Flowers for Algernon was a very intriguing read for me, as it very thoroughly explored the difference the in the perceptions of reality from the view of a retard and then, a genius.
Before the operation, Charlie, while being the butt of many cruel jokes, actually believed that he had many friends. Although he never stopped expressing his desire to learn, it can be said that at this point of time, he was happy. He was free from the many burdens that plague us, with simple wants that were easily satisfied. He wanted little more.
After the operation, however, his perception of reality changed. One of the most notable sentences i remember him saying is "I hate that mouse". At that point of time, he had just had the operation, and his feeling of hate towards Algernon was now due the the realization that he, Charlie Gordon, a human being, was in fact inferior mentally to a mouse. Upon further maturation, he began looking down on those less intelligent than him, falling into arrogance and self-pity. He seemed rarely as happy as before.
It seems that ignorance truly is bliss.
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2 comments:
So in your opinion, the journey that Charlie has gone on is a wasted one?
Ms Pang
No. It most definitely is NOT a wasted one. I'd like to quote some Alfred Lord Tennyson who once said:
Tis' better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
Similarly, the experience Charlie went through, while it failed to change his IQ, the experience, no matter how much of it he may remember, is still worth it. What's more, he managed to change the attitudes of those around him to a more cordial one than before at the end of the story.
Amos
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