Sarah Dubois Archbishop MacDonald Highschool ELA 10 January 13, 2011 Ms.

Nychka

True Greatness

A child may not know how to feed itself or what to eat, yet it knows of huger, (59) says Charlie Gordon from the short story by Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon, when describing his need for greatness which he equates with intelligence. In the beginning Charlie Gordon, a mentally retarded man, believes that the ability to read and write is the key to greatness and to social acceptance. After an operation triples his intelligence, he views society as beneath him. Because of his acquired wealth of knowledge, believes himself superior to everyone but is still not accepted. Through an event that showed him how he was laughed and mocked at, and how he had been conformed to societys view of greatness. He begins to understand how his egotistic personality and self-promotion in a superficial hierarchy of knowledge was hindering him from sustaining an emotional relationship as well as impeding his ability to contribute to the world of science. Charlie comes to accept himself , and changes his perception of greatness from valuing intelligence to valuing self-acceptance and relationships. Only once through understanding his limitations does he realize that he can become truly become great. Before the operation the doctors preformed on Charlie Gordon, he believes that reading and writing equate to greatness or his idea of. Originally, Charlie writes in his progress report with horrible grammar and spelling. He shows through his experience and limited writing that he wants

Sarah Dubois Archbishop MacDonald Highschool ELA 10 January 13, 2011 Ms. Nychka

to be accepted in society, and become greater. He also comes to believe that greatness equates to intelligence, more specifically the ability to read and write. He writes that Miss Kinnian says maybe they can make me smart. I want to be smart...I have nuthing more to rite. (49) Charlie originally fears the tests that they administered to him, because [he] always faled tests in school, (49) which shows that he already believed himself inferior, through artificial barriers that the education system has used against him. Originally the doctors, Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss, are surprised that he enrolled himself in the adult night school without the recommendation of others, but come to believe that he personally wanted to learn. The doctors find that Charlie has a good natcher [nature] hes intristed [interested] and eager to please. (50) Charlie was raised in a society where he was often ignored or left solitary because of his mental difference. He didnt take notice immediately, but did consciously register that he was different, and believed that learning to read and write would make him socially acceptable to others. It was his strive for intelligence, for his idea of greatness that convinced the doctors to use him in their experiment. After the successful operation, Charlie learns the distinction between knowledge and wisdom. Dr. Nemur and Dr. Straus accept Charlie for their experiment and effectively triple his measured intelligence. Charlie was initially tested against a mouse, named Algernon, which had also undergone the operation and ran mazes for food. Charlie eventually beats Algernon, which is the first sign of the successful operation. In his progress report

Sarah Dubois Archbishop MacDonald Highschool ELA 10 January 13, 2011 Ms. Nychka

Charlie also wrote that he believed when [he became] intelligent like Dr. Straus says, with three times my I.Q. Of 68, then maybe Ill be like everyone else and people will like me. (55) Unfortunately contrary to his childish belief of acceptance, his sudden change in intelligence frighten the other workers in his factory. The fact that he promised to tell no one of the operation, do not aid him either. He wrote in his progress report that people dont talk to me much any more or kid around the way they used to. It makes the job kind of lonely. (56) Through his daily observations Charlie notices that the change in his intelligence does not diminish the gap that he initially felt between himself and society. Only through watching a dull-minded youth break plates in the diner, and realizing that he had joined in with the others to mock does he come to realize that his gained intelligence does not make him a better man, only a more intelligent one. The realization that he has not become wise enough to resist conforming to society, only smart enough to realize it was happening is an epiphany for him that open another world of limitation beyond those he had previously known. Although intelligence what what Charlie originally perceives as great, he discovers that perhaps having human relationship, such as friends and family in his life, is better than pure intelligence. Although his view of intelligence alters throughout the story, Charlie is given a new perspective from Fanny, an honest woman from the factory at which he worked before, who told him that it was evil when Eve listened to the snake and ate from the tree of knowledge. It was evil when she saw that she was naked. (57)

Sarah Dubois Archbishop MacDonald Highschool ELA 10 January 13, 2011 Ms. Nychka

She alludes to the idea that perhaps gaining knowledge was not the right choice because that is not the life that a greater power wished he lived. Earlier in his progress report he states that when everyone was laughing at him, he understood that the jokes were being made at his expense, not just at that moment, but through most of his life as well. Charlie writes that he felt naked. [He] wanted to hide. [He ran outside and... Threw up. (54) The evil that Fanny may have been hinting at was that afterwards, when realizing that his friends had been keeping him around to ridicule him, he felt terrible, and more alone than ever before. Afterwards Algernon regresses, and quickly dies, and Charlie realizes through experimental confirmation that it will also to occur to him. Shortly after he must come to face and accept some of the returning limitations such as the loss of the ability to understand and fluently read other languages. When he loses his motor control and coordination and mastery of difficult science like sand through [his] fingers(62) he decides to use easy words instead of long hard ones, (62) which shows his acknowledgment and acceptance of intelligence limitations. He comes to write about leaving New York, because he wants to go somewhere where nobody knows that Charlie Gordon was once a genus and now he cant even reed a book or rite good. (63) Through his experience he comes to accept himself as he is, but writes that he will practis very hard and maybe... Get a littl smerter and know what all the words are... [and] remember a littel bit the feeling with the blue book...when [he] red it. (64). Through his progress report we learn that Charlie Gordon leaves, or dies,

Sarah Dubois Archbishop MacDonald Highschool ELA 10 January 13, 2011 Ms. Nychka

with a sense of achievement, as he recalls vaguely that he made a contribution to science, through experiments and research though he doesnt remember exactly. It is through the feeling of satisfaction, and the embracing of his previous, and newly discovered limitations that makes Charlie Gordon truly great. After the trying ordeal that Charlie was put through, including the loss of memory of his scientific contributions, and the stories from the books he read, the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction stays with him after his regression. In his state of enhanced intelligence and pre-operation he yearned for the artificial greatness of intelligence. After reading the story, we come to understand that Charlies goal should not have been intelligence. What eventually satisfies his child-like hunger is his confirmation of being, and the acceptance of his limitations, through which he becomes truly great.

Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon. ELA 10H Short Stories 46-56