Charlie Gordon Essay
Charlie Gordon Essay
In the story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, the main character, Charlie Gordon, is very dynamic. He has to undergo many changes throughout the story, some of them were advantageous, but some of them were unfortunate. Originally he starts out as a man with an IQ of around 70, but after an operation he acquires a higher level of intellectuality. Both good and bad results arose out of this. For example, Charlie used to be naïve, unintelligent, and ignorantly blissful. However, that was before his operation. Afterwards he gains new insights about his old life, writes a beneficial paper to society, but becomes disconsolate. And although he reverts to his old self again he doesn’t become hostile towards others. Through all of his misfortune he still has the determination to try to get smart again, and is noble enough to leave everyone he knows when he realizes that his presence is hurting them. Before the operation Charlie was made fun of at the factory he worked at. His co-workers were constantly tantalizing him because they knew he couldn’t understand what they were doing. Co-workers were openly flagrant towards him for example, in progress report 8 ; Mr. Donnegan accused Ernie of being a “Charlie Gordon” when he lost a package. Charlie’s thought was, “I dont understand why he said that. I never lost any package (page 4).” Charlie is not intelligent enough to know that his name is being used as a derogatory term. However, with his newfound knowledge he was able to stand up for another mentally disabled person. On May 20th Charlie stood up for a teenage boy who was being made fun of. When people teased him for being unintelligent Charlie shouted, "Shut
In the story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, the main character, Charlie Gordon, is very dynamic. He has to undergo many changes throughout the story, some of them were advantageous, but some of them were unfortunate. Originally he starts out as a man with an IQ of around 70, but after an operation he acquires a higher level of intellectuality. Both good and bad results arose out of this. For example, Charlie used to be naïve, unintelligent, and ignorantly blissful. However, that was before his operation. Afterwards he gains new insights about his old life, writes a beneficial paper to society, but becomes disconsolate. And although he reverts to his old self again he doesn’t become hostile towards others. Through all of his misfortune he still has the determination to try to get smart again, and is noble enough to leave everyone he knows when he realizes that his presence is hurting them. Before the operation Charlie was made fun of at the factory he worked at. His co-workers were constantly tantalizing him because they knew he couldn’t understand what they were doing. Co-workers were openly flagrant towards him for example, in progress report 8 ; Mr. Donnegan accused Ernie of being a “Charlie Gordon” when he lost a package. Charlie’s thought was, “I dont understand why he said that. I never lost any package (page 4).” Charlie is not intelligent enough to know that his name is being used as a derogatory term. However, with his newfound knowledge he was able to stand up for another mentally disabled person. On May 20th Charlie stood up for a teenage boy who was being made fun of. When people teased him for being unintelligent Charlie shouted, "Shut