For most people, the goal in life is to be successful and happy. Many believe the key to this is to possess wealth and resources, but is it really? This situation parallels Charlie’s experiences in “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, where he initially believes that greater intelligence will be the key to his success and popularity. However, post-operation, he realizes this is untrue. It is actually a person’s personality traits and positive experiences that improves their life. Charlie’s operation overall positively impacts his quality of life because of the experiences that it exposes him to.

Despite losing much of the newfound intelligence obtained from the operation, Charlie retains many of the important lessons gained from his experiences, and is able to utilize them to improve his life. By the end of the story, Charlie is able to understand his surroundings better, as evidenced by his recognition of the pity felt towards him by others and the realization that his departure would alleviate this burden. This better understanding of the world shows the wisdom that he gained from the operation. Charlie is able to identify and interpret the causes of others’ emotions, and knows what to do to make others feel better. Also, according to the article, “Scientists Reveal the Three Keys to Happiness”, being able to understand what really is going on is one of the crucial aspects of happiness. Being happy can lead to healthier behaviors and habits and can increase efficiency and productivity, which would greatly improve Charlie’s quality of life. Furthermore, Charlie being able to understand his surroundings better will make it much easier for him to start and maintain his new life in a place unfamiliar to him. His ability to recognize other peoples’ emotions and feelings toward him will ensure that he isn’t made fun of again, and could help to start genuine friendships.

The operation allows Charlie to at least experience true emotions and feelings previously beyond his reach. Prior to the operation, he only perceived Miss Kinnian as a friendly teacher, however, upon receiving the operation, he is able to recognize her beauty and develops feelings for her. The operation allows Charlie to feel love, which in turn positively impacts not only his life but also a portion of Miss Kinnian’s as well. However, love wasn’t the only emotion that was a result of the operation. It also allowed him to feel anger and shame. An example of when this occurred was during the scene in the diner, when Charlie passionately berates those who were laughing and making fun of the disadvantaged boy. While his impulsive outburst could be argued as a negative, it is important to view the scene at a deeper level. The freedom that the operation provides Charlie with allows him to express his feelings and beliefs without the restrictions of his mind. While his anger and shame in this specific situation itself isn’t very positive, it is for reasons he believes are just. Being able to express one’s own emotions and feelings can most definitely contribute to a positive life experience. Without the operation, Charlie’s life would have remained unremarkable, lonesome, and uncared for by most people, leaving no lasting impact on those around him.

While I believe that the operation overall had a positive effect on Charlie’s life experience, many others believe that the operation had a negative impact because of his discovery that none of his coworkers are actually his friends, and that most of them actually bully him for their own personal enjoyment. They argue that it isolated him from the only important people in his life, which caused him to become much more antisocial and hard to communicate with. While true, this experience allows Charlie to distance himself from people who are bad influences on him. It would allow him to find some real friends who actually care about him. The operation gives him the ability to distinguish between the types of people that he should surround himself with and the types of people he shouldn’t, and he continues to possess this ability even after he loses his intelligence. This would ultimately be much better for his future, whereas being isolated would only be a temporary period in his life. It offers him the opportunity to have real friends who actually care about him rather than continue being subject to disrespect and harm.

Charlie’s quality of life was positively impacted by the operation due to the numerous benefits for his future and his increased understanding of the world. The results of Charlie’s operation serve as a reminder that you cannot just rely on a single thing to fulfill all the desires of your life. What truly matters in life are the experiences you gain throughout it and how those lead to happiness. Wealth and resources are not the direct path to happiness in life, but it is what is done with those things that makes life truly enjoyable.