Charlie wants more than anything to be smart, so much so that he undergoes an experimental procedure in an attempt to increase his intelligence. As rather intellectually gifted individuals, what value do you place on your intelligence? How much does being smart play into how you define yourself? How would a dramatic increase or decrease of intelligence change your life?http://www.chrismooreillustration.co.uk/galleries/images/image25b.jpg
I think my intelligence is important, but my personality is more important. Like, think about it. If I were mentally retarded but still acted the same, what would you say?? Oh, yes, I wouldn't really understand what you said if I was mentally retarded, but, still...
ReplyDeleteYes, like most of the kids in this school, my intelligence is a big part of my life because I like being able to understand things and spell things, and read things, etc. However, I do not place my intelligence over my personality.
I think that a dramatic increase of intelligence in my life would not be okay. Yea, sure I would be smart, but still, I would go to a different school and most likely not have any friends because I didn't fit in. Thank you, but I am perfectly fine at my level of intelligence. No increase needed.
A decrease in intelligence, however, would be worse, beacuse I would also go to a special school and not fit in, and I would be dumb as well.
:-)
Ryan
I think that intellegince plays a good role in my life. I also think that you don't need to be really smart but if you try hard you can accomplish just as much as someone who is really smart. I also do not believe that being smart defines a person. I think that the person's actions defines them and what they do and do not do with there intellegence.
ReplyDeleteMrs. S
ReplyDeleteBeing intelligent is really important to me. I don't know how happy I would be if I had a precipitous decline in my intelligence; I enjoy dissecting and pricking holes in other people's ideas! BUT I don't know that I would necessarily want to jump to the genius level. Sometimes people who are THAT smart have a difficult time interacting with others. Take my brother for example--he's definitely smarter than me but he always seems to rub people the wrong way...
I think that my intelligence helps me with the many activities that I take place in. It can be as simple learning the controls to a video game, or memorizing a complicated piece of music. But just because that you are smart, doesn't mean that you are intelligent. Being smart is how much you know, but being intelligent is how you take that knowledge and using it to your advantage. I think that being intelligent is one thing that not only defines me, but defines everybody that goes to the Mirman School.
ReplyDeleteBy far the MOST AMAZING short story I have EVER read. I know that being intelligent is a glorious victory for Charlie, and I believe he deserved it more than anyone.
ReplyDeleteI heard people saying it was sad, but you know I don't think it is. I think they thought it was sad because he lost his knowledge, but did he really? I mean since it was artificial, maybe he just lost what he never really had, what wasn't really his. And at the end, he gained pride in himself, and a realization in what he could do, and a better understanding in the human way of life. Pity, pride, and hope.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Charlie was truly dumb, like he thought. I think the problem was that he was identifying simplicity as stupidity. the story has a kind of ignorance is bliss kind of feel, but I don't think that's the moral. I think it's be yourself.
Well, as commenting as me, i place a rather high value on intelligence, specifically because if you don't have enough intelligence you're close to a vegetable. Though some people without a enourmous amount of intelligence can get far in life, i still feel like there is still a high value placed on intelligence. I would say that being smart plays into a b o u t 40% of my life, just because I have to do a lot of things that more require linear tasks and not things that take enourmous amounts of time to accomplish, and can be made more efficient. I think a dramatic decrease in my intelligence would make a big difference in my life because i could do so many less things than what i could do before. If i had a dramatic increase in my intelligence i would probably be used as some sort of genius and for the military, so it would kind of stink for me, but not for anyone else, but i would also lose almost all of my friends because they would think i was too smart and wouldn't fit in.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, I feel like the luckiest person in the world. I'm so thankful that I'm smart. It's so wonderful to be advanced in math, doing Pre-Algebra in 5th Grade. You have to be smart to have that happen to you. Also since I'm smart, I'm capable of learning other difficult languages like Latin. Also, I can read and write well, and I have a big vocabulary. It would be so hard to do all of this stuff if I wasn't smart. If I wasn't smart, I couldn't come to The Mirman School! I would be missing out on so many things, like what what we learn in class, and all of the wonderful children that go here. It just crushes me that some people aren't smart. It's not fair that intelligence disorders should happen to anybody!
ReplyDeleteI have had encounters where I have wondered if my intelligence really defines who I am as a person. I've thought about it a lot, and I have come to the conclusion that it plays a role in defining who I am. I feel very lucky to be rather smart because I have an acquaintance who is mentally retarded, and whenever I see her I feel very sorry for her. I cannot even imagine what it would be like trying so hard to understand something, but not. Of course, I do not understand everything that I want to. In fact, no one understands everything. But to see the look on her face when she is trying to understand... All I can say is it makes you think what life would be like if you were stuck in that confusing state of mind.
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A comment agreeing with EMMA! I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes when I'm training people to volunteer at the shelter, I'm always monitoring my vocabulary and limiting myself because I catch them not understanding me and it's not because I'm being confusing. I do feel bad for people who don't think as clearly. Of course, when it comes to certain subjects such as math and science I don't think that clearly--but that's not really what we're talking about here.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that I do not have any mental disorders. I feel sorry for anyone who does now that I have read that. I agree with Daniel, it is not fair that people have mental disorders. In this short story, I can't believe that Charlie started out extremely dumb, then became a total genius, and ended up dumber than he was in the beginning. I also wish that the book continued on and explained what happened to him afterwards. I also wished that he regained his intellect to the extent that he is as smart as a normal person.
ReplyDeleteI feel so sad for Charlie, because he became genius, then became stupid, so he knows what it is like to be extremely smart, but even though he tries his hardest, he can't think or understand his previous thoughts and decisions.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't know what I would do if my intelligence level would decrease even slightly.
I think that how smart one is affects his/her personality. Charlie made different decisions when he was smarter, and though that IS because of a higher intelligence level, the wants and decisions one makes still defines that person.
This was a very sad story, but I really liked it.
Flowers for Algernon was so so so so so so sad. If anyone should have been given the right to be smart it would be him. He worked so hard and tried his very best and was the best student in class. Its not fair that people are made fun of, smart, mentally ill, or just not educated enough.
ReplyDeleteI think that if there was a way to get smart like in the book Flowers for Algernon that it would change the world because there would be no more schools and people could fix things in their own house like the stuff electronics do. Some people might lose their jobs. It would also be good because people that were not smart would be able to do a lot more then before.
If I became dumb that would be really sad. I care so much about school so that i can be successful in life. Without it I would not be able to do a lot of things that I can now.
I agree. Whenever I am around her, I limit myself because, like Charlie Gordon, he really struggles to understand. If I were to make my friend struggle, I would feel bad for her! Why would someone want to struggle?! Although my friend is smart for having an IQ of 70 and below, I do not want her to have a hard time understanding.
ReplyDeleteI do place a lot of value on my intelligence, it is true. However, when around the less fortunate, I try to help them with whatever they're confused about. I felt bad for all of the special ed kids at my old school, because they all tried, but had a lot of trouble with understanding things.
ReplyDeleteI have two friends that are autistic. They are both very special friends to me, and i have learned so much from them. I have learned to appreciate how lucky I am to be in the conditions that I am in. A lot of people laugh at them because they can't do some of the things that they can do. It is very important to me to protect them, and make sure that they don't get their feelings hurt. In Flowers for Algernon, a similar event happens when Joe and Frank get Charlie drunk and he starts acting unnaturally, people laugh at him. While reading that, I got choked up. Peoples shouldn't get made fun of for acting different. But reading Flowers for Algernon really helped me to realize how lucky fortunate I am.
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