Summary:
A sypnosis of the film "Flowers For Algernon." The movie follows the life of Charlie Gordon, a mentally challenged boy who has an operation that greatly improves his intelligence, only to have it lost just as quickly.
The movie "Flowers for Algernon" is a very touching movie in many different aspects. It all started with the birth of a boy named Charlie Gordon. But, Charlie was not like the average young boy. Charlie faced the difficulties of being mentally challenged. Not quite accepting Charlie as he began to grow, his mother gave him away. As Charlie grew to be a young man, an opportunity for a surgery to smarten him up came along. He accepted, and many things in his life dramatically changed.
Prior to the surgery, Charlie had a very low intelligence. He attended schooling along with other individuals with challenges much like his. Then along came a scientist wanting to work with Charlie to increase his intelligence. Having only done this experiment on mice, the scientist was very enthusiastic to perform it on a human. After the surgery, the process to intelligence started off slowly. The scientists had Charlie do various tests that he had done before the surgery again and again.
At first Charlie's performance was that same. But over a slight period in time he did better and better on the tests. Charlie began reading more advanced books, and to his teacher's amazement, he could memorize what he had just read word for word. His newfound intelligence was pouring out. He soon could beat the genius mouse Algernon in the mazes he could never before complete. Charlie's intelligence became so high that his fellow workers, at the local bakery he worked at, no longer enjoyed workmanship with him. He became slightly arrogant and acted like a know-it-all. During Charlie's spurt of intelligence he and his teacher, now known to him as his friend, began having relations together. They fell in love with each other but were later to be torn apart upon Charlie's downfall from intelligence. Charlie's relapse happened quite fast. He went from being the new Charlie Gordon, back to the same old, not-so-intelligent one overnight.
After seeing the affects that took place during Charlie's low to high and back to low intelligence experience, it is most likely that Charlie's and the peoples' lives around him would have been less affected in a negative way if he had not gotten the surgery. Contrary to this, he did get to talk to his mother once again and find out the truth while learning that it was not his fault for her non-loving nature. Charlie has barely any memories of his high-intelligence days. So, was this life-changing experience worth it? Not really, people were emotionally hurt during the high-intelligence and also after the relapse, but none were before.
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