Charlie: The Forgetful Lotus
The Flaw of a Genius
Charlie continued to get smarter, and throughout the first half of the story, the professors do not see any regression, halt, nor stalling with his intelligence. The more books he read, the more he learned. He picked things up really easily, and his mind reached new levels which are almost unattainable. His intellect is climbing the ladder of development at a very fast pace, leaving his emotion to be left alone at the bottom of the ladder, climbing step-by-step. At the beginning of the book, when Charlie’s I.Q. is below average, he is tender and warm-hearted. This is shown through his enthusiasm and eagerness to learn, his appreciation for life, and his constant joy and humor. On the other …show more content…
Ironically, this was not the case as he lost multiple friends along with their respect. The pattern of Charlie’s development is like that of a flower and as temporal. He is compared to a lotus, which induces forgetfulness. In Homer’s Odyssey, the Lotus-eaters were those who forgot homeland and ties of friendship and family. The Halifax Regional School Board (HRSB) makes a great comparison between Charlie’s development and Homer’s Odyssey. They state that Charlie’s development is timed and that he will not continuously progress. He is aware of this and came to a conclusion saying, “Artificially-induced intelligence deteriorates at a rate of time directly proportional to the quantity of increase” (Keyes 177). Charlie says this realizing that his knowledge will fade away at the same pace in which it was gained. This relates to the Homer’s Odyssey in that the idea of a lotus, being a flower considered to the Greeks as a flower that induces forgetfulness, represents Charlie’s growth. Both before the surgery and after his deterioration, his memory failed him and he forgot about those whom he loved, such as his family, friends, and Alice. Charlie lost a lot as a result of his intelligence, yet there was someone he
The Flaw of a Genius
Charlie continued to get smarter, and throughout the first half of the story, the professors do not see any regression, halt, nor stalling with his intelligence. The more books he read, the more he learned. He picked things up really easily, and his mind reached new levels which are almost unattainable. His intellect is climbing the ladder of development at a very fast pace, leaving his emotion to be left alone at the bottom of the ladder, climbing step-by-step. At the beginning of the book, when Charlie’s I.Q. is below average, he is tender and warm-hearted. This is shown through his enthusiasm and eagerness to learn, his appreciation for life, and his constant joy and humor. On the other …show more content…
Ironically, this was not the case as he lost multiple friends along with their respect. The pattern of Charlie’s development is like that of a flower and as temporal. He is compared to a lotus, which induces forgetfulness. In Homer’s Odyssey, the Lotus-eaters were those who forgot homeland and ties of friendship and family. The Halifax Regional School Board (HRSB) makes a great comparison between Charlie’s development and Homer’s Odyssey. They state that Charlie’s development is timed and that he will not continuously progress. He is aware of this and came to a conclusion saying, “Artificially-induced intelligence deteriorates at a rate of time directly proportional to the quantity of increase” (Keyes 177). Charlie says this realizing that his knowledge will fade away at the same pace in which it was gained. This relates to the Homer’s Odyssey in that the idea of a lotus, being a flower considered to the Greeks as a flower that induces forgetfulness, represents Charlie’s growth. Both before the surgery and after his deterioration, his memory failed him and he forgot about those whom he loved, such as his family, friends, and Alice. Charlie lost a lot as a result of his intelligence, yet there was someone he