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Flowers for Algernon By: Daniel Keyes By: Nick Kouvaras For: Giannakopoulos Date: 08 / 03 / 01 Eng 3 A 1 Flowers for Algernon By: Daniel Keyes JOURNAL ENTRY # 1 At the beginning of the novel, Charlie is like any other normal mentally handicapped adult, but there is one thing that separates him from the others which is the fact that he has motivation to learn how to read and write properly. He has been highly recommended by his teacher, Miss Kinnian, for a unique scientific operation, which increases ones intelligence and benefit all retarded people around the globe. So far, it has been only been tested on rats and possibly other experimental specimens. Charlie has been selected out of a handful of mentally handicapped adults because he is committed and motivated to achieving his most important goal in life, which is to get smarter.
The reason Charlie wants to be more intelligent is because that way he can be more sociable when discussing certain issues with his co-workers and companions at work. JOURNAL ENTRY # 2 Charlie is very anxious to change and become more intelligent, even though he is aware of a possible complication that may or may not occur. That complication consists of an increase in intelligence, but a dramatic regression phase following it. Charlie is willing to take his chances even though he might possibly regress after his increase in intelligence. He believes that the operation is worth taking that chance and is enthusiastic towards his upcoming operation.
All Charlie wants is to see the world through normal eyes and be a more approachable and social individual once he became a smarter man. His dream is also to return to his immediate family in Brooklyn and surprise them after becoming a genius. His family had mixed feelings towards Charlie and he had a troubling childhood as he was growing up. His sister absolutely despised him because she was unable of conducting a simple conversation with him. Charlie simply wants to visit his family and impress them after the operation.
JOURNAL ENTRY # 3 Charlie has been instructed by his doctors to keep tidy, brief progress reports as his life progresses after the operation. These notes will be helpful in keeping tract of his overall progress and analysis of the patient. The first few reports are filled with spelling mistakes and various obvious grammatical errors, which indicate Charlies poor mentality to the reader before he gets operated on. They are clear signs of his present stage in life.
A rather intelligent mouse named Algernon whom Charlie raced in a mental activity fascinates Charlie. The mouses I. Q. has been tripled thanks to an operation that was performed on it by scientists. The experiment was a success when Algernon was on and Charlie wishes he could be as smart and quick as the mouse and not be a slow and mentally handicapped individual. JOURNAL ENTRY # 4 The operation was performed on Charlie and after it was completed he was very anxious to be smart.
The operation does not work immediately on Charlie and some time must pass until he changes and gets affected. Miss Kinnian explains to Charlie that he has to work very hard to become smart and that it will not come overnight. Charlie gets more and more impatient as time passes and believes the operation failed since he does not feel any more intelligent. However, when Charlie learns something, he remembers it well and does not forget it.
For example, after his operation the nurse corrected him when he misspelled the words progress reports. Charlie remembered his error and has not misspelled those words incorrectly since the operation was performed. This is definitely a clear sign of him becoming smarter, therefore indicating that the experiment was a success. Although Charlie may not feel or realize the effects of the operation, it will all slowly come to him eventually. JOURNAL ENTRY # 5 Charlie is very committed to getting more intelligent, but gets very frustrated from time to time because he does not feel the changes at all. He is getting more and more impatient because he wants to become a genius overnight.
His peers explained to him that it will all come very slowly to him and that he needs to keep trying hard to get smarter by involving himself in various mental activities that he has been taking part in lately. His doctor even gave him a special television set, which will help him learn and get smarter. Charlie finds the TV helpful in improving his mentality but finds it annoying since it keeps him up all night. Charlie also attends daily therapy sessions in order to express his personal thoughts and feelings. The intention of these therapy sessions is to make Charlie feel better mentally. His routine with the completion of his daily progress reports is still going on and Charlie seems to be making slight progress.
