The novel opens with an epigraph discouraging people from laughing at those who are perplexed or weak of vision.[15] The epigraph is taken from Plato's The Republic, part of which reads:
“ Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eye are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye. ”
At the start of the novel, Charlie Gordon is a 32-year-old man[16] with an IQ of 68[17] who works as a janitor and deliveryman for Donner's Bakery. His uncle got him a job there 17 years previously so that Charlie would not have to be sent to an institution, the Warren State Home.[18] Wanting to improve himself, Charlie attends reading and writing classes at the Beekman College Center for ######ed Adults; his instructor is Alice Kinnian, a young, attractive woman. Professor Nemur and Doctor Strauss, two Beekman researchers, are looking for a human subject on whom they can test an experimental surgical technique for increasing intelligence. They have already performed the surgery on a mouse named Algernon, leading to a dramatic improvement in his mental performance. Based on Alice's recommendation and his own motivation to learn, Charlie is picked to undergo the surgery.
The procedure is a success and, three months later, Charlie's IQ has reached 185.[19] However, as his intelligence, education and understanding of the world around him increases, his relationships with people deteriorate. His coworkers at the bakery, who used to amuse themselves at his expense, are now scared and resentful of his increased intelligence; he is fired from his job as a result. Charlie also embarks on a troubled romance with Alice. Even though they develop strong feelings for each other, he is prevented from having a physical relationship by the spectre of a younger Charlie whom the older Charlie feels is always watching. Unable to get close to Alice, Charlie starts a purely sexual relationship with Fay Lillman, a vivacious and promiscuous artist.
Charlie discovers a flaw in the theories that led Nemur and Strauss to develop their intelligence-enhancing procedure. Shortly thereafter, Algernon starts behaving erratically, loses his new intelligence, and dies. As Charlie does further research, he determines that he too will inevitably revert to his old condition. He tries to mend the broken relationships with his parents, without success. His mother, who always insisted he could learn normally, now suffers from dementia and does not recognize him; his father long ago broke off contact with the family out of frustration and also does not realize who he is. Charlie is only able to reconnect with his sister, who hated him for his mental disability when they were growing up.
As Charlie regresses intellectually, Fay becomes scared by the change and stops talking to him. However, Charlie finally attains sufficient emotional maturity to have a brief but fulfilling relationship with Alice. Despite regressing back to his former self, he still remembers that he was once a genius and cannot bear everyone feeling sorry for him. Consequently, he decides to go to live at the Warren State Home where nobody knows about the operation. In a final postscript to his writings, he asks that someone put flowers on Algernon's grave.
Just checking in...doesn't look promising.Flysack can pick if he is around.I'll be out until sundown.
