Charlie's Changing Maturity in Flowers For Algernon Essay

Flowers for Algernon

In the book Flowers for Algernon Charlies intelligence levels affects his personality to such a great extent that it is seen throughout the entire novel. When he gets more intelligent he tries to mature and figure out his emotions. It seems that the smarter Charlie gets the more unhappy he makes himself. Charlie grows a lot in the story when he uses his new found intelligence. Charlie is such a tangle of emotions that becoming smarter and trying to figure them out just saddens him. It seems that the more simple your mind is the easier it is to deal with situations.

In the story Charlies intelligence levels change greatly in short amounts of time. When he is first met by the reader Charlie is on the lowest level of intelligence. He is best friends with all of his co workers at Donners Bakery and trusts them dearly. He has good intentions for all of them. Alice Kinnian is another person that has a very strong link to Charlie. She is the best friend that Charlie has and her job is teaching mentally retarded people how to read and write. She cares about the welfare and good of Charlie and it is Charlies most fulfilling personal relationship. Throughout the story she looks after Charlie despite everything that happens and they both share their feelings and emotions.

Charlie soon begins to become smarter and it is affecting everyone. One of the most significant pieces of the story is that he loses feelings for Alice when he becomes more intelligent. It seems that the more intelligent he gets the more he makes himself unhappy. Alice is Charlies most trusting friend and he loses all feelings for her and he even seeks out that his coworkers were taking advantage of him and have been mean to him for fun. It seems that the less intelligent you are the more happy go lucky you are. Many things you cannot decipher like regular people thus not being affected by people cruel jokes. Now that Charlie is more intelligent he can see peoples real motives and make up his own opinions on people and how he will treat them. Although Charlie didnt like the mistreatment he endured while disabled, he has hostility toward his old self and feels the same lack of respect for less intelligent people that many others used to feel for him. Charlie becoming smart has changed his whole outlook on everyone and everything he once before had such emotional ties with. Whether it be his friends coworkers and even his family, his feelings are now totally different.

Charlie grows a lot throughout the story and eventually his intelligence levels go back to the way they were when it all began. It was only in the final weeks of Charlies high intelligence, before he reverts to his previous mental state, that he learns to forgive his family and give and receive emotions he once felt. Charlie even has a romantic encounter with Alice which to me signifies closure to his true feelings and mindset. Finally, though Charlie lapses back to his original state at the end of the novel, a newfound sense of self-worth remains within him, despite the fact that he has lost his intelligence. Charlies mess of emotions was finally figured out and he has a clear mind. Charlie grows throughout the entire story and even when he reverts back to the state he began he still learned a great deal about the people around him and how his emotions truly are. This experience for Charlie may have hurt when he looks back on it but in the end it helped him find who his true friends are.

Charlies skyrocketing intelligence levels really showed everyone what Charlie was made of and how he really feels. Charlie in the end is happy finally and find out his true emotions. He grows a lot mentally and emotionally throughout the story and when he eventually goes back to his beginning mental state he gains the knowledge of good morals and great friendships.