How Is Charlie Gordon A Static Character In Flowers For Algernon
Jordan Beischer June 14, 2012
Flowers for Algernon Essay
Charlie Gordon has a very low IQ at the beginning of Flowers for Algernon, and a very low IQ at the end. His thought process is exactly the same. Some people would say that Charlie is a static character, having undergone no major changes throughout the story. I would have to disagree and say that Charlie is in fact a developing character, in some ways more so than most developing characters in that he changes twice. Charlie at the beginning of the story has a very low IQ, then he becomes drastically smarter and it changes the way he sees things, but although eventually his intelligence disappears, he still learned valuable lessons. …show more content…
Charlie Gordon at the beginning of the story has a low IQ, He has difficulty reading and writing, and he attends a special class for disabled adults where his teacher is Miss Kinnian.
Charlie is so unintelligent that a lot of people make fun of him and whenever anyone messes up they say they “pulled a Charlie Gordon” the problem is that Charlie doesn't realize they are making fun of him and believes them all to be friends. Charlie works at a box factory and has a strong work ethic.
After the operation in which Charlie's intelligence is enhanced to be higher than even the doctor who enhanced it, his perspective changes. The change in spelling is immediate and he can type at 75 words per minute, learn many new languages, and most importantly he can tell that people make fun of him. He in fact becomes so intelligent that it reaches the same problem he had with being unintelligent, that he cannot relate to people on an everyday level. He looks down on Dr. Strauss for only knowing Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. He also loses his job at the
factory
The effects of the operation however are not permanent and Charlie slowly regresses back to his severely unintelligent state. He walks back into Miss Kinnian's class because he forgot he was no longer in it, he gets his job back at the factory but they are too kind to the point of pity. Charlie now realizes from before that he is being pitied and doesn't like it so he leaves the factory. I think this shows that Charlie has changed because he recognizes people making fun of him and recognizes pity and knows he wants none of it.
Charlie Gordon is a developing character. Although he may have the same intelligence at the beginning and the end. He now understands that he was being laughed at for being stupid when he didn't before, He also understands that his new acceptance is based on pity. In the end he goes to live alone because he knows it wont be the same again
Flowers for Algernon Essay
Charlie Gordon has a very low IQ at the beginning of Flowers for Algernon, and a very low IQ at the end. His thought process is exactly the same. Some people would say that Charlie is a static character, having undergone no major changes throughout the story. I would have to disagree and say that Charlie is in fact a developing character, in some ways more so than most developing characters in that he changes twice. Charlie at the beginning of the story has a very low IQ, then he becomes drastically smarter and it changes the way he sees things, but although eventually his intelligence disappears, he still learned valuable lessons. …show more content…
Charlie Gordon at the beginning of the story has a low IQ, He has difficulty reading and writing, and he attends a special class for disabled adults where his teacher is Miss Kinnian.
Charlie is so unintelligent that a lot of people make fun of him and whenever anyone messes up they say they “pulled a Charlie Gordon” the problem is that Charlie doesn't realize they are making fun of him and believes them all to be friends. Charlie works at a box factory and has a strong work ethic.
After the operation in which Charlie's intelligence is enhanced to be higher than even the doctor who enhanced it, his perspective changes. The change in spelling is immediate and he can type at 75 words per minute, learn many new languages, and most importantly he can tell that people make fun of him. He in fact becomes so intelligent that it reaches the same problem he had with being unintelligent, that he cannot relate to people on an everyday level. He looks down on Dr. Strauss for only knowing Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. He also loses his job at the
factory
The effects of the operation however are not permanent and Charlie slowly regresses back to his severely unintelligent state. He walks back into Miss Kinnian's class because he forgot he was no longer in it, he gets his job back at the factory but they are too kind to the point of pity. Charlie now realizes from before that he is being pitied and doesn't like it so he leaves the factory. I think this shows that Charlie has changed because he recognizes people making fun of him and recognizes pity and knows he wants none of it.
Charlie Gordon is a developing character. Although he may have the same intelligence at the beginning and the end. He now understands that he was being laughed at for being stupid when he didn't before, He also understands that his new acceptance is based on pity. In the end he goes to live alone because he knows it wont be the same again