What is the intended purpose of Charlie's operation in "Flowers for Algernon"?

The operation in Flowers for Algernon is supposed to make Charlie much more intelligent. He is a mentally disabled man who he attends night classes. His efforts and his desire to improve himself impress Miss Kinnian, his teacher, as well as the scientists who will perform the surgery on him.

Although he is warned of the risks involved, Charlie doesn't fully understand what he getting into when he signs on to the operation. He is very anxious to please people, and he wants to be smarter. It is not until after he becomes highly intelligent that he realizes he might have been used like a lab mouse by Dr. Nemur to advance his own career.

As it turns out, Dr. Nemur was too ambitious and too quick to do the surgery. Though Charlie shoots ahead to become a genius, the experiment fails, and he has to face the realization that he will become intellectually disabled once again.

What is the intended purpose of Charlie's operation in "Flowers for Algernon"?

In the story Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon is a mentally challenged adult who works as a janitor in a factory. He knows that he is "dumb" and wants desperately to be like everyone else so he people will like him.

Miss Kinnian, his night school teacher, recommends him for an experimental procedure that is intended to triple his intelligence from 68 to over 200. And it works, briefly. Ironically, however, Charlie is then lonelier than ever. He is definitely not like everyone else; rather, he is so smart that no one can understand him.

When Algernon the mouse begins to regress, Charlie knows that it is only a matter of time before he, too, will lose his super intelligence. Although it is tragic to read Charlie's journal entries as he regresses, he is able to finally know who his true friends are when Frank and Joe, his "buddies" from the factory, come to his defense when other people make fun of him.

What does Charlie believe is the purpose of college in Flowers for Algernon?

Charlie Gordon is an intellectually disabled man attending the Beekman Center for Retarded Adults where he learns to read and write. Despite his significantly low intelligence, Charlie has an extraordinary work ethic and desires to become smart. Charlie is then recommended to have experimental brain surgery to dramatically improve his intelligence.

After Charlie's brain surgery, he becomes frustrated with his lack of initial progress and longs to be a college student. Charlie enjoys hanging outside of the college library and listening to students argue over philosophy and religion. In his progress reports, Charlie writes that he enjoys listening to the students engage in intellectual debates and pretends to be a college student, even though he is significantly older than everyone.

After Charlie makes friends with one of the students at the Campus Bowl, he listens to him argue over whether or not Shakespeare really wrote his plays. He then listens to two students arguing about art and God. This is the first time Charlie ever heard someone say that there might not be a God. This possibility frightens Charlie, who begins to think about what God really means. Charlie then comes to an enlightening conclusion by writing:

Now I understand one of the important reasons for going to college and getting an education is to learn that the things you've believed in all your life aren't true, and that nothing is what it appears to be. (Keyes 43)

The entire time the two students argue, Charlie is filled with excitement and thoroughly enjoys listening to intellectual debates. Charlie then begins spending more time at the college library and voraciously reads classic literature. Overall, Charlie believes that the purpose of college is to challenge one's previous beliefs and learn the truth about life.