Charlie Gordon | Krisha Prathap
The Most "Motor-Vated" (-Motivated) Character
Before The Operation
He Is Very Motivated To Get Smart (Like The Title)
“Dr. Strauss said I had something that was very good. He said I had a good motor-vation.” (Keyes 36) Throughout the beginning of the story, It states that Charlie has always been motivated to get smarter, because he believes if he gets smart, and he would understand the world around him
Charlie Believes That Being Smart Gets You More Friends.
“...how everyone laughs at me… I’m so dumb and I don’t even know when I’m doing something dumb…” (Keyes 44) He states that when people think that being smart is how you can make friends. He thought that being dumb won’t get him anywhere-and makes sure that Dr. Strauss and Nemur “use him” for the operation
After The Operation
He slowly becomes smarter and smarter as he is taking in information easier than he was before.
“Miss Kinnian teaches me to spell better. She says look at a word and close your eyes and say it over and over until you remember (Keyes 41).” Since Charlie was practicing remembering words with Miss Kinnian, it started to work later on in the story. The operation helped him remember.
“I was shocked to learn that the only ancient languages he could read were Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and that he knows almost nothing of mathematics beyond the elementary levels of the calculus of variations (Keyes 51).” Before the operation, Charlie didn’t know a lot of words in English. Now, he knows ancient languages and calculus. It would be impossible for the old Charlie to be this smart.
Charlie's Dynamic!
He undergoes an important inner change in his personality and attitude.
He changes completely because of the operation. He went from dumb to smart very quickly. He changes with the help of Miss Kinnian, Dr. Nemur, and Dr. Strauss. The night television helped him learn new words while Miss Kinnian gave him books to read. There are many others ways why he changed.