Flowers for Algernon and Morality - 773 Words

In the novel, Flowers for Algernon the question of morality comes to mind. There are many immoral issues that appear throughout the novel. Three examples of this would be the treatment Charlie was receiving, the experiment itself, and Hilda the nurse talking about â€Å"Gods Play†. During the time period the novel takes place people did not feel any sympathy towards special needs people. They were not treated like everyone else would be. Looking at Charlie’s progress reports it shows the difficulty Charlie faces in his life everyday, how the experiment is not moral, and how the nurse Hilda symbolizes other immoral issues that are known in the novel. Charlie has difficulty completing simple tasks such as writing down his progress. In†¦show more content†¦They had tested it on a mouse named Algernon before but they have not yet conducted the experiment on a human being. Charlie does not understand why the experiment must be kept a secret but as the novel progress es Charlie realizes the experiment was not conducted properly and ends up failing. â€Å"I don’t reely understand why I got to keep it a seecrit. Burt says its in case theirs a faleure Prof neumur don’t want everybody to laff espeshully the pepul from the Welberg foundashun who gave him the money for the project†(Keys 20). Charlie believes the only thing Nemur is worried about is that people will mock him but he does not think that is accurate because he believes that the scientists know what they are doing and that they are smart individuals. However, as the novel progresses and Algernon begins to deteriorate Charlie realizes that the experiment was a sham. Another moral issue in the novel is the scene with the nurse Hilda. When Charlie wakes up from his operation this is the nurse that takes care of him. She tells him that she believes people should not mess with Gods work. â€Å"She says mabey I better prey to god to ask him to fogiv what they done to me. I dint eat no apples or do nothing sinful. And now im skared†. Charlie is unsure of what Hilda is telling him and is afraid because he does not want to make God angry. Because of this she is removed as his nurse, the doctor believes she spoke out of line. From this another moral issue is broughtShow MoreRelatedNarcissism In The Great Gatsby And Flowers For Algernon1437 Words   |  6 PagesThe Great Gatsby and Flowers for Algernon are both novels that feature a protagonist involved in a dependent relationship with a character that represents immorality, which leads to conflict and eventual tragedy. It is the inability of Charlie to see the narcissism of Dr. Nemur and Gatsby’s inability to see the shallowness of Daisy that allows the hero of the story to be exploited and abused. There is irony in both works as the antagonist represents everything the protagonist desires and it is theRead MoreArgument Paper : Flowers For Algernon789 Words   |  4 PagesThomas Manske Putman Hours 2, 6 November 15 2016 Argument Paper Flowers for Algernon is about a man named Charlie who is mentally slow and not smart. Charlie had an operation to make him smart. What the doctors did was unethical. Charlies doctors acted unethically when they asked if Charlie wanted to do the operation. The doctors didn’t ask Charlie these questions. Has the patient been informed of benefits and risks, understood this information, and given consent? Is the patient mentally capableRead MoreEssay On Flowers For Algernon1384 Words   |  6 PagesI have just concluded my reading of the astounding book Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. 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Algernon and Jack discuss the nature of marriage when they dispute briefly about whether a marriage proposal is a matter of â€Å"business† or â€Å"pleasure,† and Lady Bracknell touches on the issue when she statesRead MoreFlowers for Algernon6322 Words   |  26 PagesUnit 1 Title: Flowers for Algernon Suggested Time: 5-7 days (45 minutes per day) Common Core ELA Standards: RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.3; W8.1, W8.4, W8.9; SL8.1; L.8.1, L.8.2 [Additional Tasks: RI8.8, RI8.9] Teacher Instructions Preparing for Teaching 1. Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and the Synopsis. Please do not read this to the students. This is a description for teachers about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take away after completing this task