Analysis Of Daniel Keye's 'Flowers For Algernon'
“To be, or not to be,- that is the question:” (Shakespeare's Hamlet). Whether someone will pay to be intelligent for a time, or stay within their inability to understand the world around them. “Flowers for Algernon” a science fiction story by Daniel Keyes, follows the events from the life of a man by the name of Charlie Gordon who had to answer this very question. He did not have the same mental capacity of the average person, so he had the opportunity to rapidly gain intelligence. Ultimately he chose to take an operation to make himself smarter. Son after that, he started to lose the intelligence just as fast as he gained it while simultaneously becoming more unstable. Charlie should not have done the surgery because there were many side effects,
…show more content…
Charlie is really smart, but is beginning to show the first symptoms of losing his intelligence. One of these symptoms is forgetfulness. “Sometimes, at night, I go out for a walk. Last night I couldn’t remember where I lived. A policeman took me home. I have the strange feeling that this has all happened to me before,” (Keyes 23). Charlie forgot a basic piece of knowledge that he would still know if he never took the surgery. His strange feeling is justified by the fact that a similar situation occurred just under three months ago, after he got drunk at a party. Charlie will start to deteriorate more and more, and soon he will have none of his previously gained knowledge left. Charlie is rapidly losing his intelligence and with that, he is becoming very emotionally unstable, another side effect of the surgery. One day, he picks up a book that he once enjoyed, “I remembered how great I thought John Milton was, but when I picked up Paradise Lost I couldn’t understand it at all. I got so angry I threw the book across the room,” (Keyes 23). Charlie is getting frustrated with himself for losing his intelligence so rapidly. He remembers how amazing he thought the book, a symbol of his intelligence, was and wanted to feel that enjoyment once again, in other words he misses being smart, but with his mental state getting worse, that feeling is unreachable. At this rate, Charlie will be back to the way he was in a matter of weeks. Therefore, Charlie was better off before he took the
Charlie is really smart, but is beginning to show the first symptoms of losing his intelligence. One of these symptoms is forgetfulness. “Sometimes, at night, I go out for a walk. Last night I couldn’t remember where I lived. A policeman took me home. I have the strange feeling that this has all happened to me before,” (Keyes 23). Charlie forgot a basic piece of knowledge that he would still know if he never took the surgery. His strange feeling is justified by the fact that a similar situation occurred just under three months ago, after he got drunk at a party. Charlie will start to deteriorate more and more, and soon he will have none of his previously gained knowledge left. Charlie is rapidly losing his intelligence and with that, he is becoming very emotionally unstable, another side effect of the surgery. One day, he picks up a book that he once enjoyed, “I remembered how great I thought John Milton was, but when I picked up Paradise Lost I couldn’t understand it at all. I got so angry I threw the book across the room,” (Keyes 23). Charlie is getting frustrated with himself for losing his intelligence so rapidly. He remembers how amazing he thought the book, a symbol of his intelligence, was and wanted to feel that enjoyment once again, in other words he misses being smart, but with his mental state getting worse, that feeling is unreachable. At this rate, Charlie will be back to the way he was in a matter of weeks. Therefore, Charlie was better off before he took the