In The Long Run

Many things in life are decoys, objects that seem delightful or pleasant but then are turned against you. Charlie’s operation in “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes was of a similar case, wanting knowledge, but eventually getting pain and suffering. The operation was entirely detrimental, considering the terrible life he was eventually subjected to.

Charlie’s operation was a success for the scientists, but turned out to be torture for himself. Firstly, Charlie is miserable when he finds out how his supposed friends really act. The people he knows as friends are actually making fun of him for having a mental issue. They keep him around for the fun of having someone to make a fool of themself. This is shown when Charlie becomes smarter. He acknowledges their behavior, showing him how people really treated him before his increased intelligence and shows him how he doesn’t have real friends. All they really want to do is make Charlie act like a buffoon, even if they didn’t know that he could understand what was happening around him, and get a cheap laugh out of his idiocracy, which is exactly what happened at Muggsy’s when they decided to leave him there, just for the fun of it. Secondly, the effects of this operation gave him a different mental perspective. In the beginning, he seems emotionally stable, but as his life continues, he gains an emotional instability, darkening his life and giving him depressing thoughts. The outcome is that of disconnection from society, like how he sits in his apartment reading books, which in turn brings along loneliness. This loneliness creates a touchy and irritable mood in Charlie. Also, the dark feeling is shown in Charlie saying that he can feel the darkness closing in and that it’s hard to throw off the thoughts of suicide. This shows how the operation eventually warped his mind in a way that harms his emotional status, such as staying locked in his apartment, not opening for anyone.

Many people have the belief that this operation actually benefited Charlie. Some people even believe that it benefitted him because it fulfilled his dream of being smart. True, he did become smart, but eventually lost it all, ending up just as he started. Also, this knowledge led to some dark places, so even though it was a fulfillment, he lost it all in the end. Also, he never remembered these achievements. He had all of these achievements, such as the ability to become smart, but forgot what they were, still knowing he achieved something. This then led to a disappointment, because he had done something, and never was able to remember, showing a loss of pride in these things that he had done.

To stress the fact, this operation could not have been beneficial in any circumstance. Charlie had to eventually find this out the worst way possible, gaining social knowledge in his journey. He finally realized the obvious and found the truth about all people is society. He fulfilled his own destiny and helped others along with himself, until he eventually met his inevitable demise.