Flowers For Algernon

The theme of Flowers for Algernon explains how one's intelligence does not define a person's happiness. The main character Charlie is an ambitious and friendly developmentally disabled adult whose only wish is to be smart like his mother wanted him to be. A scientist did an experiment on a rat named Algernon and it made the rat smarter. So she chose Charlie to undergo the same test because of his willingness to be educated. The experiment worked on Charlie as well. Hes soon to realize that he has become an angry and unlikable guy who is unhappy. Meanwhile Algernon's intelligence starts to wear off and later Charlies does too. He becomes happier and back to his original state but he still embraces his experience.To support the
theme about intelligence doesn't bring happiness there are many hints that his old joyous self has been lost in his new smarter self. Charlie finds out that people had frequently taken advantage of him when he was in the state of retardation. This now makes Charlie grow suspicious of the people around him. He realizes that his so called friends were just using him to feed their twisted humor. Also he was fired from the job that he loved so dearly because his new intelligence made the workers around him feel inferior to Charlie. This sends him into a short depression. He had nobody to relate to because at this point Charlie's intelligence has already exceeded that of his teacher and the doctors. Before Charlie became smart even the simplest experiences in life were good enough for him. As a genius none of those things mattered to him. His mind was more complex he needed more and he wanted more. I share the same thoughts as Keyes and his opinion about being intelligent doesn't bring happiness. In my opinion if someone is not the smartest person they have a hidden talent that God gave them.