Every book has its own plot, setting, and characters. Flowers for Algernon, written by Daniel Keyes, is a book about a man, Charlie Gordon, who receives a surgery to increase his IQ; he becomes a brainy man who realizes that intelligence is not the key to happiness. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a story about a boy, Huck Finn, who goes on an adventure down the Mississippi River to escape a turbulent environment at home. Charlie Gordon and Huckleberry Finn were two characters that had large discrepancies in their respect for people, level of self-involvement, and work ethic. Charlie Gordon was a disrespectful man while Huckleberry Finn was a courteous boy. Charlie begins being a impolite man after his operation to make his IQ increase.
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This shows that he did not respect the decisions of others, even his closest friend. Charlie had also showed disrespect when he released Algernon from his cage in the midst of an important speech Dr. Nemur was giving; Charlie said, “…The compulsion overwhelmed me. I watched in fascination as my hand moved, independent of my will, to pull down the latch of Algernon’s cage” (162). This situation showed that Charlie had no care if Dr. Nemur was in the middle of a professional talk; he would still interrupt it to let Algernon free. On the other hand, Huckleberry Finn showed respect for his elders. For instance, when Miss Watson, Huckleberry’s guardian’s sister, constantly criticizes him on his posture and over all personality, Huckleberry keeps his silence (Twain 2). His respect is shown in this situation because instead of snapping back at Miss Watson, Huckleberry respectfully listens to what she has to say. Also, Huckleberry respects Jim, the house slave, when he is with Tom, his friend; as they are passing him, Tom suggests that they mess with the sleeping Jim, but Huckleberry insists that they not bother the man (5). This shows that Huckleberry had respected Jim enough that he …show more content…
Charlie was a selfish man since he had received the surgery. Charlie shows his selfishness when he is speaking with Alice, and Alice tells him that Dr. Nemur was worried about him because he had not been to the lab for his tests; Charlie said that he did not care to go (Keyes 109). This ordeal shows Charlie’s self-centeredness because despite people worrying about him, he will still do what satisfies him. Another situation that shows the selfish side of Charlie Gordon is when he is arguing with Alice about if she should go to a convention with him. Charlie ignores the fact that she might feel neglected in the room of intelligent psychologists, but, instead, he only thinks about how he will feel without Alice there, which shows that he was only looking out for his own feelings (125). Charlie had developed feelings for Alice Kinnian. He had a relationship with a woman named Fay because he wanted her only for her body, and during this relationship, he continued to prod Alice to be in a relationship with him (235). Yet again, this situation showed that Charlie was a selfish man who had only his feelings in his mind when he made decisions. Huckleberry Finn, again, was differing in a significant way from Charlie Gordon; he was selfless. For example, at one point, the question was asked if Jim was a runaway slave. Risking his own safety, Huck answered that he was not and created a story to go along with this
This shows that he did not respect the decisions of others, even his closest friend. Charlie had also showed disrespect when he released Algernon from his cage in the midst of an important speech Dr. Nemur was giving; Charlie said, “…The compulsion overwhelmed me. I watched in fascination as my hand moved, independent of my will, to pull down the latch of Algernon’s cage” (162). This situation showed that Charlie had no care if Dr. Nemur was in the middle of a professional talk; he would still interrupt it to let Algernon free. On the other hand, Huckleberry Finn showed respect for his elders. For instance, when Miss Watson, Huckleberry’s guardian’s sister, constantly criticizes him on his posture and over all personality, Huckleberry keeps his silence (Twain 2). His respect is shown in this situation because instead of snapping back at Miss Watson, Huckleberry respectfully listens to what she has to say. Also, Huckleberry respects Jim, the house slave, when he is with Tom, his friend; as they are passing him, Tom suggests that they mess with the sleeping Jim, but Huckleberry insists that they not bother the man (5). This shows that Huckleberry had respected Jim enough that he …show more content…
Charlie was a selfish man since he had received the surgery. Charlie shows his selfishness when he is speaking with Alice, and Alice tells him that Dr. Nemur was worried about him because he had not been to the lab for his tests; Charlie said that he did not care to go (Keyes 109). This ordeal shows Charlie’s self-centeredness because despite people worrying about him, he will still do what satisfies him. Another situation that shows the selfish side of Charlie Gordon is when he is arguing with Alice about if she should go to a convention with him. Charlie ignores the fact that she might feel neglected in the room of intelligent psychologists, but, instead, he only thinks about how he will feel without Alice there, which shows that he was only looking out for his own feelings (125). Charlie had developed feelings for Alice Kinnian. He had a relationship with a woman named Fay because he wanted her only for her body, and during this relationship, he continued to prod Alice to be in a relationship with him (235). Yet again, this situation showed that Charlie was a selfish man who had only his feelings in his mind when he made decisions. Huckleberry Finn, again, was differing in a significant way from Charlie Gordon; he was selfless. For example, at one point, the question was asked if Jim was a runaway slave. Risking his own safety, Huck answered that he was not and created a story to go along with this