As Charlie becomes smarter and smarter in "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, he learns to do things he could not do before. His intelligence quickly surpasses the men he works with and eventually surpasses his teacher, Miss Kinnian, and his doctors as well. In his April 25 progress report, Charlie writes,

"I figured out a new way to line up the machines in the factory, and Mr. Donnegan says it will save him ten thousand dollars a year in labor and increased production." (Keyes 20)

For that, Mr. Donnegan gives Charlie a $25.00 bonus. Charlie wants to take two of his fellow workers out to celebrate, but they both decline, probably because they are now uncomfortable with Charlie's new-found intelligence. Charlie is very happy to receive the bonus, but obviously it is not very much for the amount of money he is saving Mr. Donnegan and the company. Even though Charlie is smarter now, he is still being used by others.