Analysis of the character of the main protagonist, Charlie Gordon, in the beginning of the novel entitled Flowers for Algernon, shows a complicated person with interesting personality and physical characteristics. He is a thirty-two year old man who is mentally retarded. He has difficulty spelling and using correct grammar and understanding a lot of what is happening to him. However, he is also a very determined individual. He wants to try to change. He hopes to become more intelligent and to be able to solve problems. For example, he kept on trying to beat Algernon, the smart mouse, in the maze race. I also learned early in the novel that Charlie is honest. He said that he would not make up lies about people. But, that sometimes means that Charlie is not very imaginative or able to fantasize. He can't think of something if it is not the absolute truth.
He is a very trusting person, who does not steal or do unlawful actions. Charlie feels frustrated because he feels excluded by other people. He wants to fit in. He said, "I want to be smart so I can have lots of friends." Charlie is also forgetful. He told Dr Strauss that he did not remember how he found the Beekman School. He is very friendly and kind toward other people. He never yells at people or gets mad at them. No matter what happens, Charlie is highly motivated. He really wants to learn new information and skills. In summary, I think that Charlie is a good man who is easy to get to know and like.
Charlie Gordon
You've described the pre-operation Charlie, but it is the post-operation Charlie which is missing. Once Charlie gets his operation which makes him a genius, at least for a while, he loses the innocent happiness he once knew. Ironically, the new intelligence he wished for so passionately doesn't enhance his happiness. In fact, it makes him resentful, self-centered and contemptuous of others. He learns that he has merely traded his mental retardation for emotional retardation, being unable even to relate effectively to the two women who mean the most in his life. His relapse to his former self is sad in a way. His intelligence could have allowed him to achieve great things. But he could have never been happy, given his memories of the family that abandoned him and the way people have treated him. His deterioration seems tragic, even if he can once again be somewhat content, and Charlie Gordon remains one of the more pitiable characters in literature.
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