Flowers for Algernon

Flowers for Algernon “If your smart you can have lots of frends to talk to you and you never get lonely by yourself all the time” (pg.13). This ungrammatical sentence was stated by a man who strove for acceptance through intelligence, only to find that his genius was the foundation for his loneliness. It was worse for Charlie to become what he has always wanted to be and feel alone, rather than not know what he was and be happy due to his relationship with women, doctors, and family. The one thing Charlie’s remarkable IQ of 185 did not perceive was the bliss of ignorance.
In addition, Charlie embarked on troublesome romances that had potential without him sacrificing who he was. Charlie’s growth with women initiated from the warmth he sensed with Alice Kinnian. Alice was always somebody Charlie could turn to for advice, before his operation and again at the onset when he was still developing knowledge. Therefore, when Charlie’s intelligence matured he realized his love for her. At first Alice asserted that they keep their relationship professional, but later found herself intimate with him on several occasions. Although at each approach Charlie felt the “Other Charlie”, the one who existed before the surgery, watching him through a window. Memories of his mother whipping him for sexual urges haunted him from having sex with Alice. This is due to the fact that the operation left Charlie emotionally an adolescent. The surgery did not mentally erase the “Other Charlie’ from the new one’s mind, creating complications for their relationship. With Alice on a pedestal, Charlie fulfills his sexual frustrations with a woman, Fay Lillman who lives across the hall, in hopes of being experienced for Alice. The “Other Charlie” does not infringe on his intimacy with Fay because Charlie does not love her. Although in efforts to be with Alice, Charlie pictures Fay when he is close with Alice to fool the “Other Charlie”, although his guilt strikes back at him and once again