Analysis Of Flowers For Algernon By Daniel Keyes

Imagine how life would be if you had an IQ of 68. What challenges would have to be faced in everyday life that you wouldn't have to now? In the story “Flowers for Algernon” written by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon chose to participate in an operation to make him smarter. Throughout the story, Charlie progressively gains more and more knowledge due to this treatment. Charlie finally escapes being trapped in the state of oblivion and now knows more than that average person. Obviously, that operation change him in many ways. Most of those changes were for the better. Charlie was correct to make the decision of choosing to let the doctors perform the operation on him.

One piece of evidence that support this claim is that in the story Charlie said this: “I told her I didn't want to be smart anymore. Thats not true.” (Keyes, 84) This quote from the text proves that Charlie didn't want to go back to the time when people would laugh at him and call him names just because of his level of intelligence. Charlie just wants to remain thinking, speaking, and writing in intellectual ways because he was happy that way. He enjoyed being able to think at the level he was thinking at at the peak of his intelligence. Previously, he never had the capability of thinking past about a third grade level so when he finally did, it gave him
confidence that he never had before.

Secondly, he discovered and learned a lot of things that he would have never even thought of before the operation. For example, on the social side of things, he discovered what people really thought of him. “This day was good for me. Seeing the past more clearly, I have decided to use my knowledge and skills to work in the field of increasing human intelligence levels.” (Keyes, 76) Charlie says this after he sees a boy who is mentally retarded, like himself in the past, dropping dishes on accident at work. All the men in the room start shouting names and laughing at the boy and Charlie, absentmindedly, joins them. After, he catches himself doing this, he feels ashamed. Going through this experience was an eye-opener for Charlie. This showed him exactly how he was treated pre-operation. It showed him the horrors of society and that he never really had friends, he just thought he did. Later in the story, it goes on to explain how he felt some relief figuring this out. Along with these, he also learned correct spelling and grammar, which is crucial and also what he wanted in the first place.

Finally, having the operation proved to Charlie that there is a lot more to life than what he originally thought, such as love.
In the story, he is assigned a teacher named Miss Kinnian. When he finally matures a bit after the operation, he finds out that he has feelings for her. “The thought leaving her behind made me sad. I'm in love with Miss Kinnian.” (Keyes, 71) This piece from the text shows that Charlie is happy spending time with Miss Kinnian. Without the treatment, he would have never discovered these feelings. Prior, he was like a four year old boy in terms of love. Charlie had no idea what it was because he wasn't at all
mature.

All the evidence clearly points out that Charlie made no mistake in allowing the doctors to experiment on him. He receives many other thing out of doing this other than just intelligence. He also received happiness and opportunities that he didn't get to experience before hand. This was a crucial experience for him. Charlie learned a lot of lessons throughout this story due to the operation and it shouldn't be any other way.