With close reference to the story 'Flowers for Algernon', do you think the gift of intellect is a gift or a curse?

Intelligence. A word hard to comprehend. They say it's a gift. They say it's a curse. But I think it's a gift that comes with the curse.

Less intelligent people are usually more happy than those who are more clever. Like Charlie Gordon. His requirement of life was very simple. A decent job and a simple life. That was happiness to him. However, to more intelligent people, they have cynical views about society and thinks the world is challenging against them. So, more intelligent people like Dr Nemur are usually people with more complicated minds, which makes them unhappy.

Knowledge, in truth, should bring happiness to people. But, on the other hand, it brings sadness across to them. Like Charlie Gordon, he was expecting a whole new life after the operation. He thought that he would have friends and knowledge and that was very satisfying. Since time human beings are known to have a great appetite to acquire knowledge. They need to satisfy their hunger for the sake of knowledge. Many great inventors skipped their meals and have gone without sleep to achieve education and knowledge. But they never knew about negative side of it. Will they be happy? This is a question that will be posted to be Charlie Gordon. Was Charlie Gordon happy?

He made a huge sacrifice for knowledge. Even he was always bullied verbally and physically by his cruel friends, his ignorance will ignore it all. If he did not have this intellectual capability, he would still know he had friends. But once he had it, the thought that he still had friends will vanish immediately, leaving him with pain and suffering. And that little great gift would just like become an evil curse.

In a nutshell, I personally feel that to a large extent, the gift of intellect is a curse because Charlie lost his friends and his job, making him lonely and unhappy. However, to a certain extent, I think that the gift of intellect is a gift as this gift provides us with the knowledge to benefit ourselves and the society in a right way.

Should the experiment on Charlie Gordon have taken place ?

This was an experiment which will mark the new beginning of Charlie Gordon's life and probably the start of new science technology, which will enable people to become intelligent all of a sudden.

This will open up a new level for technology and probably be the invention of the decade or century. For Dr Strauss and Professor Nemur, the ability to make this experiment a successful one will help not only the world, but also help themselves become famous overnight. Charlie's parents, Mr and Mrs Gordon, will also agree that the experiment should be done. That is because no parents want their children to be mentally retarded. They want the best for their children. They do not want them to go out into the world and be ostracised for their intellectual level. They want their children to be respected as smart kids that will excel in everything they do. Mr Steven Ng, a representative of the Welberg Foundation which founded the project, will also want the experiment to be carried out. Why? For his and the company benefit. The company will then be acknowledged as the foundation which founded the project and be recognised all over the world.

However, despite all this, there are still some who do not believe in the experiment. Fanny feels that it is not appropriate for Charlie to become intelligent suddenly. She gave an example of how Eve listened to the snake and ate from the tree of knowledge. It was evil, she thought. And how Charlie gained his knowledge is considered bt her as religiously unacceptable. Joe Carp and Frank Reilly cannot accept the fact that Charlie Gordon has become the present clever self. They wanted the ignorance and dullness of Charlie, but since he had become knowledgeable and understanding, they could not bear it. They wanted the old Charlie Gordon, innocent and naive.

And what I think is, the experiment should not have been carried out.

Charlie Gordon was once a man with an IQ of 68. But the change has been so sudden, his IQ had become triple. But he had a trade-off. He gained something less important than what he had lost. Friendship. Nobody wanted to friend him anymore after he turned smart. Never mind if he always got laughed at for his stupidity. Ignorance is a blessing. Probably it is better to don't know the truth than to know it. For Charlie, it might be. He once laughed with his friends over his little mistakes, but now, he cannot even laugh because he has no friends. I would rather choose to be mentally retarded with friends than intellectually capable with no one to love. Though I might be constantly teased at, but I don't know. But I know I at least still have friends who will mingle with me. IGNORANCE IS BLISS.