Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes tells the story of a man with a very low IQ who is presented with the opportunity to increase his IQ to genius level through experimental surgery. Before the surgery, Charlie feels a sense of anticipation because his overwhelming desire has been to get smart so that he can please the people around him and get them to like him more. He feels some fear about the operation, but he counters this by imagining how his relatives and friends will react to his new intelligence. His strongest feeling is an eagerness to improve.
After the surgery, Charlie's improvement is gradual. As his intelligence increases, his feelings become more complex as memories of the way people have treated him in the past begin to surface. His desire to please decreases, and he becomes more self-aware and impatient. His feelings about the importance of friendship become strong. This manifests early in his sympathetic treatment of the laboratory mouse Algernon. He still wants people to like him, but he realizes that human relationships are not as easily formed as he used to think.
As Charlie's intelligence continues to increase, he develops feelings of anger, shame, and suspicion for the way he has been treated in the past and present. He feels resentment against the doctors who do not appreciate him as a person, and he feels love for his former teacher, Alice Kinnian. Finally, as he realizes that his mental deterioration will leave him with the same amount of intelligence that he had before the surgery, Charlie feels an intense sense of loneliness.
Charlie is glad that he has been recommended for the surgery to enhance his intelligence. He is, however, skeptical about the tests they administer to him. He does not see how ink blots and pictures can describe his personality, and the situation makes him dismissive about the tests.
Charlie is worried that he will not be taken into surgery because he failed the tests. However, after overhearing an argument between Dr. Strauss and Nemur, he learns that he will proceed to surgery. Charlie is really excited about the news. On the day of the operation, Charlie is scared because of all the attention, but he proceeds with the surgery.
After the operation, Charlie states that the surgery did not hurt. He is taken through more tests after the surgery. He is still unable to beat Algernon in the maze test, and the pictures and inkblots don’t make any sense to him. Charlie is frustrated. After some time, the operation takes effect, and Charlie gets to beat Algernon. His journey towards getting smart begins and he gets really excited.
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