After his operation, Charlie himself drifts into a condescending and disrespectful attitude toward the handicapped to a certain extent. Charlie consciously wants to handle his new rational inferiors as he wishes others had treated him. When he sees frequenters at a diner express joying at a mentally retarded waiter’s assistant, he demands that the frequenters recognize the male child ‘s humanity. However, when Charlie visits the Warren State Home, he is horrified by the dim faces of the handicapped people he meets, and he is unable to rally any heat toward them. Charlie fears the patients at Warren State because he does non desire to accept that he was one time like them and may shortly be like them once more. We may even construe Charlie ‘s reaction as his ain incarnation of the same fright of abnormalcy that has driven his female parent to lunacy.
Therefore, while Keyes condemns the act of maltreating the mentally handicapped, he besides displays an apprehension of why this mistreatment occurs, enabling his readers to see through the eyes of person who has experienced such ridicule firsthand. Charlie struggles with a inclination toward the same bias and superciliousness he has seen in other people. However, Charlie ‘s double position allows him to understand that he is every bit human as anyone else, irrespective of his degree of intelligence.
Passage 1: In advancement study 8, Charlie often gets taunted by his colleagues, Joe Carp, Gimpy, and Frank Reilly, at his workplace ( the bakeshop ) . They refer to a new employee ‘s malposition of a birthday bar as “ drawing a Charlie Gordon ” . Charlie laughs along since he clearly does non understand that he is root of the gag.
Passage 2: In advancement study 8, Charlie is invited by Frank and Joe to travel to a saloon, where both of them promote Charlie to dance like sap, after work one twenty-four hours. Not being able to grok, Charlie laughs along with them and so is subsequently abandoned by them. Subsequently in the same advancement study, Frank and Joe take Charlie out once more and coerce him to dance along with a miss, although Charlie realizes he is being made merriment of and fleas ; this is the first clip Charlie experiences choler towards his “ friends ” from the workplace, and is confused about whether they are truly his friends or non.
Passage 3: Throughout transition 8-9, Charlie is retrieving multiple memories about his childhood. One in specific was when his sister was born ; his female parent did non swear him to hold/look after his sister as he was mentally retarded and would non cognize how. He recalls from his childhood, that no 1 was taking his side except his male parent and Uncle Herman.
Passage 4: In advancement study 11, Charlie is really disquieted to happen out that Gimpy, a colleague, has been stealing from the bakeshop, undercharging clients in exchange for a little payment. Charlie struggles over whether he should state Mr. Donner and subsequently asks Nemur and Strauss for advice ; Strauss advises that Charlie is obligated to state, but Nemur argues that he should non be involved. Nemur states that Charlie was an “ inanimate object ” before the operation. Charlie becomes aggravated, since Nemur did see him as an existent individual in his original handicapped signifier.
Charlie comes to recognize that Professor Nemur thinks of him as a research lab specimen, an existent person. Nemur negotiations to Charlie as if he had granted Charlie his humanity. Charlie is surprised by Nemur ‘s clinical deficiency of compassion.
Passage 5: Charlie has nightmares/memories, after his terror in Alice ‘s flat, in which Norma, who got an Angstrom on a trial asked her female parent for a Canis familiaris, that she had promised her if Norma did good in school. Charlie insisted on offering to assist her return attention of the Canis familiaris, Norma demanded it would be hers entirely. Matt declared that if Norma was traveling to be selfish, there would be no Canis familiaris, despite Rose ‘s promise. Norma resentfully threatened go a “ dummy ” like Charlie if she could non hold the Canis familiaris.
Passage 6: Charlie recalls more flashbacks/memories of his female parent. She had been pregnant with his sister. Charlie overheard his female parent speaking to herself, trusting that his sister would non turn out like Charlie. His female parent starts to give up hope on him and puting her hopes in Norma alternatively.
Passage 10: Charlie is annoyed that this information has been withheld from him. He besides grows progressively frustrated at hearing the scientists suggest that he was subhuman prior to their operation and feels like a adulterate carnival sideshow act. Charlie in private toys with the thought of making mayhem in the convention by allowing Algernon out of his coop.
Passage 11: A mentally handicapped waiter’s assistant by chance breaks some dishes, and as he sweeps up the muss, the clients taunt him cruelly. Not groking that he is the mark of the clients ‘ jeer, the waiter’s assistant smiles along with their abuses. Charlie is infuriated and shrieks to the crowd that the waiter’s assistant is human and deserves regard.
Passage 12: Charlie of being thankless for all that the operation has given him. Charlie argues that he has little for which to be thankful, since he feels that the greatest lesson he has learned with his intelligence is that people scorn him whether he is a idiot or a genius.Nemur accuses Charlie of going misanthropic and egoistic.
Passage 13: Charlie has felt bitterness toward Nemur for most of the novel, but Nemur is ne’er able to refute Charlie ‘s accusals until their statement after the cocktail party. The points Nemur makes are strong plenty to change Charlie ‘s perceptual experience wholly. Nemur reminds Charlie that he was an wholly different individual before the operation-not simply mentally retarded, but besides kindhearted and warm. Though Nemur may take recognition for doing Charlie intelligent, he takes no recognition at all for making the new cold and unpleasant Charlie. This new, cold personality, Nemur suggests, is Charlie ‘s ain creative activity. Charlie ‘s ailment that Nemur is appallingly chesty and inconsiderate remains basically valid.
Passage 14: Having regressed about wholly to his original province, Charlie returns to the Donner ‘s Bakery and gets his old occupation back. He refuses to accept money from Alice and Strauss. When a new employee named Meyer Klaus picks on Charlie and threatens to interrupt his arm, Joe, Frank, and Gimpy come to Charlie ‘s deliverance. They tell him that he should come to them for aid if anyone of all time gives him problem. Charlie is thankful for his friends.
