“Hurting Charlie” When was the last time you wanted something so much, you would sacrifice your life to have it; even if just for a moment? Charlie Gordon, a 37 year old man with a learning disability, did just that. In the story “Flowers for Algernon”, by Daniel Keyes, Charlie gets a chance to alter his I.Q. substantially through operation. The only drawback to this is, the long-term outcomes of the operation are unknown. The …showed first 75 words of 616 total…

…showed last 75 words of 616 total…to feel. If a person isn’t happy with who they are, there is no guarantee that they will be happier as someone else. Charlie should have made the best of who he was, whether good or bad. Getting the operation didn’t make anything better in the end. I could go on forever about what a mistake it was, but I think Charlie says it best: “Now I’m more alone than ever before…”