“We live in a painful world, no doubt about it. But let me tell you this: The ONLY disability in life... is a bad attitude. A positive attitude is the most combatant to life’s misfortune” (Matthew Jeffers). Charlie Gordon lives in New York and has an I.Q. of 68 at the age of 37 and two doctors, Professor Harold Nemur and Dr. Strauss, are conducting an experiment, in 1965, to boost Charlie’s intelligence. Charlie is operated on after Algernon, a white lab mouse, begins to show signs of improvement; this causes him to get fired because his co workers are afraid that he will eventually figure out how mean they were to him because of his increased intelligence. Algernon passes away due to the surgery and Charlie realizes he will end up like Algernon so, as he starts to lose everything he learned, Charlie writes a letter about leaving New York to Miss. Kinnian, the doctors who performed
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Strauss and Dr. Nemur perform the surgery on Charlie, he gets fired from his job at the factory. “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved. Before, they laughed at me and despised me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding. What in God's name do they want of me? They've driven me out of the factory. Now I'm more alone than ever before …” (Keyes 183) Charlie feels like no matter what he says or does, he can not be accepted.
As Charlie starts to forget everything he learned, he figures out he will go back to the way he was before the surgery. “Thats why Im going away from New York for good. I dont want to do nothing like that agen. I dont want Miss Kinnian to feel sorry for me. Evry body feels sorry at the factery and I dont want that eather so Im going someplace where nobody knows that Charlie Gordon was once a genus and now he cant even reed a book or rite good” (Keyes 192). Charlie wants to prevent the people he loves from watching him die, just like he had to watch
Strauss and Dr. Nemur perform the surgery on Charlie, he gets fired from his job at the factory. “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved. Before, they laughed at me and despised me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding. What in God's name do they want of me? They've driven me out of the factory. Now I'm more alone than ever before …” (Keyes 183) Charlie feels like no matter what he says or does, he can not be accepted.
As Charlie starts to forget everything he learned, he figures out he will go back to the way he was before the surgery. “Thats why Im going away from New York for good. I dont want to do nothing like that agen. I dont want Miss Kinnian to feel sorry for me. Evry body feels sorry at the factery and I dont want that eather so Im going someplace where nobody knows that Charlie Gordon was once a genus and now he cant even reed a book or rite good” (Keyes 192). Charlie wants to prevent the people he loves from watching him die, just like he had to watch