Flowers for Algernon Group

Question:

jtaylor51
jtaylor51

Why would some consider Charlie worse off after the surgery, and what are some counter arguments about this topic?  

I am doing a debate at school whether Charlie is better or worse off after the surgery.  I think that Charlie is better off after the surgery, and my job is to poke holes in the other teams Argument. 

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Posted by jtaylor51 on Wednesday September 24, 2008 at 4:51 PM and tagged with better or worse off counter arguments, charlie, flowers for algernon.

Answers:

  1. poeknows
    poeknows Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    Obviously, Charlie's brain functions much better after the surgery. His reading skills are greatly improved and he has other academic abilities that he did not have before. However, with this knowledge comes a greater awareness of the world around him. For example, Charlie realizes that the people he worked with, whom he thought were his friends, were really making fun of him.After the surgery, Charlie is able to see the cruelty that is so rampant in the world. One could argue that Charlie was better off before his surgery, when he had his idealized view of society; hence the phrase "ignorance is bliss."

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    Posted by poeknows on Tuesday October 7, 2008 at 4:05 PM