the theme that intelligence doesn’t affect who you truly are through Charlie’s experiences both before and after the operation.