from their benevolent boss but does not want to get Gimpy fired.

When Charlie asks Professor Nemur for advice, the professor tells him that it is none of his business and that he should not get involved—Dr. Strauss disagrees, saying that Charlie has a moral obligation to report the incident.

After Alice Kinnian suggests that he make his own decision and handle the situation as he sees best, Charlie finally approaches Gimpy, informs his fellow employee that he is aware of his crime, and cautions him to stop. Gimpy becomes furious at Charlie for interfering with his scheme and tells Charlie that he will be sorry he ever got involved in his business.

In Flowers for Algernonby Daniel Keyes, Charlie realizes that the head baker Gimpy is stealing from the company. Gimpy is undercharging customers for kickbacks. Charlie does not know what to do, so he goes to Drs. Strauss and Nemur and asks for their advice. Dr. Strauss feels that Charlie should report Gimpy to Mr. Donner--that it is the moral thing to do, but Dr. Nemur does not think Charlie should get in the middle of it. He goes on to say that before Charlie's surgery, Charlie was nothing more than "an inanimate object"  (Keyes 21), which takes away all accountability for him. This enrages Charlie. He feels that Dr. Nemur does not understand that even though he might have been mentally disabled, he still had feelings and thoughts like every other person. In the end Charlie asks Alice for her thoughts, and she tells him that his decision is inside himself. For the first time, Charlie realizes that he can make up his own mind. He talks to Gimpy and gives him a chance to reform his ways. 

The significance of the incident is that it is one of the first crises by which Charlie realizes intelligence alone is not enough to enable him to navigate the intricacies of life and relationships.

Gimpy was the one person who had always been kind to Charlie at the bakery before Charlie had his operation.  In his old state, Charlie was often the victim of cruel pranks, such as when Joe Carp and Frank Reilly took him out to a bar and left him to find his own way home after they had gotten him drunk.  Gimpy, on the other hand, was always good to Charlie, defending him when others would take advantage of his disability.  When Charlie, who becomes much more aware of what is going on around him as his IQ increases, catches Gimpy stealing from the cash register and confronts him, Gimpy is hurt, crying out, "I always stood up for you.  I should have had my head examined".  Charlie, in turn, is confused and upset, because what Gimpy says is true, yet at the same time, he is doing something terribly wrong.  Charlie's change in mental ability has not prepared him to deal with the complicated realities of day-to-day living.