For example, his spelling and grammar improves each progress report and the reduction of errors indicate the fact that he is becoming more intelligent. Charlie, the doctors and the rest of the crew are very pleased of his overall progress. JOURNAL ENTRY # 6 On March 29, Charlie finally beat Algernon in the mental activity, which always took place at the end of each day. This is a definite and distinct sign of Charlie becoming smarter. Charlie was very excited when he defeated Algernon and was thrilled after his victory. He had wanted to beat Algernon for a long time and he finally achieved one of his goals.
Charlies doctor, Dr. Strauss, told him that after analyzing all of Charlies progress reports, he concluded that he is now thinking and remembering, which is something that Charlie had never done before. These are clear signs of Charlie increasing in intelligence as time goes by. In addition, he is also making less and fewer spelling errors in his progress reports. One day at Donner's bakery, Charlie decided to take over ones job and become a dough-mixer.
Everybody thought he was going to make a complete mess, but he did fast, productive and exceptional work. Everyone was shocked and surprised after seeing Charlie at work on the dough-mixer. Everyone else is now getting suspicious of Charlies new and improved character. JOURNAL ENTRY # 7 Charlies intelligence quickly increased and he is becoming a very intelligent individual, as his progress reports are flavored with rich text and there are absolutely no spelling errors in sight. Charlie is finally realizing that he is getting smarter.
Charlie is also realizing the important fact that his co-workers, which he considers friends, have been doing pranks on him and have been laughing at him all along. The only reason his co-workers liked to have him around was simply to make a complete mockery out of him. Charlie now understands how cruel his so-called friends were throughout the time he was retarded. Charlie is also remembering various childhood memories and negative experiences which were quite sad because he was always mocked because of his unfortunate mental state that he was in at the time. JOURNAL ENTRY # 8 Charlie experiences feelings of anger, hate and anxiety because he does not enjoy the fact that everyone has been mocking him all along.
His personality gradually changes as time progresses. He becomes more aware of his unfortunate social status in society and develops feelings of remorse and self-pity. Now that Charlie has changed mentally, nobody has any interest in him at all. Everybody views him as a regular person, but they no longer have the pleasure of mocking anymore.
He has lost all of his friends and his co-workers do not socialize with him anymore. Charlie also develops feelings of loneliness and despair, but also intimate feelings towards Miss Kinnian, his former teacher. He regards her as a beautiful woman and tried to get intimate with her on their date to the movies. These feelings are new to Charlie and he is changing mentally more and more each day. JOURNAL ENTRY # 9 Charlie is madly in love with Miss Kinnian and has never experienced sexual attraction ever before in his entire life. He has never been on the intimate level with a girl nor has he ever engaged in any sexual relationships with other women.
Charlies doctor, Dr. Strauss, indicated to him very clearly that he is still an adolescent sexually retarded. Charlie was not ready for an intimate relationship with a woman like Alice Kinnian. He has not matured sexually yet in order to be part in a serious relationship, but he has definitely become more intelligent.
Charlie got fired from his job at the bakery because Mr. Donner, the owner, had noticed various changes in Charlie and realized that he is an intelligent young man. Mr. Donner explained that everyone is scared of Charlie because all of a sudden he became a genius. Mr. Donner did not need all that heat and therefore he fired Charlie so that it does not hurt his business.
Charlie lost his job and all of friends and companions. Ever since his operation, Charlies life had been negatively affected in a negative manner. JOURNAL ENTRY # 10 Charlie keeps recalling negative memories of his childhood when he would get beaten by his own mother for getting erections over girls and when his teacher tied his hands behind his back so that he would quit fidgeting. Charlie was in a sever state of depression and felt his life was crumbling before his very eyes. One day, Charlie decided to go visit Miss Kinnian at the night school for retarded adults. His former classmates noticed various changes in Charlies character and personality.
Miss Kinnian also indicated that he was self-centered and egotistical. Charlies attitude toward people changed as he no longer possessed the positive qualities that he had before, such as his warmth, openness and kindness towards others. Charlie Gordon is now a changed man. Now, he has been self-absorbed and has taken the last few weeks thinking about himself and not others who have always cared for him, such as Alice Kinnian.
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