Essay on Flowers for Algernon“Eagar, determined and driven:” these three words describe Charlie Gordon in Daniel Keyes' short story “Flowers for Algernon”. Daniel Keyes is about a thirty-two-year-old man with a low IQ (Charlie Gordon) who strives to become "normal." Charlie will do anything to become smarter, even letting two doctors perform brain surgery to improve his learning abilities. Charlie evolves over the course of the novel, and by the end of his journey, although his IQ is low, he is a more well-rounded person. Learn the true meaning of friendship and demonstrate intellectual growth as a person by overcoming obstacles and understanding various lessons. Friendship consists of expectations, perceptions and its importance. Gimpy, Frank and Joe (the so-called friends) are the ideal people in the novel to observe in the perception of friendship. Before the surgery these men were his best friends. He loved working at Mr. Donner's bakery and looked forward to spending time with them. After the surgery, Charlie realizes their relationship in a different light and recognizes that these men were never his true friends. Not only did they make fun of it, but it was often used for their amusement. When Charlie is at work, Gimpy tries to make fun of him by saying "Ernie, for God's sake, you're trying to be a Charlie Gordon" (Keyes, 23), this is said to the new employee when he makes a delivery mistake . This statement reveals that Gimpy is reckless because he makes fun of a retarded human being who considers Gimpy his best friend. When he realizes that they were not his friends, their friendship ends. The first book Charlie reads after surgery (Robinson Crusoe) foreshadows a confrontation he will encounter with h...... middle of paper ......no thoughts. Charlie's greatest leap forward in intellectual growth occurred during a discussion with Professor Nemur after the cocktail party. Nemur says “We had no control over…your personality…you transformed from a nice, retarded young man into an arrogant, self-centered, antisocial bastard” (Keyes, 247). These points made by Professor Nemur are powerful enough to alter Charlie's perception completely. In fact, Charlie realizes that it is not necessary to be arrogant or reckless to grow intellectually. In conclusion, Charlie Gordon faces many obstacles during his journey. By learning the true meaning of friendship and growing intellectually he is able to overcome all his challenges. In the end, this novel was a great science fiction story with amazing life lessons and good motivators to strive to become who you want to be. Works Cited Flowers for Algernon By Daniel Keyes