The+Goon+Platoon

The Goon Platoon David Jones- Codename: Echo Jon Miller- Codename: Joker Brian Daugherty- Codename: Boomer

Charlie: A Tormented Genius by Echo

In //Flowers for Algernon,// Charlie morphs from a friendly, disabled man to a tortured genius and back again. Throughout the novel, his character stays static in one way: he retains a rich, deep personality in some form. To begin, Charlie began as a simple man with a disability. One could argue his personality was rather un-detailed at this point, but he did have one defining character trait: His friendliness. He was kind and sweet to all of those around him, even to those who mistreated him. (Although he didn't know it) His personality, however, became much more detailed later in the novel. After the operation, Charlie became something of a tortured genius. As his intelligence waxed, he felt more and more animosity and hurt as he saw the way he was treated before and even after the surgery. For example, Charlie is disgusted with the way scientists laugh at the video of him shocking himself and smiling, and also offended by Nemur and Strauss's view of him as inferior to them. At the peak of his intelligence, he begins to lose Alice, because his immense genius causes her to feel like less intelligent of a person due to Charlie's sophisticated and complex lectures. During this time, Charlie had recurring nightmares of his childhood, further distressing him. All of these factors lead to a social breakdown and loss of a sense of purpose with Charlie. Finally, as his intelligence wanes, Charlie suffers more mental punishment as he slides into retardation once again. Although he fights feverishly to hold onto his intellectual ability a little longer, spirals down into his former self, becoming a friendly disabled man once again.