Flowers for Algernon question? 10 points!?

How has Charlie changed at the end of the novel? Is he different from the person he is at the beginning of the novel, and if so, how? Do you consider the novel's ending to be tragic or inspiring?

Flowers for Algernon question? 10 points!?
Well:





He was mentally retarded


He gets surgery


He becomes a genius


He loses his intelligence


He becomes retarded again





(when I say retarded, I'm not being mean, I mean he actually had a genetic defect)





Basically, he learns more about people in general. Of course he is different, see above. And I'd say tragic, as he loses his intelligence and basically becomes very lonely (and it is implied that he would die in a few days as an aftereffect of the surgery)





Glad to do your homework for you!
Reply:The difference between Charlie at the beginning of the book and at the end is that he understands the concept of shame.





To me, the key passage in the whole book is Charley's conversation with Fanny Birden when his co-workers sign a petition to get him fired from the factory. She likens Charley's gain in intelligence to Eve eating from the tree of knowledge. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden and lost their innocence.





In the beginning of the story, Charley didn't understand that his co-workers were playing jokes at his expense. Everything was fun for him. His tragedy is that he got the sense of shame without gaining anything else in return.
Reply:at the beginning charlie is ignorant. he thinks that his coworkers are his friends, but gradually, as he is becoming smarter, he becomes more aware of the world. he falls n love for the first time, and he realizes that there is more to the world than what he knows.


ok, i wouldn't exactly say that charlie is ignorant, because of the connotation, he's just clueless.


he is different because he is more experienced in the ways of the world.





i read the short story a while ago, in the eighth grade.


i think you should go to sparknotes or something, for greater detail.
Reply:THAT IS THE MOST tragic book I've ever read, maybe as tragic or even more than "My SIster's Kepper". Charlie has changed from the beginning of the book since he has been on "the other side". He has been a brilliant genious and is now left with nothing but daily reminders of his previous sucess. He is very different. Although he doesn't remember much of his tranformed "smart" version, he still has memories and a sense of deep loss and confusion when he is forced to become his natural way again.


DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!
Reply:Very tragic, although that's probably why I like the book so much. And I generally don't like fiction. But Charley's situation is so sad. He has to be aware of his limitations and live with the memories of his temporary genius abilities.





I agree with Peppermint's answer.
Reply:umm ive never read that book. sry i cant help.